I bought this exact bass (headstock is natural, not black) in 1995. It's the only bass I've needed for the last 30 years. Gets me through everything from Sade to Level 42, Spyrogyra to Kpop. It covers everything from warm jazz to bright funk. I have a Stingray 4 string, a Stingray 5 string, and an NS Wav 4 string upright (because my friends teased me about not having enough basses). Both of the Stingrays are great, but I find myself reaching for the Tobias 87% of the time. The upright is its own thing, but with the upright and the Tobias, I can play anything from the last 100 years of music without compromise. And it makes playing 'Rio' by Duran Duran a dream.
I’ve known someone who had a Tobias Killer B and he loved it. I don’t recall ever hearing it or seeing it. I remember seeing Tobias basses in some 1990s music videos, so I probably have heard one, but honestly there’s not one single song I can associate with the instrument and it’s recorded tone, although if I dug around the Internet I could find some songs we all know that was recorded with one. I suspect that’s true for a lot of us who played bass in the 1990s and a lot of us since then too. I started with Fender Fretless Jazz Bass and added an Ibanez fretted six-string. There was largely no functional reason to think of a Killer B or any other 5-string bass. I’d love to spend some time with one, in the way you have, but I’m a gigging 5-string EBMM and Sterling Ray 35 person now, and my 5-string needs are well-met by those.
I had a 5 string Renegade and it got stolen, I sure wish I had it back! I now have two Laklands and a Tobias Basic 5 string with Zebra-wood. The Renegade was so lightweight!!
Good sounding bass! I'll keep my M5 though...purchased 2/2 your glowing review.....Thanks! Your channel is a great "buyer's guide". Your consistent review technique and ever expanding library make for a wonderful resource!
I have yet to try a Gibson era Toby, but, I did get to play a late 80s classic 4 back around 2003. Loved the sound, but as it is with basses at a guitar shop, the setup was horrible and I did not enjoy playing it. I play an MTD Kingston AG6 now, and the sound is incredible, and its a joy to play! Michael Tobias knows his s#it!
Very cool bass!! I remember these from the 90s but wasn’t exactly a bass geek like I am nowadays so I didn’t pay much attention to them, hopefully the new owner can get the neck taken care of
Always liked these, the decimation of Tobias that Gibson conducted a few years' ago really was sad. Its hard to justify the price these are starting to reach on the used market, so I went with a Sandberg bass. It's really similar in design and tone and is a German-made instrument.
I actually love the tone and versatility! I'd totally go for it for $ 500 in the current condition - I have a luthier friend who could replace the truss rod for me for a fair price (I don't know if it wouldn't require a new fingerboard but still, I know the price would be fair for both of us). Shame I can't access your Reverb from where I am (Poland) - the link takes me straight to the main page :-(
Always wanted a Toby back in the day. The definitely had the look. Having never seen, touched or played one, I never knew how the electronics worked in any of them much less them made by Gobias.
Very cool pickup and preamp combination. Makes you wonder why no other companies have tried it. So many tonal opportunities from one pickup. Lobster, was wondering if you played a Dean Edge 3 before? Picked it up for a mod platform and was totally surprised at the quality and tone options stock. Don’t think you have reviewed many Dean basses, might be worth a try?
You have a way of gravitating to all my favorite bases - Tobias (Gibson) growler, MTD American, peavy Cirrus, Sire V7( V10 in my case). Surprised you haven’t pulled out a pedulla - Next?
It reminds some Schack models from Germany during the 90s. They were particularly light and sounded powerful considering their passive circuit. Gibson is now coming back to these with the Kramer D-1 (with EMG or SD pickups). I’m surprised you didn’t test any of those ;-)
This is the bass I have owned for over 25 years now. I’ve always loved the huge tonal capabilities it has and the beautiful action and playability of it. It was my one and done bass for a long period of time but I’m ready to step up to an MTD bass for sure. Can you review the more affordable Kingston Z4. I’m curious how that bass compares to the Tobias Growler you just reviewed here. Thanks
I played one of these in a store near me, thought it felt great and I was impressed by the electronics (which I thought was going to be gimmicky). Wish I could've picked it up but it sold a few days ago
The only Gibson/Tobias worth owning. Had a fretless 5 string years ago and wish I never sold it. Very versatile bass. Barely see them on the used market.
The Killer B was a really good bass as well--a wanted one back in the day, but could never got one and now they are pretty rare. I did have both a 4 and 5 string Growler. Both great basses.
Ah, yes, Growler. Being a proud owner of one myself I can say that it is one of my favorite basses. Too bad to hear yours (or whoever else now) have neck issues. Because I find its neck profile very comfortable, very easy, it is like it helps me play. Interesting to notice that mine have two truss rods. Also mine is not really light, despite the small body, but that makes it perfectly balanced. In terms of sound bass stands for its name, it has very nice mid-rangy tone. I like this bass preamp, although I personally find mid cut a bit useless for me, I like mid boost and I find frequency range on control knobs useful. But the biggest question - why? Gibson had everything to make great basses - great name, great design - WTF happened?
I bought one of these new in 1997 for $1k. I could never get the neck where I wanted it and it had a few dead spots. 20 years later I replaced it with Yamaha TRBX604 which was superior for way less money. That Growler was super cool otherwise.
I have a 96/97 growler and I actually ripped the electronics out and made it passive (wild I know). I actually think the pickup and wood sound amazing all by themselves - much more resonant now but obviously I lost all the tonal variance. Mine has a similar neck/action issue. But not bad for a ≈$900 bass from nearly 30 years ago.
I own an Epiphone Toby 4 bass. They sound decent. The only draw back is that the stock pickups are the exact same dimensions to each other. The bridge pickup is exactly the same size as the neck pickup. The electronics are quite unique as they have PASSIVE bass and treble boost/cut controls. I've never seen that before on a bass. I wanted to swap the electronics into a jazz bass project. However, I don't believe that aftermarket pickups will work with the Toby's controls.
I had 4string as this (96), now I have 5-string in sunburst from 97. The Growler is very underrated and inspires me a lot more than Tobias Classic. The second thing is that the 4 string feels better - I prefer 19mm on the bridge, while 5string has 18mm. It does the difference. The 5string version sounds a bit different then 4string - I can't describe it well but maybe is a matter of finish: I had 2 4-string with a wenge and pauFerro board. The wenge sounds better. My 5string version is a gloss-finished so It may be different in this way too.
I bought a used one in 2001 from Bass NW. It ended up being the worst bass I've ever had. The neck was twisted, dead and high frets. It was unplayable, which was a shame because it did sound great and was comfortable. Bass NW wouldn't take it back but somehow my local shop bought it for what I paid for it. So from that experience I recoil any time I see one.
I massively dislike Stingrays. But this Toby blows them away! I think it sounds tremendous! Too bad about the truss rod. I hope the new owner finds a solution.
I bought the Spector he mentioned in the beginning of this video. It is an absolute beast. My friends I jam with call it dispectacon. Lol😂. This growler is pretty cool. I think a budget version is what they have Kramer make. D-1 or something. It’s not as cool but I would like to see a video of it one day on here.
@@LowEndLobster The shape is familiar, reminds me of the eb-17 gibson was making a few years ago, but that had 2 passive pickups, a set neck, and 4 inline headstock
Heatpress the neck, up to four times. Maybe takes care of the bow and it becomes a valued player instead of a, mostly, wall hanger. Best of luck to the new owner.
Never heard a growler before. I've seen them around but I guess I was turned off by the management of the brand from gibson and that for some reason had me over look them for a decade plus but damn I should have looked before. What a great sounding bass. In the Stingray zone but slightly different. It would cover for a stingray but also provide its own uniqueness.
This was the first high end bass I ever played at a local music store and I still want one after 20 years.
i think it gives the Alembic a run for its money, over $10,000 for a new Alembic, and this sounds just as good
My Warwick $$ has a kind of similar vibe, the wenge board, maple neck and ash body combo with mm pickups definitely has a unique sound to it
@@julianthesmooshyhusky8976 I agree, I used to have one also and especially with the pup switches it definitely get this vibe
The pheasant cat is too cute
The 'it wasn't me' drop was perfect. Had to back that up a few times. Haha
Nice, I love that "shiny brightness" about its tone! Plus, both the bass and THE CAT have a satin finish! 😍
At one point in my life I had a Tobias Killer B 5 string and it was the best bass I'd ever owned. I wish I could get it back
Does the black headstock make it a gibson era? there alot of these that have a natural color neck like the neck woods. And a different preamp.
There are 'reissues' that had a traditional 3 band preamp and no toggles.
"When the cat bites the claw"😂 Those Bartolini's really sound awesome. Awesome harmonics.
One of the best sounding basses in the world
Still!
I love my Tobias Growler. It’s great for fusion etc. The slim neck is so comfy to play. Mine is a late 90s model in wine red.
I bought this exact bass (headstock is natural, not black) in 1995. It's the only bass I've needed for the last 30 years. Gets me through everything from Sade to Level 42, Spyrogyra to Kpop. It covers everything from warm jazz to bright funk. I have a Stingray 4 string, a Stingray 5 string, and an NS Wav 4 string upright (because my friends teased me about not having enough basses). Both of the Stingrays are great, but I find myself reaching for the Tobias 87% of the time. The upright is its own thing, but with the upright and the Tobias, I can play anything from the last 100 years of music without compromise. And it makes playing 'Rio' by Duran Duran a dream.
The bartolini mm pickup always sound so good to me! It suck that it got neck issue because i love the look and sound!
I still love this body shape better than the current MTD basses. This was the first bass to introduce me to boutique basses. Such a beautiful bass.
I’ve known someone who had a Tobias Killer B and he loved it. I don’t recall ever hearing it or seeing it. I remember seeing Tobias basses in some 1990s music videos, so I probably have heard one, but honestly there’s not one single song I can associate with the instrument and it’s recorded tone, although if I dug around the Internet I could find some songs we all know that was recorded with one. I suspect that’s true for a lot of us who played bass in the 1990s and a lot of us since then too.
I started with Fender Fretless Jazz Bass and added an Ibanez fretted six-string. There was largely no functional reason to think of a Killer B or any other 5-string bass.
I’d love to spend some time with one, in the way you have, but I’m a gigging 5-string EBMM and Sterling Ray 35 person now, and my 5-string needs are well-met by those.
Tobias Growler was the best bass I had ever owned up until that point. Late had a Tobias Killer B. Tobias made great basses!.
Lives up to its name.
I have a conspiracy theory about this bass.
I can really see how this bass influenced the Dingwall design, both in look and in sound
The Tobias looks like an Alembic Rogue
Or a Europa
My First bass was a Tobias 4-string Renegade in Black 🙂
I had a 5 string Renegade and it got stolen, I sure wish I had it back! I now have two Laklands and a Tobias Basic 5 string with Zebra-wood. The Renegade was so lightweight!!
Good sounding bass! I'll keep my M5 though...purchased 2/2 your glowing review.....Thanks! Your channel is a great "buyer's guide". Your consistent review technique and ever expanding library make for a wonderful resource!
I was ready for more much more growl lol ? This ? Clean sound a little bit 2 teen thats all lobster keep on doing good stuff
I had of the cheap toby bases and I've always loved the look of that head stock and body
I have yet to try a Gibson era Toby, but, I did get to play a late 80s classic 4 back around 2003. Loved the sound, but as it is with basses at a guitar shop, the setup was horrible and I did not enjoy playing it. I play an MTD Kingston AG6 now, and the sound is incredible, and its a joy to play! Michael Tobias knows his s#it!
The back of that neck is beautiful. And YOUR CAT IS AWESOME!!! :D
Very cool bass!! I remember these from the 90s but wasn’t exactly a bass geek like I am nowadays so I didn’t pay much attention to them, hopefully the new owner can get the neck taken care of
Always liked these, the decimation of Tobias that Gibson conducted a few years' ago really was sad. Its hard to justify the price these are starting to reach on the used market, so I went with a Sandberg bass. It's really similar in design and tone and is a German-made instrument.
Long time, no see with the cat. Gosh, what a beautiful and lovely Animal! 😊
Wow! What a particular bass. I prefer the tones with the mids present, and some highs cut. A clean, precise tone, very suited to prog metal or rock.
I actually love the tone and versatility! I'd totally go for it for $ 500 in the current condition - I have a luthier friend who could replace the truss rod for me for a fair price (I don't know if it wouldn't require a new fingerboard but still, I know the price would be fair for both of us). Shame I can't access your Reverb from where I am (Poland) - the link takes me straight to the main page :-(
Always wanted a Toby back in the day. The definitely had the look. Having never seen, touched or played one, I never knew how the electronics worked in any of them much less them made by Gobias.
Very cool pickup and preamp combination. Makes you wonder why no other companies have tried it. So many tonal opportunities from one pickup. Lobster, was wondering if you played a Dean Edge 3 before? Picked it up for a mod platform and was totally surprised at the quality and tone options stock. Don’t think you have reviewed many Dean basses, might be worth a try?
You have a way of gravitating to all my favorite bases - Tobias (Gibson) growler, MTD American, peavy Cirrus, Sire V7( V10 in my case). Surprised you haven’t pulled out a pedulla - Next?
It reminds some Schack models from Germany during the 90s.
They were particularly light and sounded powerful considering their passive circuit.
Gibson is now coming back to these with the Kramer D-1 (with EMG or SD pickups).
I’m surprised you didn’t test any of those ;-)
direct bass or via amp?
Nice video, nice bass!
This is the bass I have owned for over 25 years now. I’ve always loved the huge tonal capabilities it has and the beautiful action and playability of it. It was my one and done bass for a long period of time but I’m ready to step up to an MTD bass for sure. Can you review the more affordable Kingston Z4. I’m curious how that bass compares to the Tobias Growler you just reviewed here. Thanks
I played one of these in a store near me, thought it felt great and I was impressed by the electronics (which I thought was going to be gimmicky). Wish I could've picked it up but it sold a few days ago
I almost bought this bass from your Reverb shop. Had it saved in my watchlist and the day I went to buy it was gone.
The only Gibson/Tobias worth owning. Had a fretless 5 string years ago and wish I never sold it. Very versatile bass. Barely see them on the used market.
The Killer B was a really good bass as well--a wanted one back in the day, but could never got one and now they are pretty rare. I did have both a 4 and 5 string Growler. Both great basses.
@@christocr I liked the Killer B, but couldn’t get one fretless. I’m just saying for me, that was the only one for me.
Hey, nice video. I've bought one these days. Does it come with a stereo output jack?
This one didn't but there were a few configs
Ah, yes, Growler. Being a proud owner of one myself I can say that it is one of my favorite basses. Too bad to hear yours (or whoever else now) have neck issues. Because I find its neck profile very comfortable, very easy, it is like it helps me play. Interesting to notice that mine have two truss rods. Also mine is not really light, despite the small body, but that makes it perfectly balanced. In terms of sound bass stands for its name, it has very nice mid-rangy tone. I like this bass preamp, although I personally find mid cut a bit useless for me, I like mid boost and I find frequency range on control knobs useful.
But the biggest question - why? Gibson had everything to make great basses - great name, great design - WTF happened?
I bought one of these new in 1997 for $1k. I could never get the neck where I wanted it and it had a few dead spots. 20 years later I replaced it with Yamaha TRBX604 which was superior for way less money. That Growler was super cool otherwise.
Still play my growler more than my kubikis. There is an adjustment pot behind the back cover for the mid scoop switch intensity.
Behind this 😺 Cat
😮😊😅😂
I have a 96/97 growler and I actually ripped the electronics out and made it passive (wild I know). I actually think the pickup and wood sound amazing all by themselves - much more resonant now but obviously I lost all the tonal variance.
Mine has a similar neck/action issue. But not bad for a ≈$900 bass from nearly 30 years ago.
I own an Epiphone Toby 4 bass. They sound decent. The only draw back is that the stock pickups are the exact same dimensions to each other. The bridge pickup is exactly the same size as the neck pickup. The electronics are quite unique as they have PASSIVE bass and treble boost/cut controls. I've never seen that before on a bass. I wanted to swap the electronics into a jazz bass project. However, I don't believe that aftermarket pickups will work with the Toby's controls.
If I'm not mistaken, some G&L's have a passive 2 band tone circuit
Are you going to Review any more MTD Kingston products?
Yes
@LowEndLobster are you planning to review the new Tobias basses in the process of being released soon?
Reality a deram for me ,love Thais bases .congrat lobster my distant friend peace and sucess
awesome bass ,I wanna buy Tobias growler 4 string, where I can find it
I had that bass. It went right back after a week. The credit was used for a Ric 4003.
I had 4string as this (96), now I have 5-string in sunburst from 97.
The Growler is very underrated and inspires me a lot more than Tobias Classic. The second thing is that the 4 string feels better - I prefer 19mm on the bridge, while 5string has 18mm. It does the difference.
The 5string version sounds a bit different then 4string - I can't describe it well but maybe is a matter of finish: I had 2 4-string with a wenge and pauFerro board. The wenge sounds better. My 5string version is a gloss-finished so It may be different in this way too.
Man it does Growl. Great sounding bass. :: GAS intensifies...::
I remember this bass on Reverb
On the fence
The one that got away
Same here I was going to buy it but was on the fence... I end up getting another from ebay with an extra pick up
I’m currently fighting not to buy a 5 string one of these for sale near me. I really don’t need one but they’re super cool.
Kitty!
I bought a used one in 2001 from Bass NW. It ended up being the worst bass I've ever had. The neck was twisted, dead and high frets. It was unplayable, which was a shame because it did sound great and was comfortable. Bass NW wouldn't take it back but somehow my local shop bought it for what I paid for it. So from that experience I recoil any time I see one.
I had a killer B 4. It had unnecessary double truss rods which were also a tremendous pain to adjust.
wow sounds as nice and versitile as a $10,000 Alembic very very nice
I massively dislike Stingrays. But this Toby blows them away! I think it sounds tremendous! Too bad about the truss rod. I hope the new owner finds a solution.
Is it only me or does it sound a tiny bit like the "music man" mode of the stock Dingwall NG3?
It sounds good and I'm not even a stingray guy.
i think i like bass
Can't believe Gibson is just sitting on this brand and doing nothing with it they could make a decent bit of cash reissuing these most likely.
its called buying up the competition and letting it go no where because thats just was bigger corporations do...
Apparently (according to Wikipedia) they passed the brand off for Epiphone to run, but they just sell their own basses these days.
@@joermnyc wow very sad outcome if you ask me
Gibson just doesn’t know what they’re doing with basses. They could be making good money if they or Epiphone put out Grabbers or Rippers again.
@@TFEnright5 watch, they will do it with Gene Simmons, but charge like $5k for it.
I bought the Spector he mentioned in the beginning of this video. It is an absolute beast. My friends I jam with call it dispectacon. Lol😂.
This growler is pretty cool. I think a budget version is what they have Kramer make. D-1 or something. It’s not as cool but I would like to see a video of it one day on here.
The only one that Gibson got right
But it is designed by Mike Tobias, the one who currently runs MTD.
Mike said he had nothing to do with the Growler
@@LowEndLobsterToday I learned. Thanks!
@@LowEndLobster The shape is familiar, reminds me of the eb-17 gibson was making a few years ago, but that had 2 passive pickups, a set neck, and 4 inline headstock
Heatpress the neck, up to four times. Maybe takes care of the bow and it becomes a valued player instead of a, mostly, wall hanger. Best of luck to the new owner.
I had one and sold it for 500 bucks
Wish I kept it
Having all those beautiful StingRays, this bass is redundant 😆😁😄
I hope that cat came standard with the bass
I had one of the early models I sold to a buddy
Most hated of all Tobias'
Sweet- it's as if an Aria SB-1000 went on a crash diet!
See guys? Gibson can do it if they try it (or if they let people who actually understand bass like Michael design it).
That bass needs flats.
Growler means a hairy vagina in English slang. I think the bass sounds accurate to the name in the best way possible.
Hmm would never buy. A nice home player though
beautiful bass, but the headstock is just hideous
It's 2in1 - headstock and bottle opener
Growler lol!
Never heard a growler before. I've seen them around but I guess I was turned off by the management of the brand from gibson and that for some reason had me over look them for a decade plus but damn I should have looked before. What a great sounding bass. In the Stingray zone but slightly different. It would cover for a stingray but also provide its own uniqueness.