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Official Tobias Club

#43
Iis their a difference between the early tobias and the gibson tobias?Is their a difference in the quality and sound?
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basseffects - if you do a search you'll find a ton of stuff written about it.

Consensus is that Mike and crew simply never built a bad bass (or if they did, it never left the shop ;) ). All the basses from that era are exceptional.

Apparently Gibson had some QC issues at various times, which seem to have largely been resolved. So some Gibson era Tobias' have been less-than-stellar, others have been great. But the poor ones caused a major ripple in the perception of the Gibson-era basses, leading to a general belief in the low quality of the Gibson basses.
 
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#44
Col200 said:
Sure, it's no MTD or "Real" Tobias, but I've had a Pro-5 for a while and still thinks it's a great bass for the price. I'll post pics soon.
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I've been impressed by the Toby Pros I've played. When they were still available new, they were the best bass available for the dollar - better than more than a few more expensive basses. Sadly, lately when I've seen them on Ebay the asking price has been pretty highn even more than new, which makes those not such a deal.
 
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#46
I like Gibson Tobias. Here's mine.

Tobias Killer B 5-string:

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Custom paint Tobias Renegade:

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Tobias Growler:

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Custom Order Tobias Classic 5-string Spalt Maple:

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#48
Hi guys - new member here, and already I've been granted membership into the Tobias club - thanks Magneezius!!

So here's my Gibson Tobias. It's rather unusual; I've never seen another one like it, and I'm having trouble finding any definitive information on it. I found it languishing in the local guitar emporium a few years back, and the owner of the place, a cheesy guy with a used-car-salesman vibe, told me that it was one of a very small number of instruments made for the European market, and that they very quickly decided to halt this particular model. It's got the traditional Tobias body shape, and a bolt-on neck with asymmetrical profile and a single walnut (?) runner. The bass is rather heavy, but with the semi-opaque finish, it's hard to tell what the wood is - my best guesses are either alder or maple, but what do I know... The most unusual feature of this bass is the pair of passive soapbar pickups, wired to V/V/T pots. Mr. Guitar Store told me that they are Gibson Thunderbird pickups, and I suppose they do look like them, but I have absolutely no way of verifying this. I even contacted the Gibson company directly, and provided the serial number of the instrument along with photographs, but they were of absolutely no help.

Whether rare and valuable, or just rare, this baby rocks. It's got a clear, bell-like tone that can rumble at the same time. And since I actually prefer passive electronics, it's right up my alley. Ergonomic, reliable, and great tone, all in one bass. I have it strung with a high C string, and a Hipshot D-tuner, because I like to be able to invade guitar territory with my melodic bass lines. ;)

So, if anybody out there knows anything at all about this baby, let me know!
 

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#53
Debased said:
Shweet!

Lemme guess: Pre-Gib Signature; goncalo alves/walnut body; walnut/wenge/purple heart neck?

What's the fretboard wood? Almost looks like ebony in the pic, rather than the usual pau ferro.

Do you have any rear views or closeups?
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Correct on all counts. No other pics, sorry. I need to polish the poor thing, maybe I'll take more. I only recently even gave it cleaning, and removed the gooey Velcro squares from the back, where it wore a custom "Axepad" given to me by Michael for many years to protect it. It saw the road hard for many years, although with much shoulder pain and suffering for the weight, it rode in a Reunion Blues bag on my shoulder the entire way.

Two worst scars are a small crack by the stack knob, and a ding in the headstock. It's had a hard working life, but it plays and sounds like the seasoned pro it is. It could use dressing and setup, but it plays great still.
 
#55
Count me in. I've got a Tobias Renegade 5'er. It's become my main gigger. It's got the 18v Bart NTMB and sounds amazing. I got it from David Wilson in the TB classifieds. Here's the only pic I've got of it. It's a great playing and sounding bass.
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I also used to have a Tobias Toby Pro Deluxe that I modded with a pair of Bartolini xxM45c quad coil pickups and a Bartolini 18v NTBT preamp. That bass sounded amazing and really had tons of output. Unfortunately I no longer have that bass. I traded it for a Pre-Fender Kubicki Ex-Factor. I really miss that bass.
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