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Author Topic: Tobias vs. Tobias  (Read 10888 times)

Offline BigFoot_BigThumb

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Re: Tobias vs. Tobias
« Reply #20 on: February 24, 2007, 12:42:56 AM »
Agreed, I was going to say the same thing........For thoes with no money and want an awesome bass MTD has a new line out made over seas and its da bomb! Awesome woods and wood covered pick ups...You would never know its under 1400. I was hanging with Mike T. when he was here in Canada and he said he wont buy back the Tobias name and will just stick with MTD basses.

I've also spoken with Mike Tobias about the Gibson version of his bass.  He was livid at how the quality was compromised for the sake of numbers.  He referred to them as hideous.  When you take something that is handmade and make it a production model, you're gonna lose that quality that was once there.  My best friend used to work for Gibson when they aquired Tobias.  Somewhere in that deal, basically Mike lost any kind of creative control and he got taken. 

At Gibson, it's all about numbers.  I have several friends that work for Gibson, and we were at a music store once and one of them was showing me guitarsand basses that should have never gotten out of the plant.  The average eye wouldn't have spotted the things that he showed me, but it made me pay more attention when shopping for a bass.  When I met Mike Tobias, he showed me two of his MTD basses that he had just finished himself, one was spalted maple, and the other one was a burl buckeye joint.  That man is serious about his craft.  You get what you pay for. 

MTD's are just the new version of the classic Tobias craftmanship.  I'm considering one of those new Z5's myself.  The Tobias custom models are sold in one of the Gibson custom shops here in Nashville at a local mall.  They had one bass that was comprised of many different woods in the body that made up a flame-like effect.  They wanted over 7K for that bass.  I don't think so.  It sounded like plastic to me.  I can get a custom Conklin bass with more features and woodwork and have some money left.  As for the pre-Gibson Tobias basses, I have 3 friends that each have one.  They will not let them go for anything.  As for the Gibson Toby's, they jack up the price on everything they sell.  I mean Gibson has guitars that they want 7k-8k for.  They want all of that for the paint job.     

If you have a pre-Gibson Toby, hold on to it.  If you can get ahold to one, make sure it's the real deal.   
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Offline malthumb

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Re: Tobias vs. Tobias
« Reply #21 on: February 24, 2007, 07:59:38 AM »
...... The Tobias custom models are sold in one of the Gibson custom shops here in Nashville at a local mall.  They had one bass that was comprised of many different woods in the body that made up a flame-like effect.  They wanted over 7K for that bass.  I don't think so.  It sounded like plastic to me.  .....   

This sounds exactly like the bass I refer to in reply#15.  Guitar Center wanted $5,995 for that one.  I thought it sounded great, but I also thought the flame work was cheesy and took away from the overall appearance and coolness of the Tobias.  First of all, who wants flames on a bass?  There are a few people but not very many.  Now, how much are those few willing to pay for the "privilege" of having those flames made from the wood, as opposed to a pastic decal?  Again, even fewer.  I have seen some Conklin melt tops that I thought were cool, and maybe that's what Gibson was going after, but those were special ordered by somebody who was already willing to pay the price to get it.

Peace,

James
FAITH unites people
RELIGION divides FAITH
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