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Gianni Orlandez Orlati said:

Just for the sake of curiosity, is it a neck-through bass?
Which pickups and if which kind?
How much Gibson sells them at?

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Yes, neck-through.
Bartolini pickups, I don't know the exact model.
MSRP in USA is $2399.

I bought one of the new Indonesian Tobiases back in May. I got a Classic V which the seller listed and priced as used but honestly I couldn't tell except that the tags were no longer attached but were all there in the pocket of the gigbag, but not a single scratch, wear-mark, or any other sign of use on the instrument, so I feel that I can report on the delivered quality. And the delivered quality is *FRIKKIN NIIIIIIICE!* It's seriously well-made, every bit as good as that video in Kevin's post suggests. I've yet to feel that anything about it was done cheeply and you should have zero worries about it being north of $2K from Indonesia. If I didn't know it was from there I prob'ly would have guessed Japan (and unlike the one in the video, mine has a MADE IN INDONESIA sticker on the back of the head).

OK, one very small niggle about the quality. A few days in I did notice a very small amount of hum. Not enough to be noticed in a live band setting, barely there playing at home, but still there. Investigation revealed that only the floor of the control-cavity had any shielding paint on it! Not a trace of paint on the walls. Why??? But not to worry; I just happened to have most of a bottle of the stuff left over from a recent project. Give it a couple of coats, problem solved.

Speaking of the cavity, I was impressed by how they routed a special compartment for the batteries. If you're gonna have batteries under the cavity-cover instead of in a no-tools-needed compartment as used on Ibanez and others, this is the best way to go! No loose batteries flopping around in the cavity like in my otherwise Alembic-like Kawai F2B, which is also an 18-volt setup (I wrap its batteries in tape just to make sure that they don't cause any shorts on exposed connections).

Now stuff like aesthetics, ergonomics, weight, sound, etc. are all highly subjective from one player to the next as we're all unique individuals with our own quirks and preferences, but if this bass appeals to your subjective taste in those areas then it's a real winner! I find it very comfortable and playable, which is interesting because the neck is a little wider than I'd usually find ideal, but the thin-ness of it makes up for that and the asymmetric profile helps too. It's not a very aggressive asymmetry, just enough to get the job done- perfect. If I had my druthers I'd round the edges of the fingerboard inward just a little, but I'm A-OK with it as-is.

The weight isn't bad at all. I don't like having a lot of weight on my shoulder, but even my fly-weight Ibanez SR375 will make me sit down halfway through 3 hours of band practice. The Classic V weighs more than the Ibanez but not that much more- impressive when you consider that the design is not as compact as the SR and doesn't feature the thin tapered body and other mass-reducing features that the SR has. That said, the Classic V does seem to look bigger than it really is, at least to my eye.

Sound? I think it sounds pretty damn good! I'm not the type to do a whole lot of tonesmithing beyond just goofing-off at home; I'm one of those rock players who likes to find a sound a I really dig and just leave it there, at least in the band context. But as several review-videos show, you can do a lot with this bass sound-wise. I use minimal effects -just a Jam Rattler and an Electro-Harmonix Bass Clone, both used sparingly- and the Classic V works well with those.

One week in I took it to a gig and had a blast! Everything felt and sounded right.



So overall, I really, really, RILLY recommend the Classic V! I like it so much that it's making me forget my other basses, even the handmade boutique German one that I waited 30 years to get!

Cheap and easy to find on marketplace or ebay. I much rather have this amp (I also bought the Ampeg mini too), yes it works great silent practice with pedals.
The bonus is I can and have used it for:
basement jams, and used it for small bar gigs.

Genzler Magellan 212T, ULV-212T and Mesa Subway 212 are all similar to or “better” than the NeoX 212T.

Holy @$#%!

I’m going to do this now - thanks, that’s a pro tip I’ll be using at the next gig now.

A Peavey Fury is a ridiculously good PBass, and you can get them easily for 300 bucks.

Made in the USA. One locally as I write this is listed for 300 with a hardshell case, no less.

If I hadn’t already ordered my Suhr P I would have picked it up. GREAT basses.

VicDiesel said:

I was very annoyed when I discovered that. I opened up the control cavity and put a number of rings on the thing-where-the-plug-goes but that's not ideal.

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They use the crappiest barrel jacks too. Some plugs are slightly undersized and might not even contact the outer ring properly, which can cause preamp to cut in and out. If you get that, it sounds like popping. And you can split the wood if you over tighten the retainer nut.

Best locations for jack are on front face of bass, like P-basses, or on bottom, on a flat area, like J's. That Strat-style location is for the birds!

This:

Please click on each attached photo to get the entire view.

tombowlus said:

Which goes to show that YMMV, so I guess take my prior post as only one take.

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As I posted earlier I like the PH212 a lot and own 2. I also have a PH410 and at first considered it a standalone option to using the 212(s).

Based on a post of yours Tom (many years ago) I gave the 410 and 212 combo a shot and it was actually quite good to my ears. The smooth, broad mids of the 212 blended well with the 410's deep low punch and more present top to create for a very full voiced rig that was especially useful (for me) on outdoor gigs.

We all have a different tone goal in our heads that we are chasing, but as you often point out, if it sounds good to you, it is good.

My experience is that it’s not nearly as easy as you suggest. Maybe you have just had incredibly bad luck?

agedhorse said:

If the amp has a bridged output (like most class D amps), running the speaker output into an aux input (which is ground referenced) will short 1/2 of the amp to ground and probably damaged the power amp.

I may be remembering incorrectly, but I thought those models were class D?

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The F1/F500 were class D, yep! The early Little Marks were class AB with an SMPS (before they switched to class D, later on).

I've owned this pedal for about a year now. Gig with it regularly and like multiple sounds I've gotten out of it between my industrial band and my doom/stoner band. With that said theres one thing that always seems to boggle my mind with some of the presets in the manual. For example, on the Geddy settings, on the clean channel, why boost the mids right above 450hz but then have the LPF set at around 300ish? Doesnt the LPF cut out anything above that? How does the boosted 450 come through when it's notched out with the LPF? Multiple other manual examples do this which throws me off a bit.

Didn't I see that in an old Animusic video?
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BassicJazzy said:

Not sure I understand? Are you saying they were out of favor?

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Yes, and substantially undervalued in the market and I had no difficulty buying them for those sort of prices - on ebay, I seldom had anyone else bidding against me on them. They weren't 'trendy' then.

I'm not sure what I would pick to play but based on those clips the jazz bass seemed to really suit your playing.

Recent YT review of a Contemporary Hofner. Honestly, I don't see much difference in fit and finish between this and my Son's Jay Turser, or the Rogue version. At this price point, you should expect to have to do a little setup. I would expect the full-blown Hofner to BE immaculate, damn well better be at that price!
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This moved me. I wish I knew more about AJ. The few stories I hear are very fascinating. He seemed like a man who dedicated his life to the bass, and found a lot of meaning in that. Some people are wired up that way.

True....true.... I'm so particular about my setups.... tuning.... always with the finite adjustments to get it perfect. When I seen 12 it was a bit of a head rush. Can I play it? Or will the setup alone drive me insane?

DownRound said:

I didn't see anyone posting something on this.
It's Stanley's birthday.

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It's usually a @Dr. Cheese thing. He's slacking

FRoss6788 said:

Welcome back!

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Opinions vary.

tothemax said:

@MarkA

All correct... our PA is a passive FOH and stage monitor system. My BA210 combo will hold it's own for a stage monitor with the Leslie, but can get a little muddy when the keys hit the low end at volume. With the "stack" I can always hear myself without any problem, probably because the combo (on top) is just about chest height (and not purely volume). Unless it's a small inside gig, with our PA I always use the stacked rig (4x10) to be sure I'm getting a good FOH sound. I run wireless, so it's easy to wander out front and check.

I also agree there is nothing better than setting up and the venue having a good sound system with a skilled sound tech... The video below is from an annual gig we play, great sound guy. You can see my "stack" behind me. This is before I added the MXR M80 DI, this is using the built in Ampeg DI on the BA210. A friend sat in on flute... fun day. This day the Leslie was all the way stage right... I was in the clear....

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Okay, this gives me a better idea of your rig "in the wild." Fun tune! I like some of the lines you're playing. Your drummer and conga player look to be having fun, too.

tothemax said:

I'm in agreement on the lifting part... that was the whole consideration for the Micro SVT option. But, one needs to be practical. I've always had a sweet spot for the old Porta Flex flip top look, one must consider the coolness factor with practicality I'm leaning in that direction, no reason to obsess or GAS on the gear, but it never hurts to keep an eye open for those components.

Thanks for all the good feedback, Cheers

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Have fun and don't let gear (weight or obsession-with -- def. need to take my own advice, here!) get in the way!

Call RevSound, 603-651-9800. Ultra-light carry, superb sound.

EncoremMP said:

I got this pedal not long ago and am really digging it. I’m finding lots of bass friendly tones and am really impressed with how every function interacts together so musically.

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Agree!

Thanks for this! @Malak the Mad . I think I will likely ditch the preamp. Thanks for expressing interest. I'll let you know when I get there and we can come up with a fair price.

DJmtd said:

I recently started using the command center to swap between presets instead of trying to jam everything I could possibly need into one. So if I need my normal clean tone for the majority of a set, but I need some crazy synth tone for a couple parts, I'll just set up my buttons in the command center to just bop back and forth between those presets.

I'm sure the Stadium would be sweet, but if you like your Stomp there's probably a way to make it work.

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Here's how I got into this mess. I needed a modern metal tone so the 2nd or third guy that came up on YouTube walked through his and it uses one less than max and last I put a capo bc we're using c standard and drop b.