Need assistance identifying my Tobias

[basser-x]

Hi All,
I hope I'm posting in the right location. I recently bought a 5- string Tobias, but for the life of me, I cannot find a definitive year/ model, etc. identifying site. It would also be nice if there was a place that could tell me what wood was used, fretboard material, etc. If anyone here can help me with any information, it would be greatly appreciated. The serial number is 3259, so I do know it's Nashville made. Here are a couple of photos:

 

[RocThrower]

Nice looking bass! I would guess it's a Killer B.

 

[mikezimmerman]

Nice looking bass! I would guess it's a Killer B.

I seriously doubt it, since Killer B's are bolt-ons.

Looks like a Basic to me. I could be a Classic, I suppose, but with the finish it's impossible to tell if the wings have one layer (Basic) or three (Classic). However, the Basic has a plastic truss rod cover like yours, and the Classic has wood.

 

[basser-x]

Thanks, Mike- any idea as to year made?

 

[mikezimmerman]

Nope. All I know in the way of Tobias serial numbers is what's on Mike Tobias' page at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] about which numbers where made more before production moved to Nashville.

 

[DWBass]

Looks like a Toby Pro (Gibson era) to me. I could be wrong though. If it is, I really hope you didn't pay a lot for it! The preamp setup is different from a Toby Pro though unless it was modified. The knobs are different and the switch is not on the Toby Pro. The pickups are different too. The Toby Pro's did not have Bartolini's. My gut says modded Toby Pro.

Just my guess.........like I said, I could be wrong!

 

[mikezimmerman]

Looks like a Toby Pro (Gibson era) to me. I could be wrong though. If it is, I really hope you didn't pay a lot for it! The preamp setup is different from a Toby Pro though unless it was modified. The knobs are different and the switch is not on the Toby Pro. The pickups are different too. The Toby Pro's did not have Bartolini's. My gut says modded Toby Pro.

Just my guess.........

It is Gibson era, but it's US-made Basic, not a (Korean made) Toby Pro.

As you said, the pickups, preamp and control knobs are not like a Toby Pro. However, they are just like the American Tobiases, as is the bridge.

More telling, the woods are, especially the neck woods, are completely different. The Toby Pro has two wide wenge sections on the outside, then narrow sections od maple/wenge/maple in the the middle. This bass has two wide sections of maple on the outside, with two sections of what looks like purpleheart separated by a maple veneer in the middle, just like the Basic. Toby Pros also had dots on the fretboard, and this one doesn't. Plus, the Toby's had the truss rod adjustment on the headstock, not the body. Here's a sunburst Toby Pro, for comparison...

 

[basser-x]

It's got an 18- volt Bartolini system in it. Jesus, why is it so hard to figure these basses out? I did call Gibson, and of course, the guy said "that serial number is not in our system". Screw me running up a flagpole...