| Reviewer | Bladerunner |
| Experience | 10 |
| jlpicard01@yahoo.com | |
| Review date | February 17 2002 |
| Manufacturer | Tobias |
| Model | Toby Pro-6 |
| Price | US$750 |
| Item owned for | 1-6 months |
| Bass type | 6 string fretted |
| Neck join | Neck Through |
| Neck construction | 5-piece, maple/wenge laminate |
| Fingerboard | Rosewood, 24-frets, 34-inch |
| Body | maple (quilted look) |
| Finish | natural |
| Pickups | 2 Tobias humbuckers |
| Hardware | Black |
| Electronics | passive, vol, pan, bass, treble |
I got this as a trade - I had a Yamaha RBX6JM six-string which I'd been sporadically using over a year, I bought it because I could get my fingers around the narrower neck, unlike full-sized 6-stringers. I found the sound of the Yamaha a bit too "bitey" for my tastes, plus, the otherwise gorgeous infinity logo on the fretboard was distracting me when I played. But it was the only viable choice in the part of the world where I live - the TRB6 being too broad and more expensive - and I wanted a six-stringer, so I bought it.
Anyway, this friend offers to trade this for the Tobias (he's a hard rocker), I agreed and I've never been happier acquiring a new bass. The Pro-6 is Korean made, and typically, finished to near-perfection, the fretboard and neck are extremely comfortable and the sounds are versatile. The site specifies only sunburst and flame-maple finishes, but mine had a rare quilted finish, don't know how that came about!
I typically use the bridge p/u, bass all the way up, treble backed off a bit from the midway indent ... and this is exactly the sort of throaty, growly sound I ask of my basses. Although primarily a four-string player, the Tobias has inspired me to use it as my lead axe since acquiring it. Simple love it! And wouldn't trade it for anything ... right now!
| Construction | 98% |
|
| (As good as any of the American basses I have, but I need to work on the neck | ||
| a wee bit.) | ||
| Appearance | 100% |
|
| (Neat ... looks very high-end) | ||
| Playability | 100% |
|
| (Fast neck, great for smaller fingers) | ||
| Sound | 100% |
|
| (My reference now.) | ||
| Value | 100% |
|
| (No complains, since I traded it.) | ||
| Overall | 98% |
|
| (I think this is the best-value six-string bass on the market now.) | ||