Tobias Growler 5 Knobs or Cort Elrick NJS

[Pep]

There is no “best”.

There is only “the most appealing to you, based on your current preferences and perceptions”.

Try them both in person if you can. If not, buy from a shop with a good return policy.

DO NOT rely on videos for tone.

I agree with this post. Do not listen to Mastiff_5.

 

[groove pump]

Hello Friends...

I'd like some help!

I will buy a new bass and I have these two options with a similar price.

A Tobias Growler 5 Knobs 5 strings or a Cort Elrick NJS 5 strings?

I know they are very different basses, but what is the best for any gigs?

And what is the best to sell in the future?

Thank you

I have a soft spot for the 4-string version of both of these instruments. Both come with wider, somewhat chunky necks that are a better fit for me. I'll add that although I'm not so big on the fundamental sound of a big MM-style pickup, I've always been impressed with the 2-preamp layout of the original Quad Coil pickup that Bartolini made for that 4-string Growler. It seems to be rather good for controlling the glassy ultra high MM freq's that I don't much care for without completely muffling the tone.

I know that the 5-knob is a somewhat different animal, but I just sat with an original 2-preamp Growler last week and it was a LOT of fun. Also well under my current ceiling of 9.0 lbs. Is it on my "maybe list"? Yep.

In other news, I'm rather big on basses that are a bit flexible in terms of sounds that they'll do, so I like having two pickups. I think that many P-basses sound really great, but if I get one for myself soon, it might be either a P/J or even a P/MM layout. This makes it easy for me to prefer the Cort NJS over the Tobias to get several useful sounds; solo the neck pickup, blend to both 50/50, or blend either slightly toward either the neck or the bridge from the center detent. Your preferences may be different.

If I needed one bass for gigging, I'd start with the Cort. If I added a second bass, I'd want something different from the NJS - perhaps a Growler. If you had to sell either one down the road, I'm sure you'd get a healthy chunk of your investment back.