IMG_20190504_210705.jpg

For sale Tobias Killer B5 1993 w/ Mike Pope EQ

Sold
$1,500.00
Strings
5
Status
This item has been sold and is no longer available!

Details

$1500 shipped w/ extra Hipshot bridge & ultralite tuners for upgrades, and original WTMB preamp (Mike Pope 4 band installed).

Trades welcome. Please PM offers.

Lots of history with this bass, so apologies for the huge amount of text below.

Fabricated by the Burbank crew, but final assembly was done in Nashville.
See this thread from @darkbass for this info.
He was working at Tobias at the time, and also the one who brought this bass back from Germany.

Based on the writing on the neck, the 31st Killer B...?

All hardware is original.
I am including a like new black Hipshot A style bridge and black ultralite tuners should you want to upgrade them.

Truss rods work like they should.
A piece of the truss cover is missing, but it stays put.
The bridge used to be black.
Then I cleaned it last year and the finish basically disintegrated. Now it's the cool nickel color.
Hardly any wear on the frets at all
Original pickups.

Currently sporting a Mike Pope 4 band with passive bypass on volume pot. The mini toggle is just for looks. This is a massive upgrade. I had no idea how much better this was going to sound until I installed it recently. Ridiculously usable frequencies; so sweet and clean yet incredibly musical.

Comes with original WTMB preamp (these are pretty rare) and not super helpful instructions for installation I got from a tech dude @ Bartolini.

The WTMB seems to work, but it's a mashup of a couple different diagrams. I wired it up and got a signal running successfully, but there's room for improvement.

Sounds SO MUCH BETTER WITH THE POPE PREAMP.

There's a small crack in the bottom edge of the neck pocket that was there when I got the bass, and it's a non issue. Hasn't changed in the year I've had it, and it's likely due to the neck and pocket being a tight fit. It's along the bottom edge of the end of the pocket where the wood is really thin. Nothing of concern structurally.

Headstock veneer was also a disaster when I got it, so it was refinished and looks good!

Otherwise:
34" scale
24 fret
Asymmetrical neck profile
17.5 mm bridge spacing
1.75" nut
2 7/8" @ 24th fret
Just over 8 pounds on my fat scale
Ash body
5 piece Maple and (insert other wood here) neck
Pau Ferro fingerboard

I've got either a Protec Contego or a Reunion Blues RBCB4 for it.
Not sure which one yet, but it will be a great bag either way.

Thumbnails below the one large image:

IMG_20190504_210705.jpg

IMG_20190504_210705.jpg IMG_20190504_210545.jpg IMG_20190504_210900.jpg IMG_20190504_210718.jpg IMG_20190504_210721.jpg IMG_20190504_210519.jpg IMG_20190423_193133.jpg IMG_20190423_193148.jpg IMG_20190504_210723.jpg IMG_20190423_193731.jpg IMG_20190504_210748.jpg IMG_20190504_210916.jpg IMG_20190504_203045.jpg IMG_20190504_203106.jpg IMG_20190504_203136.jpg MVIMG_20190423_193523.jpg

Comments

bbh

Supporting Member
Sep 27, 2011
2,128
1,483
It looks great in red.
I have a wood colored fretless a model with the preamp. It’s a great bass for real easy neck.
 

naetog

Supporting Member
May 26, 2006
1,564
1,800
Chico, CA
FWIW here's the headstock original black, and that neck pocket crack in July of last year for comparison.

I'm also starting to wire together the WTMB so I'll report back when I've got something tomorrow.

IMG_20180704_231835.jpg
IMG_20180704_231859.jpg
 
Last edited:

naetog

Supporting Member
May 26, 2006
1,564
1,800
Chico, CA
Okay so the WTMB seems to work. I was able to wire it up and got a signal, but there's room for improvement.

I've installed the Mike Pope preamp, and it will be staying in the bass. It sounds so much better than the Bartolini circuit that was in there. Not even close. Mini toggle is now a placebo.

Different knobs also:
IMG_20190506_215754.jpg
 

Classified ad information

Posted by
naetog
Feedback score
+237 /0 /-0
Category
For Sale: Bass Guitars
Views
3,160

More from naetog