An excellent example here and possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.Ĭomes with original hardshell case that has some scuffs. An amazing work of art by master luthier Michael Tobias. It is a used bass and 26 years old though so expect some wear. There is some surface swirling and some of the varnish is cloudy like is so common with these early pre-Gibs (see pics where I've circled some examples). It is not perfect but really quite clean. This is a masterpiece in excellent condition for its age.
PRE GIBSON TOBIAS BASS SERIAL NUMBER
Aside from the 1094/2044 serial number confusion, referring to a bass as a 'pre or post-Gibson Tobias' is much less ambiguous, IMO. Serial number in the 1000's hand built in 1989īartolini TCT preamp and Bartolini drop shoulder pickups Volume, pickup pan, treble, mid, bass That's a good point, but it doesn't help to clarify the issue to the majority who aren't aware of the geographic particulars. If you are looking at this ad, no doubt you know what you are looking at. These are very hard to find and this one is an excellent specimen. Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required.Here is a beautiful pre-Gibson Tobias Classic 5 string bass guitar. It was a bass guitar variant of the Gibson Victory. Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand. The Gibson Victory Bass was an electric bass guitar produced by Gibson Guitars from 1981 until 1986. These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there.
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The back page of this catalog, shows the same image as the other catalogu in this series: a guitar player with a Les Paul Deluxe guitarīy the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price).
PRE GIBSON TOBIAS BASS FULL SIZE
Click on the images for full size versions, or click on the model names below to go directly to that page Basses: Gibson EB1 The 1970 Gibson bass guitar catalog featured the following guitars. One other bass appears in this series, although it is in the 1970 Les Paul brochure, rather than the Bass brochure - the Gibson Les Paul bass This is also the last US catalog appearance of the EB2 bass. This could perhaps be considered as a precursor to the Gibson SB bass range. I think its a full import(US made) as Ive never seen one during my travels in South Africa before.Played it a couple of hours last night and really like the feel, build quality and wide range of possible tonal variations. This model was never manufactured in large numbers, and was more likely included to gauge public opinion to a cheap non-mahogany bass. Tobias Growler 5-string - posted in Bass Guitar Q & A: Guitarist I jam with occassionally is selling a Tobias 5-string bass. One interesting bass shown here is the Gibson EB.
PRE GIBSON TOBIAS BASS SERIES
The slotted headstock EB series now included long scale versions, which proved popular, despite never outselling the shortscales. Gibson offered several new bass models and sales were pretty good.
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![pre gibson tobias bass pre gibson tobias bass](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1304/0581/products/IMG_7095_faabcf22-b1ee-4a41-b878-9ac12a24b44f.jpg)
America was in recession, and guitar sales were continually dropping from their peak just five years earlier. At that time Tobias had already been acquired by Gibson (on ) but basses were still made by Mike Tobias and original team at the Burbank Calif. Is the previous owner out there The serial number shows that this bass was completed on the 13th of May 1992. I bought it in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2003. Parent company CMI had been bought out, and was now run by Norlin. I have owned this bass for about nine years now. The precise date is not listed, but somewhere between the printing of the two Gibson price lists of that year March and September.ġ970 was a key year for Gibson. Most people think of the basses post 2044, that were built in Gibson shops by Gibson employees, as 'Gibson Tobias'. The 1970 mini-catalogues were printed in early-mid 1970. While semantically these are not 'pre-Gibson', they are still thought of as 'pre-Gibson' though more technically perhaps they should be called MBM ('Made By Mike'). Dimensions: 9" x 4" - 8 full colour pages.