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tobias experience

Soma666

Soma666

Aug 27, 2006
694
70
www.myspace.com
#1
hey guys, i was at a music shop yesterday and i happened to stumble ona tobias. now, as a man who doesnt look much further than hi jazz basses, i dont have much experience with high end basses. ive seen some of these before on TB and thought they were dog-ugly basses. but i just have to say this and share it with the world that i picked on of these dog-ugly beasts up and i melted. it felt so smooth and perfect in my hands and the build and construction was just absolutely without flaw. a masterpiece of modern instrument making. i didnt even bother to plug the thing in coz it had a $5000 price tag on it and i just cant justify spending that much on a bass. but i plucked a few notes and saw that it had bartolinis in and the acoustic sound was just pure and bright and perfect.

i guess the point im trying to make here is that after my first experince with a high end bass, i can see whyu ppl go absolutely gagga for them.

they are masterpieces

just thought i'd share:bassist: :D
 
#2
Soma666 said:
hey guys, i was at a music shop yesterday and i happened to stumble ona tobias. now, as a man who doesnt look much further than hi jazz basses, i dont have much experience with high end basses. ive seen some of these before on TB and thought they were dog-ugly basses. but i just have to say this and share it with the world that i picked on of these dog-ugly beasts up and i melted. it felt so smooth and perfect in my hands and the build and construction was just absolutely without flaw. a masterpiece of modern instrument making. i didnt even bother to plug the thing in coz it had a $5000 price tag on it and i just cant justify spending that much on a bass. but i plucked a few notes and saw that it had bartolinis in and the acoustic sound was just pure and bright and perfect.

i guess the point im trying to make here is that after my first experince with a high end bass, i can see whyu ppl go absolutely gagga for them.

they are masterpieces

just thought i'd share:bassist: :D
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Now you know why I sold everything to get a couple of them. All that AND they WILL make you a better player if you put some work into it.

Save your pennies, man; MTD's are just plain magical.


Cameron
 
#3
Not only are MTDs wonderful basses, but Mike himself will get involved if there should be a problem. I had a minor one that sounded major, he wanted me to call him at dinner time w/ the back off the bass so we could trouble shoot.
Need I say more?
 
#4
I'm one of those rare and downtrodden people who owns and loves Tobias basses, straight from the Gibson factory in lovely metropolitan Conway, Arkansas. I second everything you say - they sound fantastic, the construction is flawless, and the neck fits your hand like it was designed around it.

The $5K variety, IMO, are way overpriced - they sound and feel no different from those you can find new for half that price if you shop around.
 
#5
When Michael first started Tobias basses down here in the 70's, I think he wanted $1800 for one. I thought he was nuts and nobody in their right mind would ever buy them. Next thing you know, bassists started buying them around here. And now he's the king of high-end basses.
 
#7
Flintc said:
I'm one of those rare and downtrodden people who owns and loves Tobias basses, straight from the Gibson factory in lovely metropolitan Conway, Arkansas. I second everything you say - they sound fantastic, the construction is flawless, and the neck fits your hand like it was designed around it.

The $5K variety, IMO, are way overpriced - they sound and feel no different from those you can find new for half that price if you shop around.
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I think we ended up on a different page here. I think 3 of us are talking Mike Tobias, and 2 may be Gibson. The Gibson people don't have you call them at dinner time to fix your bass. Mike hasn't had anything to do with Gibson for years now. There's a lot of people here who will shell out 5k for an MTD.
 
#8
I think we ended up on a different page here.
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Which I always find amusing. The OP said nothing about MTD, and specified Tobias basses. These are Gibsons. But as usual, the Official Presumption seems to be that Soma666 MUST be talking about MTD, even though he said Tobias, because who in their right mind would buy the Gibson product? He couldn't be that dumb, could he?

I agree, MTD makes some superfine instruments. In fact, quite a few of the master luthiers make superfine instruments. But we're talking here about Tobias basses. Gibson makes these. These are, in my personal experience, ALSO really fine bases, in all the appropriate categories - craftsmanship, sound, feel and playability, even good looks.

No, you can't call Gibson at dinner time about your bass. In fact, you probably can't call Gibson at all - they are as deaf and arrogant an outfit as can be found anywhere. And for a while, they produced dismally substandard garbage for which they ripped people off with high prices. Tobias basses must be judged on their merits as musical instruments now - you're sure not going to get much resale given what Gibson did to the reputation. But those merits are now exceptional.
 
#10
Flintc said:
Which I always find amusing. The OP said nothing about MTD, and specified Tobias basses. These are Gibsons. .
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Not necessarily!!

I had a similar experience - went into the Bass Centre in London and picked up a pre-Gibson Tobias, made by Mike's own team - not Gibson!

After playing it for a while I just had to buy it - it was so different from seeing a picture - those things play amazingly well - like the bass was playing itself! :p

There are about 2,000 or so Tobiases not made by Gibson and they are certainly worth the money! :)
 
#11
I've never had a chance to play a "true" Tobias, but I've played a few Gibson made ones that were neither shockingly bad nor anything more than passable in any department. However, the original "boutique" Tobias basses have something of a holy grail status these days!
 
#12
There are about 2,000 or so Tobiases not made by Gibson and they are certainly worth the money!
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Gibson's current Tobias models are much like those made before Gibson bought the name, and some people worth listening to (at least, I think they're worth listening to; they have a lot of experience with a lot of basses) think the current (most recent 2000 Tobias basses) probably exceed the "magical" 2000 in quality. But between those groups were about 8000 instruments I definitely wouldn't buy without examining first, very carefully.

My feeling (I do try to keep my eyes open on these) is that by the time the serial numbers reached about 10000, Gibson had the hang of this well enough to justify their prices. Before that, often enough, they did not.
 
#13
But the difference is that the pre-Gibson Tobias basses were hand-made and checked by Mike's small team who who were dedicated to quality.

When you try basses - actually play them - I think you can tell the difference between a bass that has been hand-made and one that has been factory made! :)

I played many Tobias basses over the last 30 years - but when I picked up an actual pre-Gibson Tobias - the experience was very different and I knew I just had to buy it! :)
 
#14
Flintc said:
Gibson's current Tobias models are much like those made before Gibson bought the name, and some people worth listening to (at least, I think they're worth listening to; they have a lot of experience with a lot of basses) think the current (most recent 2000 Tobias basses) probably exceed the "magical" 2000 in quality
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:confused: Not my experience. I had a Tobias and sent it back. The edges on the back plate were rough, almost chipped. To replace the battery, they use wood screws. Mikes MTD's are threaded. I don't like the Idea of the toothpick fix on an expensive bass. I also had a black stain on it. Shows up real well on a natural ash body. It did play good and feel nice, but the attention to detail was not what I expected from a Tobias.
 
#17
The Penguin said:
Most of the basses people call pre Gibson were made when Gibson owned the company. The Burbank era was the Gibson era and I think those were the best Tobias'. Pre Gibson would be Hollywood and Florida.
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Well there is a pretty clear distinction - which is laid out on Mike Tobias' website - anything up to serial number 2,044 is a pre-Gibson and after that it's not! :)
 
#18
I used to own a Gibson-era Tobias (early 90's model) and it was an amazing bass. I didn't quite like the electronics, but the neck was a thing of beauty. I miss it, but it went to a good home. :)

My next bass will likely be an MTD, unless I have cash in hand when I stumble across one of the original Tobias basses.
 
#19
Flintc said:
...because who in their right mind would buy the Gibson product? He couldn't be that dumb, could he?
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I've not played a better feeling bass than a 2003 Tobias Killer B 5. You show me a bass that comes with such cleanly dressed frets, great REAL Bartolini tone, excellent cuts and finishes of wood, and a perfectly comfortable neck, for less than $1600, and I'll buy it instead. Until then, I haven't found or played on a better bass for the price.

Sorry bub, I guess I'm out of my right mind.
 
#20
Bruce Lindfield said:
Well there is a pretty clear distinction - which is laid out on Mike Tobias' website - anything up to serial number 2,044 is a pre-Gibson and after that it's not! :)
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It becomes clearer if you read it ;)

After several attempts to move the business to larger, better equipped facilities, I sold Tobias Guitars to Gibson on 1/1/90. The first Tobias Gibson serial number was 1094.
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The final LA Tobias/Gibson serial number is 2044.
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