I didn't have a 5'er, I had a 4 and it SUCKED. I don't have time to type it all out, so I've pasted my review from Harmony Central:
Price Paid: US $700 used
Purchased from: N/A
www.bassnw.com
Features: 8
*NOTE* I NO LONGER OWN THIS BASS (more on why below)
Bought used from BASS NW for $700 + SH which included a molded hardshell case. Because it was used, I'm not sure how new it was..it was definately made during the Tobias/Gibson era.
The Growler came with a beautiful swamp ash body with black Grover tuners and "basic" bridge. The body was left in the natural finish. And I mean NATURAL..it was a very rough body with natural "wood flaws" which added to the character. The neck was a 3 piece assymetrical Maple/Purpleheart neck with Pao Ferro fretboard, medium frets and dual truss rod setup. The neck also had a heeless neck joint and inset design (meaning the fretboard didn't extend onto the body like most bases) This made reaching all the way up to the 24th fret a piece of cake.
The electronics were 18V active and run through a huge custom Bartolini MM style QUAD coil pickup. EQ consisted of 1 volume, 1 coil blend (to balance between the 2 sets of coils), 2 stacked bass/treble knobs and 2 "tone-shaping switches"
Sound: 8
For having only a single pickup, this bass had a TON of sounds. Albeit they might not all be useful, they were there. The EQ allowed you to dial in bass/treble for each set of coils individually and in addition were the 2 "tone-shaping" switches. Each switch had 3 positions: "down" was "the ultimate slap tone" "middle" was a "neutral" tone and I believe "up" was more trebly. Add the coil balance knob and you had a pretty flexible tone setup on your hands. I owned the bass for 2 months but only played it for 45 minutes total(more on that below) but in that time, I could get a really J-Bass, Musicman or great slap tone out of it.
The only issues I had in the tone were that, when the "E" string was plucked, there seemed to be some extra resonation or "overtones" coming from inside the bass.. I could never figure out what it was. Also, despite all the tones it had, being a single pickup, I did feel like each tone still had a decent amount of "twang" to it and the natural sound of the bass itself was always present. I found this annoying.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 1
Oh boy..*cracks knuckles* Here is where my time with the bass starts (and ends). As I stated above, I bought this bass used from BASS NW. When the bass arrived, it was tuned down about 3 steps so it was buzzing pretty badly. So I tuned it back up and raised the action alittle and..even worse. The neck buzzed EVERYWHERE, and on the "A" string, there was no difference in pitch between the 14th and 15th fret! It was horrible. So I took the bass down to my local shop to have it fixed. I had to have the neck adjusted and many of the frets were high so they had to be completely leveled before it was all set. When it "fixed", I went and picked it up and tried it in the store..all set! I took it home and a few hours later, the neck must have shifted again because I was getting HORRIBLE buzzing on the "A" string 2nd & 3rd fret and alittle on the same frets for the "D" string. I brought the bass BACKK down to be fixed.. this is where my story ends. 2 months later, it still wasn't fixed. In addition to my techs busy schedule, the neck just wasn't cooperating. The neck threw the frets out of level, and most of the time was going into back-bow with the strings off. Trying to balance the dual truss rod setup (stability my @$$) was like trying to balance an SUV and a coconut on a seesaw made of toothpicks. It came down to two options for me 1) Have the tech rip out the frets, do a complete fretjob and replain the neck or 2) Abandon ship. I took the latter and traded the bass..read my review on the Dean Jeff Berlin Standard.
Also, in relation to the frets, the fret slots or "kerfs" weren't filled in all the way and the edges of the frets were very rough. Aside from that, everything else on the bass was pretty good. The neck joint was very tight, the tuners seemed very tight and stable, and the strap buttons were solid. The plastic tone knobs seemed a bit cheap though. One more thing to note also.. the cavity control cover was cracked and a piece broke off, but that blame goes to the previous owner, not Tobias.
On a positive note though, this is a very comfortable bass. The assymetrical neck was great, VERY comfortable and the body shape allowed good balance and comfort. Also it was a very easy playing bass.
Even though the hardware, neck joint and comfort level of this bass was pretty good, because of my experience and with how bad the neck was, I have to rate this a 1.
Reliability/Durability: 3
This is a hard one to judge.. the hardware on the bass looked like it would hold up fairly well and would last, except for the plastic control cover getting cracked (I assume fairly easily) I wouldn't abuse the bass, but under normal playing conditions I think it would've done well.
The neck on the other hand.. I've never heard of anyone else having a similiar horrible experience, but from mine, I wouldn't trust this bass to be reliable at all in relation to the neck. I know that if I had gotten the bass fixed and kept it, it would've had to have been adjusted quite frequently. Probably more time would be spent getting it fixed than actually playing.
Use a backup? This bass would probably have BEEN the backup..like the LAST resort..the "all the other replacements on the team are out of the game, lets send in the kid with one eye, no thumbs and one leg shorter than the other" scenario.
Customer Support: 1
I have to rate this in two parts.. Customer Service for BASS NW and Tobias Customer Service.
BASS NW: They had a whopping 3 day return policy on the bass, which because I was hopeful the bass could be fixed and just needed a regular adjustment, ran out. They are very friendly and helpful aside from that though. I would buy anything else from them again, just not a bass sight unseen. The website said the bass was in "Excellent Condition" but that was a crock. So I would say that they are friendly and helpful, but not too reliable as far as describing the product condition and with the return policy.
TOBIAS: Well actually, if you didn't know, Tobias was bought by Gibson..key word WAS.. I called Gibson about getting a new control cavity cover and they were NO help. Apparently Tobias is being sold and serviced by Music Yo now. They were absolutely no help..they couldn't get me any parts and didn't know where I could get them. Apparently the Growler is no longer being made, so good luck finding parts!
Overall Rating: 1
The Tobias Growler IS a bass that offers up alot of tone choices, is pretty comfortable and is unique looking. But that isn't much in the whole scheme of things. This bass was a NIGHTMARE. I would not recommend ANY Tobias product after this experience, unless it was a GENUINE Michael Tobias, pre-gibson bass. Customer service was horrible, and I honestly felt like I was alone and stuck kicking myself for buying this. Its a good thing that I was able to trade and say goodbye to it forever.
If you do have a Growler or other Tobias bass and its fine, CONGRATULATIONS
You've got a unique, comfortable bass on your hands. But I know that for me, I'm done with them.
