Tobias is one of the most respected names in the bass building world, having introduced a number of innovations and features in his handmade instruments for years. In 1990 Michael Tobias sold his company to Gibson USA, but continued working for them for several years until he started his new company MTD guitars.
This is a Killer B model, one of the most popular Tobias ever, and has some special features such as:
- 2 piece selected swamp ash body
- 5 piece maple/purpleheart laminated neck with pau ferro fingerboard
- Asymmetrical neck and dual action truss rod
- Bartolini pickups and electronics.
From the very beginning, Tobias made sure that wood combination would dictate the sound and feel of an instrument, electronics being the latest touch to simple reproduce what the bass was doing "acoustically". Do you want a bright bass? go for ash and maple. Want a mellow bass: choose mahogany and wenge, etc.
In this case, playing the bass unplugged shows excellent sustain, with a clear attack and amazing definition regardless of the area of the fingerboard you are using. Even low pitched chords are clear and can be easily identified. Plugged in, the two Bartolini USA radioused pickups faithfully reproduce those characteristics. The 3 band preamp adds flexibility, as does the 3 way miniswitch that lets you select from 3 different mid frequencies.
Pulling the Volume pot gives you a second sound (Slap Contour). You can adjust the amount of mid cut with an internal pot.
The asymmetrical neck has the advantage of being comfortable no matter where you play. The neck is contoured for a bass player's hand to increase playability and reduce hand fatigue.
