586Body.jpg
586Body.jpg

For sale Tobias Basic 6 string #586

Sold
$2,700.00
Strings
6
Status
This item has been sold and is no longer available!

Details

586Body.jpg

Pre-Gibson, Tobias Basic 6 string
Walnut body, Maple/Purpleheart neck, Rosewood fingerboard
Serial #586, dated 7/31/87

Passive, Micheal Tobias told me they made "more than a few" but it's the only one I've ever seen.
Plays great, sounds great, and is very good condition showing only minimal signs of wear and tear for a 29 year old instrument.
Nice warm tone and very even across all six strings.
10.4 lbs on the bathroom scale.

I had a luthier counter sink holes for Dunlop Strap locks, several sets included.
I bought it in 1998 with no case, but it comes with a "distressed" Reunion Blues leather gig bag.

$2,700 shipped CONUS
Not really interested in trades.

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  • Like
Reactions: EdwardofHuncote, notejung, isolated and 4 others

Comments

I

isolated

Zenji
Dec 7, 2004
420
237
oh, man... I used to own this one. It's "the one that got away." Fantastic instrument.
 
JimC Bass

JimC Bass

Guest
Apr 20, 2015
23
14
Central Ohio
isolated said:
oh, man... I used to own this one. It's "the one that got away." Fantastic instrument.
Click to expand...
And now you can own it again!
I agree it's a fantastic instrument, I hate that I need to sell it.
DM me if you have a chance, would love to know more history about the bass.
 
JimC Bass

JimC Bass

Guest
Apr 20, 2015
23
14
Central Ohio
Preventer said:
Beautiful.
And I use my Basic 5 in passive mode 95% of the time...
I wonder this one sounds warmer than all-maple Basics, is it so? Do you may be have some soundclips?
Click to expand...

There's a couple Basic 5's around here from about the same time. They're maple and I think the walnut has a warmer tone.
I could probably get a clip or two posted without too much trouble. The studio recordings that I've used it on were not anything that really features the bass. I'll try to post something tomorrow.
 
JimC Bass

JimC Bass

Guest
Apr 20, 2015
23
14
Central Ohio
Here's a fast and sloppy recording of the bass straight into my iRig Pro and Garageband.
Both volumes and tone turned all the way up.
All processing in Garageband turned off.
The bass has brand new and still very bright D'Addario XL's, 32-45-65-80-100-130.
The action is pretty low and I play with a light touch.
I apologize for sucking. I've been playing a 4 string J bass w/ flat wounds for the last few years and my chops are no match for the 6 string anymore!
Mindless noodling, but hopefully it gives you a little hint of what the bass sounds like.
 

Attachments

JimC Bass

JimC Bass

Guest
Apr 20, 2015
23
14
Central Ohio
Thanks Wayne!
It is a gorgeous bass and was ordered and built passive.
Micheal Tobias told me they used stacked knobs at the time so the only thing missing on top is the active/passive switch.
This bass sounds so great that it really doesn't need a preamp.
The B string is HUGE, and the C string really sings.
Very even response across the strings and a big warm tone.
I'm starting to think that the bass being passive is holding people up, but I swear you'll never miss the preamp.
On the other hand, there's plenty of room to add any additional electronics you might want.
 
JimC Bass

JimC Bass

Guest
Apr 20, 2015
23
14
Central Ohio
Thursday morning "Where are all the Tobias lovers?" bump.

In addition to being a really great instrument this bass is a piece of history.
One of about 800 basses made at Micheal's Hollywood shop in the 80's.
3 or 4 people hand crafted this beauty right around the time that demand for these amazing instruments was so high that they stopped taking orders for a year and a half so they could catch up on back orders.

Check out the history from the MTD website:
History

It's hard to fully appreciate how good this bass is without laying hands on it, but it's truly a work of art!
 
MrLenny1

MrLenny1

Jan 17, 2009
12,110
9,717
New England
On Maple vs other body woods, I have a all maple body Basic 5 and it is brighter than
my Classic BWA. Nice to hear some of the history on these basses. Even the Gibson era Tobias's
are rare now.
 
Groove Doctor

Groove Doctor

Feb 23, 2009
6,926
18,315
Sydney, Australia
I've got a Classic 5 with walnut/purpleheart neck and walnut body/PH top. Definitely warmer than any other Tobias I've played, it has a wonderfully rich mids character. On active mode I turn the mids fully up and dial back a little if needed.

I thought they all had Pao Ferro boards?
 
JimC Bass

JimC Bass

Guest
Apr 20, 2015
23
14
Central Ohio
Groove Doctor, I completely agree with you about the tonal characteristics of the walnut. Even passive this bass has a warm, woody midrange that I haven't heard from many other instruments. Every time I've had it in the studio the engineers rave about the tone.

As far as the fingerboard, I've always assumed it was rosewood because it looks and feels like rosewood. Of course Pau Ferro is pretty similar. Maybe I'll email Micheal Tobias again for a definitive answer.

Would love to see pics of your bass, the purple heart top must be gorgeous.
 
JimC Bass

JimC Bass

Guest
Apr 20, 2015
23
14
Central Ohio
Robin Ruscio said:
Is it 17mm spacing at bridge? I remebr these being on tight side.
Click to expand...
Looks like 17mm at the bridge and 9mm at the nut according to my highly accurate 10 yr old daughter's plastic ruler.
A little tighter than a J- bass but it never bothered me.
The pickups don't have any distinguishing marks on them but I'm pretty sure they're Bartolini.
 
I

isolated

Zenji
Dec 7, 2004
420
237
JimC Bass said:
Looks like 17mm at the bridge and 9mm at the nut according to my highly accurate 10 yr old daughter's plastic ruler.
A little tighter than a J- bass but it never bothered me.
The pickups don't have any distinguishing marks on them but I'm pretty sure they're Bartolini.
Click to expand...

They are indeed Barts.
 

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JimC Bass
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