Official Tobias Club

[Brad Johnson]

Yes! Thank you very much! Memories from a better time when I didn't have money. The one main thing I remember about the Omegas besides the balance and all that you get from a loving made Tobias was the neck pickup. I swear that is the best neck pickup ever!!! I love to groove but I also will ram some notes down some throats and with the Omega, you could do it from the neck pickup alone! I don't know if it was the placement, they look tiny in comparison but WOW! At the time I was playing blues, loving the tone of the low B and when I would get busy, I notice I would be playing just with neck pickup not knowing. It's not tilted or any that mumbo jumbo. It is just unreal! Been so long and I know you can speak to this if it is true with yours. Again it might of been a fluke but that was the other major standoff of the Omega models. Priceless my friend. Yeah don't ever sell them, just I had to ask.

I look at my five as an elegant sledge hammer. The B is still among the very best I've ever experienced, 36 years later. The overall punch and clarity have to be heard. The action is low and effortless. I did the pickup selector with two volumes so I could quickly go between my two favorite settings... both full on or bridge soloed. 34" scale blew the idea that a 35" was required completely out of the water. But the bass looks and plays longer than a typical 34" because of the cut.

This bass completely spoiled me. Time to take it out for some gigs again... it's been awhile.

 

[xtremebassist1]

So, so true! Brad you are a truly lucky and blessed man! The Omegas I played, one had beautiful bird eye maple top (the 5er) and the other was a slight flame maple top. Yours with the dark wood top must be unreal! No lie folks, the B String on them is parallel to none. No fan frets needed! 35" scale, so true! For me their neck pickup is amazing! You just have two settings, done! Plays like butter, balanced. I used to play the shops Alembics, Kubicki (kind of like it), a vintage Jazz bass, but always ended up the Omega 5er. Man you need to gig it and I would just wet myself if you had a audio clip especially the B String. I saw awhile back on Reverb somebody selling a MTD copy of a Omega. I've thought about doing the same and asking Mike to build me one. Thank you again! I've told bassist I met over the years but I never knew what they were called.

 

[xtremebassist1]

Thank you everybody, I'm sorry if I hijack the thread. Good news, I just seal the deal on a pretty remarkable Tobias Pre-Gibson Signature. Hope to have it in a couple of days and request to be a member.

Again I've told bassists about the Tobias Omega (of course didn't know the name) since 1985. Don't get me wrong, the standard Tobias models are great but the Omegas are out of this world. No words can truly describe it. You have to play one or go see Brad gigging. Not only the sound of their B String but the transition to it from the higher strings is just unheard of. I see Brad has a Zon and my main bass is a Status. Their graphite necks makes the tone so solid especially the Low B. But again the Omegas..... I don't know what it is. I think Brad pointed to it, its their design which makes having a 34" neck just perfect. Don't take / believe my drooling, go SEE and hear Brad play his Omega.

 

[xtremebassist1]

Badda Bing, badda boom! Surfbr hooked me up and now 35 years later after falling in love with Tobias basses, I have one! I'm calling her Helen since her face launched thousands of basses. My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold. Yes ladies and germs, my Tobias is a centerfold!

Can I Join the club?

 

[skb5string]

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Badda Bing, badda boom! Surfbr hooked me up and now 35 years later after falling in love with Tobias basses, I have one! I'm calling her Helen since her face launched thousands of basses. My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold. Yes ladies and germs, my Tobias is a centerfold!

Can I Join the club?

NICE Score! Maybe post a video of the tone? Congrats!

 

[red_rhino]

View attachment 3732278 View attachment 3732280 View attachment 3732281

Badda Bing, badda boom! Surfbr hooked me up and now 35 years later after falling in love with Tobias basses, I have one! I'm calling her Helen since her face launched thousands of basses. My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold. Yes ladies and germs, my Tobias is a centerfold!

Can I Join the club?

Nice! I still have that brochure in a folder somewhere. I would stare at it daily while waiting for my Tobias Classic to be built.

 

[darryl1965]

Sweet Signature you have there xtremebassist1!! What number is it? Also what are the wood combinations (Bubinga/Wenge/Walnut)?

 

[xtremebassist1]

This bass was originally a fretless owned by Keith Jones. Apparently Mike Tobias got it back for the photo shoot and added frets. I did find this video of Keith Jones playing with Santana and I"m pretty sure its her.



Go to 4:15 to hear him solo on it.

 

[xtremebassist1]

Nice! I still have that brochure in a folder somewhere. I would stare at it daily while waiting for my Tobias Classic to be built.

YESSSS!!!!! Exactly!!! Back in 1993 I would go to the Store 24 to get 5 dollars of quarters to call Tobias about ordering a bass. I always had this page of the brochure in hand when I was talking to Mike & crew about getting a bass. They were so back ordered and I didn't realize then they were about to move or already had to Nashville. It was like a 3 year wait on a bass!!! I finally gave up and called Rob Green of Status. So I had to get 10 dollars of quarters and go the pay phone. I still had this brochure and on the back I wrote the exact woods and specs for my Status bass I've been playing ever since and has been my one and only. When I first saw this bass listed on Reverb I was like WOW! The holy grail of Tobias basses! I've been digging for my copy of the brochure. I stared at this pictures so many times I immediately recognized it from the body shot. But the full neck photo gave it way, that birth / beauty mark on the 9th fret.

Tobias Signature 5 String Bass. 1990 Catalog Bass. Unique 1 of a Kind. Bubinga-Wenge | BottomDweller | Reverb

It came with the brochure, the receipt for the photo shoot and negatives! Plus Surfbr got it at a lower price and passed savings directly on the me!!! We talked and he realized how much it meant to me and he was going to sell it almost at a loss. He sent me his Reverb.com price with tax and I threw $200 on top of it. Definitely Surfbr rocks! Highly recommended!

 

[xtremebassist1]

Sweet Signature you have there xtremebassist1!! What number is it? Also what are the wood combinations (Bubinga/Wenge/Walnut)?

1106 - Bubinga - Wenge. Still learning the Bill's preamp tweak. Fortunately it came with the diagram!

Quote:

I've had Bill draw complex circuit modifications on the back of 8x10 envelopes at the NAMM show, totally from his mind, when I asked him how to tweak a particular Bartolini circuit for a slightly different sound! Brilliant man.

Apparently I'm second owner. Surfbr only had it for few days. It is about brand new. You can tell it has never really been played since Mike reworked it for the photo shoot. Kind of sucks because I feel weird playing it. Going to buy an Acoustic Remedy Wall case and pull it out for recording. Definitely the Tobias sound I was looking for. So ...... back on the hunt for a pre-Nashville Tobias that I can play!

 

[xtremebassist1]

I definitely want to thank all on this thread. Yes, awesome balance - no neck dive. Omega model. Interesting because the shop that had the Tobias' also had an Alembic Omega but I never made the connection. A little transparency, I'm coming off an about 8 year hiatus. 2 years before I bought and actually could play a Chapman Grand Stick. I just sent it off to Emmett for some mods. Soon I know I will be instant bass idiot because of its upside down 5ths tuning so I was thinking I'll need a nice, warm Tobias to get my frustrations out. I was finally going to go for a 6'er because it would be an extended range like the Grand Stick. So a double "free your mind and your @ss will follow" thing. So any pre-Nashville Tobias 6 string owners that can hook a brother up?

 

[LowB-90]

I definitely want to thank all on this thread. Yes, awesome balance - no neck dive. Omega model. Interesting because the shop that had the Tobias' also had an Alembic Omega but I never made the connection. A little transparency, I'm coming off an about 8 year hiatus. 2 years before I bought and actually could play a Chapman Grand Stick. I just sent it off to Emmett for some mods. Soon I know I will be instant bass idiot because of its upside down 5ths tuning so I was thinking I'll need a nice, warm Tobias to get my frustrations out. I was finally going to go for a 6'er because it would be an extended range like the Grand Stick. So a double "free your mind and your @ss will follow" thing. So any pre-Nashville Tobias 6 string owners that can hook a brother up?

Thinking of selling my signature 6.
But it won't be cheap .
All original tct pre/pickups.
Almost mint.

 

[darryl1965]

xtremebassist1, Good luck with the search for the pre Nashville Tobias 6, that might be a hard one to find. I had one about a year or so ago and sold it. It was nice and clean too, wish I would have kept it but you know how that goes...haha!

 

[darryl1965]

Thinking of selling my signature 6.
But it won't be cheap .
All original tct pre/pickups.
Almost mint.

I had a Signature 5 just like that one....awesome bass LowB-90. Shoot me a pm on how much you would be willing to sell it for I might want to purchase it from you. I currently have an MTD635, I just prefer a 34" scale over the 35" scale.

 

[red_rhino]

Thinking of selling my signature 6.
But it won't be cheap .
All original tct pre/pickups.
Almost mint.

Beautiful! What are the woods, etc?

 

[xtremebassist1]

Thinking of selling my signature 6.
But it won't be cheap .
All original tct pre/pickups.
Almost mint.

Oh snap! Exactly what I was looking for. Shoot me a PM! You can ask Surfbr that I'm serious and will pay instantly once I can prove I'm not buying Internet air.

 

[LowB-90]

PMs replied.

 

[red_rhino]

PMs replied.

 

[skb5string]

Thinking of selling my signature 6.
But it won't be cheap .
All original tct pre/pickups.
Almost mint.

Holy Cats that is a Nice Signature!!

I just purchased this Gem. Exact year I'm not sure but I believe 1991. I'll see if I can ask Mike

1991 Tobias Classic 6
Walnut Body
Goncalo Alves Top
Maple Tone Plate
Original Hardware
Original Case
Original Bart Pups
Jim Williams Audio Upgrades Pre-Amp (Sounds Killer)
Was originally fretted, turned into a fretless then refretted again. Fretwork is flawless
Looks, plays and sounds killer.

This bass was owned by Kim Stone of the Rippingtons. Used on multi recordings and live shows. Kim is the one who had the jim Williams Pre put in. He did that to alot of his basses including his Roscoes. Very open and full sounding. Just got it last week.

 

[red_rhino]

You guys with these 6's are killing me! I'm liable to do something crazy; like buy one.