Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	Larry Neal Jenkins
Experience	30
Email	larrynj@earthlink.net
Review date	December 19 2002
Manufacturer	Tobias
Model	Renegade
Price	about $1100
Item owned for	Less than 1 month

Bass type	4 string fretted
Neck join	Bolt-On
Neck construction	3-piece quarter-sawn maple
Fingerboard	Maple 24 frets, 34" scale
Body	Alder
Finish	Polyurethane, Amber
Pickups	Bartolini J-type & Humbucker
Hardware	Black; gotoh tuners, Tobias bridge
Electronics	Bartolin TC-7 preamp

I NEVER thought that I would give up my MM Sterling-and someday will get another-it is a GREAT instrument- But on a whim, I traded it and some cash for this wonderful instrument. The TOBIAS RENEGADE was one of the made in Nashville Tobias basses after the "name" was accquired by Gibson. I picked up this axe and had to have it before I could afford it, so I did a trade- Change is Good! Had my MM for about 3 years so- The RENEGADE is an amazing instrument- First off, the compact body is fantastic- It weighs about 7 lbs and is a joy to hold- comfortable, light, no neck-dive, and fits right! The neck is assymetrical tapering from the nut to the 12th fret-very fast very tright feel. Thbe sound- I had my Sterling dialed in- I knew how to make it sound- The Bartolini circuit was new- and I'm just getting to know and really dig it- Panning between the J-type neck and the Humbucking bridge is one tone- Then there is standard tone to roll off treble- Then you pull up the tone control and the mids are contoured allowing a new range- Finally there is a mini-toggle that lets you switch coilks on the bridge humbucker for even more tones- There is a trim pot inside the cavity that can be adjusted, I haven't tried that yet-should be interesting. All this tone is powered by the Bartolini 9-volt pre. Needless to say, using eq on my amp and pedals, there is a LOT of territory to explore. I never had an axe with Bartolini's-Now I know why they are considereed to be among the best. The bass has a vintage and modern vibe sound-wise. The mini Gotoh tuners stay tight, there is a carved volute at the beautiful headstock, the bridge is compact and gets great string height and tension-Over all the axe has a no-nonsense real "put together" feel- hard to describe- but it holds tone and gets a great growl-Good Wood here. I love this bass- I still want to take it for a pro set-up and have the dual truss rod neck dialed right in. But I am getting the feel of playing this axe as related to attack, slapping, palm placement etc. It is different from my P-Bass and my Sterling, but I'm getting it and I like the feel ALOT! Well, they don't make these basses anymore-I'm glad I got mine- I think it is a real classic-definetly a keeper. Although this was one of the lowest-priced Tobias basses made by Gibson it is as high-end in sound, playability, and construction as you can get. I love it. Thanks for listening!!

Construction	98%
(Tight & right, hand-built feel)
Appearance	100%
(To me , absolutely gorgeous)
Playability	100%
(Wow-This bass rips! The neck is slim, fast, and the axe has ring!)
Sound	98%
(From thick rich sound to slap atttack- doesn't have the "pierce" of the Sterl
ing, but few basses do No slouch!)
Customer Service	50%
(Asked for a manual from Gibson, haven't got it yet-There is no more Tobias pe
r se, but I don't foresee a problem.)
Value	75%
(I may have paid too much with my Sterling in trade, but I WANTED this instrum
ent!)
Overall	100%
(What can I say-I love to play this instrument.)