Gibson is bringing back Tobias basses...

[davec]

Source? Or is this just speculation?

Gibson rep: I got to play the prototypes, they got the neck right

 

[ctmullins]

Gibson rep: I got to play the prototypes, they got the neck right

Well that's disappointing. I think a lot of us here are sick of the way Gibson brings out cool new stuff, only to kill it two years later.

Meanwhile they flood the planet with endless variations of the tired old SG, Thunderbird, and LP/SG guitars. *yawn*

 

[pcake]

That $2499 bass - presuming that you're referring to Classic - is made in the U.S.

screencapped from the actual bass i was looking at on sweetwater.

My made-in-China Dingwall NG3 cost nearly $3k...

i've heard great things about dingwalls.

the thing is, gibson's more high end basses are made in the u.s., and the new tobias basses are made under gibson. that didn't compute for me, but it seems that's because i'm living in the past. when i think indonesia, i think of all my bottom-of-the-line basses - they're all $169 to under $300. there could be some fine instruments coming out of indonesia, but for years, entry level basses were all i saw from indonesia,

seems like large companies are spreading our the countries more. my made-in-korea spector is nothing like my made-in-korea rogue from 1995. the rogue cost me $75 and played and sounded like a then-$75 bass. my spector is sweet with great frets and a roasted maple neck, and it's well-made with very good QC.

i just checked out headstocks for epiphones. many are labelled "Hand-crafted in China" while others even the same model are made in indonesia. things are changing.

i love the sweetwater photos of individual instruments. they're such a handy resource!

 

[Ritter667]

screencapped from the actual bass i was looking at on sweetwater.

View attachment 7179870


i've heard great things about dingwalls.

the thing is, gibson's more high end basses are made in the u.s., and the new tobias basses are made under gibson. that didn't compute for me, but it seems that's because i'm living in the past. when i think indonesia, i think of all my bottom-of-the-line basses - they're all $169 to under $300. there could be some fine instruments coming out of indonesia, but for years, entry level basses were all i saw from indonesia,

seems like large companies are spreading our the countries more. my made-in-korea spector is nothing like my made-in-korea rogue from 1995. the rogue cost me $75 and played and sounded like a then-$75 bass. my spector is sweet with great frets and a roasted maple neck, and it's well-made with very good QC.

i just checked out headstocks for epiphones. many are labelled "Hand-crafted in China" while others even the same model are made in indonesia. things are changing.

i love the sweetwater photos of individual instruments. they're such a handy resource!

Some of Ibanez's higher end-ish basses are made in Indonesia.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I don’t mind where something is made as long as it is made well, but I do mind if the motivation to make there saves the company money… and not “so” much the retailer [ed. - end user].


-ScottM

We got a taste of that when Loud Tech moved USA production of SVTs to Viet Nam, and then to China. Prices did NOT get lower at the retail end.

 

[ajkula66]

@pcake & @scottm :

I stand corrected. Sweetwater claims that these are made in the U.S. so it never occured to me to go deeper...mea culpa.

 

[KB5]

I had so much hope for these basses. I'm a massive Tobias fan and so far for me this is looking like a complete fail.

 

[spade2you]

I'll try one if I see it. It's weird that we're paying this much for imports these days. The electronics will certainly sound great. Bartolini pickups and preamps are great.

 

[ctmullins]

I'll try one if I see it. It's weird that we're paying this much for imports these days. The electronics will certainly sound great. Bartolini pickups and preamps are great.

It's weird? Literally everything is more expensive these days, by quite a lot. Plus the quality of Asian-produced instruments has risen steadily and significantly over the last twenty years. The days of "import" and "cheap" being synonymous are over.

 

[hardtwister]

@pcake & @scottm :

I stand corrected. Sweetwater claims that these are made in the U.S. so it never occured to me to go deeper...mea culpa.

Let’s pin this important detail down*
Conflicting information out there so far..

 

[scottm]

I'll try one if I see it. It's weird that we're paying this much for imports these days. The electronics will certainly sound great. Bartolini pickups and preamps are great.

This is pretty much how I feel.
I definitely am looking forward to trying one.

I don’t care where it’s made, as long as they are not doing it to save money, and then still selling their product for the same price. Overseas models always seem like they use cheaper woods.

With that said, Bart electronics, I’m wondering if this might not be a bad deal for the two cheaper models.

I like that Gibson put out videos already, the basses sound and look great. Even when the guitar player playing bass in the second video says that most bands have bass players. Lol

And if the higher end model was made in US, they would have definitely mentioned it.


-ScottM

 

[bwoodman]

That’s an odd assembly for a Tobias. First the body shape. The upper horn is elongated though maybe that is more of a Growler body cut. Then the Soapbars are more in the Killer B position. But then you have the multiple laminations which wasn’t the case with the Killer B. Hmm. Maybe Gibson is taking a different approach this time around?

I didn't even know about this until I saw a FB post. I went to NAMM and found out that Fender was meetings only - no gear at the show - and I didn't even check in on Gibson becuase I thought they had junked Tobias for good.

The body shape on this so-called "Classic" is not a Classic at all - it's the Killer B body shape / template = I'm 99% sure of this / just looking at it now on Sweetwater. I'm a big time Tobias fan - I have a pair of Killer B5's from the Burbank shop and a 1988 Basic 5 from the Cahuenga shop. I'm tempted to pick up a Killer B5 (white) and a Classic 5 (natural), but I think I'll wait until a read a number of reviews - both on TB AND Sweetwater or other retailers as folks buy and review. I never like gold hardware, so if I did get the Classic 5 (natural - not trans black) , the hardware would have to go / swap to Hipshot chrome hardware. The other question is: how good are the electronics (pups AND pre) on these basses. If NG, then you'd have to swap all that out too.

Edit: I see the electronics are "Barts" but where are they made? If Indonesia, are they as good as the USA Barts? Even Nordstrand has a line of pups that are made "overseas" like the ones in Ibanez, but are they as good?

 

[Kaxx]

That $2499 bass - presuming that you're referring to Classic - is made in the U.S.

If they were made in the USA they would be boasting about it. I didn't see anywhere where they were made, only seen the sticker on the back saying made in Indonesia

 

[scottm]

If they were made in the USA they would be boasting about it. I didn't see anywhere where they were made, only seen the sticker on the back saying made in Indonesia

I went to order the classic and realized they were the Temu version.

The world is changing I feel, people are tighter on their money.
If you make something for cheaper at a different location, then make it makes sense to buy.
The other two models make a lot more sense.

And this is coming from a Gibson and Epiphone fan.

-ScottM

 

[Kaxx]

I

I went to order the classic and realized they were the Temu version.

The world is changing I feel, people are tighter on their money.
If you make something for cheaper at a different location, then make it makes sense to buy.
The other two models make a lot more sense.

And this is coming from a Gibson and Epiphone fan.

-ScottM

I hear you, honestly imo if these were USA made at these prices, I would still be worried about the quality...

 

[ajkula66]

If they were made in the USA they would be boasting about it. I didn't see anywhere where they were made, only seen the sticker on the back saying made in Indonesia

The information was from the Sweetwater site at the time.

Once the sticker got revealed I retracted the statement that you've quoted.

 

[scottm]

I

I hear you, honestly imo if these were USA made at these prices, I would still be worried about the quality...

You know, that is a good point.


-ScottM

 

[Kaxx]

The information was from the Sweetwater site at the time.

Once the sticker got revealed I retracted the statement that you've quoted.

Sorry, yeah I honestly didn't even mean to quote you, it was meant to just be a general statement since a few were questioning it at the time. It won't let me edit it for some reason.