Epiphone/Tobias Toby Deluxe IV (Blindfolded Bass Review)
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
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This bass bears the mighty Michael Tobias name - but is it really legit?
Did this bass live up to the Michael Tobias name? In our opinion, not so much. The only sounds that really impressed us from this bass were the aggressive rock sounds. For anything else, keep looking.
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#epiphone #tobydeluxeIV #beginnerbassreview
it's a budget beginner bass though. i feel like you're rating it as if it's supposed to compare to a premium priced instrument. to me what i get from this bass is they were attempting to make it as versatile as possible and affordable. a jack of all trades master of none sort of thing. i think it's a very good choice for a beginner, probably one of the better choices really. my only gripe with the instrument is there's no inlays. i prefer to have some inlays.
Well, we compared it to 6 other basses in the same price range, not to anything outlandishly more expensive. It's certainly not the worst bass in the world, it works and played fine out of the box, we just all thought there were better options at the same price point.
What are inlays?
@@theomc1488 the inlays are the dots on the fret board, 3 5 7 9 12 and so on. Which is something I was going to comment on about this bass. As a beginner level instrument, inlays are essential. The no inlay look is clean indeed, but it can make new players (and maybe even seasoned players who are just used to looking at the neck while they play) have a harder time maneuvering around the fretboard. Obviously not an issue for these dudes being that they're playing blindfolded and all lol.
@@KyddBurton little bit late but this bass has inlays on the top side of the fretboard, you cant see them from the front, only from above
@@OllieWales I learnt bass on this bass guitar and I never even thought about inlays missing from fretboard. I believe learning without inlays on the top made me more comfortable playing without looking. While I imagine if I had inlays on the top when learning I woulda just been staring at that when I was playing and wouldn't have been comfortable without looking for a while.
i just bought a used toby and have become obsessed with it, very good beginner bass for someone who's never touched one in my life
I've had Toby Deluxe for a bit more than two years now. My only suggestion is that you never consider turning down the active bass boost, and setup your amp accordingly..It worked a lot better for me, and I found the bass to be a whole lot more versatile. I play on a fender rumble 100 combo amp. Without the bass boost maxed, it is not even worth considering to buy it, the tone is literally cheap, sounds like plastic to me. However, it does sound a whooole lot better when you keep the active bass boost maxed out all the time.
Yeah that makes sense Pera, I thought the same thing.
Budget? Yes
Can i afford it? Nope
Cyd Jarabelo feel u
but what if you DO play just rock/metal?
It will probably work, you can still change the pickups
Toast machine! Haven't thought of them in years. I gotta go listen to it now
Yes! Gio was my idol when I started playing bass as a teenager.
Dude, physical comfort IS the most important rating! If you cannot play your bass because of back problems, how are you gonna get better?
I first loved mine, but the active electronics were incredibly noisy so I had to remove them. Then output was too low so I had to replace the pickups. It's okay now.
so what pickups are you using now?
I've tried these basses and they play very nice. Not as nice as my MTD Kingston Z4 but for the money it's a great bass. If you have a bad back or shoulder this is a great option as it's very comfortable. This isn't a Ferrari it's more of a Hyundai.
I have the 5 string version . I don’t know what was up with that one , but mine rocks . It’s never let me down live . I use it through my hartke lh500, and it sounds great
Maybe we got a bad unit! You never know with Quality Control on these cheaper instruments.
I send my signal through a Quilter Bass Block 800 and into two twin 10" w/single horn cabs and it gets everyone's attention REAL fast LOL!
Due to what I suspect to be electronics problems, (I bought it used) I bypassed the active components with a few wires and removed the battery and the tone is much less "aggressive" than it used to be. Just wanted to put that idea out there in case anybody already has one and wanted to change the tone a bit.
Nice!
Did you change the pickups as well? im planning to change it with Duncan Seymour
@@kimerikbelleza Nah. I didn't change the pickups but you def could.
i own one and i can say the feel is amazing however the tone is meh
i think changing the pickups and electronics would make this much much better
Yeah the neck felt great, too bad they blew it on the electronics.
@@BassBuzz would putting some Jazz Bass Hot Stacks make it sound a bit better most likely? Does anything else need tweaking?
I’d love some recommendations for pickups, i like mine and wouldn’t mind modding it up
L- Wook EMGX TW pickups are an amazing upgrade
Who else watched this review after buying this bass? Feels sad... but after a year with it I really enjoy playing it. Think my second bass will be a stingray or the winning J bass from this series.
Why are you sad about it?
@@vanyakapetanovic4018 just a bit of buyers remorse when you’re told your pick may not be the best. But after all I enjoyed it and found it fun to play.
@@l-wook Thank you for the reply. I thought it sounded great. These dudes are snobs and they don't seem like experienced musicians. I mean sound is great, looks great and its 300$ so In was wondering if there is anything to be sad about :) Thank you for confirming that there isn't.
I got one of these in mint condition for £100 today.
Took 5-10 mins to bring the action down to about 4mm at the 24th fret.
I've been playing it acoustically and it plays REALLY nicely.
Going to try it through a Spark 40 later with FX2 Elite.
It'll sound much better with drums behind it.
Well it is only 150 Euros, and Ive owned a lot worse from big name brands that had knives for frets for double that price. I say get one of these and mod it. Good EQ system and better bridge.
Nice serie of reviews, one thing l would suggest though is that l think those reviews would be even more complete if we could here those basses in a band setting, or at least in a mix on a backing track. I think you can really determine if a bass sounds good if it's played in the context in which it's destined to be played and not only played on its own without any other acoustic factor.
Cheers from France !
Bonjour Sébastien! That's a great idea, I will definitely consider that next time we're reviewing gear.
Well I'm thinking if it's a beginner's bass they wouldn't have any of that and it would confuse a beginner
I recently bought a toby bass pack--with the amp and gig bag--i've been impressed with it---I feel like i can play different styles on it....but I'm a guitar player that got stuck with bass....so I wouldn't know much about bass styles anyway....
Have the 5 stg & the 4 str I like 4 string electronics aren't active but sound like active EQ the V str has active electronics & both play great I love the design the pocket for trust rod. I remember seeing those back in the day when they were hot.The Necks are made that way thats a KILLER Neck the bass side is fatter & the high side is thinner & changed up the neck radius from thick to thin w/the bass side big for yer thumb & thin for runs…you need to study that neck.
Wife liked it but chose the Squire Jazz Active V.
Amazing bass and never a bad choice.
The Toby has some good feelings from me though.
Yeah I still have the Squier VM Jazz from our review video kicking around, I really like playing it. Not every Squier I've played is great, but some of them are killer!
@@BassBuzz there are definitely bad Squires. The ones that are being built and deaigned now are as good as some Fender and G&L ive recently played.
Plus I am always looking for a JV P-bass.
Peace.
I love this bass. Had mine since 2013 or 14.
It's really fun (for me) to play. I can get some seriously gnarly sound and attitude out of it. It seems Epi/Toby fixed the elex problems...so I picked up the alpine white model. Very enjoyable instrument, and certainly aimed at the beginner-budget market, but I've been playing for more than 30 years and enjoy the sheet out of it!
The best part about this bass (the Toby 4 STANDARD non-active model) that nobody ever talks about is the passive treble cut/boost and bass cut/boost controls. I have never seen this configuration on any passive jazz bass before. It is a stroke of genius in my opinion. This is literally like having an active jazz preamp that isn't active. I understand that these bass bodies are made out of pine instead of alder or poplar. I can only pressume this to be a cost-cutting measure. I have wanted to take the pickups and wiring out of my Toby bass and tranfer it over to a traditional jazz bass body. However, here's the problem,........both pickups are dimensionally the same, the bridge pickup is not traditionally longer than the neck pickup. I've been searching for any videos where the feat of modifying a regular jazz bass with the Toby 4 electronics and pickups has been accomplished. I don't believe anyone has tried, yet. One down side of this bass, particularly if you are a slapper, is that the neck end at the last fret has sharp corners on the ends that will make slapping uncomfortable......as is you are getting poked with a sharp object. The TOBY 4 DELUXE active model like the one used for this video has a very noisy active circuit, which is why I got rid of mine.
Bartolini makes a Jazz neck pup the same length as their bridge pup - 91JL, I think.
well ,I bought one the Tobias toby deluxe IV ,the fender mustang p,j bass was cool .but this Tobias is for the price the one I love ,it has every thing I could have asked to learn bass ,keeping the fender gotta get some work done on it , the frets suck, the tuner is from hell but asides from that .The Tobias is by far for me the Bass . give it a try .
I will change the pickups to duncan seymour and it sounded great
Great review. I own this bass and I agree about your feeling about sound. I'm really in love regarding color, shape and playability. In your opinion could be possible to mount a couple of pickup in order to get nice vintage and funky sound?
Yeah, different pickups would probably help, but for all the extra time and $$$ you could get a bass that already works and sounds good.
I just bought a toby tobias 5 an hour ago and i can’t put it down lol, its a really good one.
Nice man, enjoy! I bought one probably around 8 months ago and couldnt put it down either lol. Really great tones for metal/rock/punk
I believe that is a basswood body which is why something is missing. Change that to alder or ash and she will become something worth buying. Give it a Fenderish or MTD neck profile and we have a major contender.
This reminds me so much of an aria sb1000, thick neck, 24 frets, humbuckers, body shape and tone. I'm just going to get a black version of this and refit it with gold specs and boom, cliff burton. This is the perfect metal bass in my view.
Why does the little guy always hate the pickups? If it's a beginner bass as long as it's comfortable to play the tone can be changed or a new bass later. Remember what it was like when you picked up your first bass. Love your videos.
I decided to pick up bass one day. Bought this one for $400CAD. Works for me, but the electronics do seem a bit subpar as I can't get a nice sound out of it. It seems to distort my rumble 40 amp.
Best neck I've ever played on including many Fenders, some Ibanez and Schecters. Changing the pickups is a must. I carved it out to go with SD SPB-4 Precision pickups on it and ditched the Jazz style ones alltogether. Amazing bass capable of very very low action. I'm getting a second or even a third one. One 5 string, and another to turn into fretless. I'm done searching for the dream neck. About the weight, I have heavy basses but they have nothing to offer with that feature. Maybe very very slightly more sustain but that's it. If you want piano sustain, attach the head stock to a wall and play it like that. Ha!
Don't listen to brand name fans. This baby does anything you want. Comfort is the most important thing on an instrument, the rest is achievable with different strings and pickups.
Interesting! Yeah I could imagine this bass being solid with different pickups and hardware.
@@BassBuzz It does. Basically, change everything with a screw on it and you get something crazy good. A thumper, a growler, your choice. I get spot on Precision sound with none of the weight. Now I feel handicapped after switching from this to classic Precision or even a Jazz neck. That asymmetric neck shape really works. I know some people are stubborn and believe there must be some exotic wood mixed in somewhere for a bass to sound good but it's all psychology vs. achievable reality to me. :)
I actually checked out both Toast Machine, and The Brothers Comatose...Both great! Toast Machine blows me away!
Right? I was all about Toast Machine in high school, Gio was my bass idol. Cool to get to hang with him now that we're both (relatively) grown-up.
i went to the mall to test a yamaha tbrx174 (not comfortable), a squier affinity (too heavy), and a cort active (uhm?)..
then i found this red toby on the other store and it got my heart.. weight is perfect.. slim neck worked with my small hand.. so i took home my very first bass -- a red toby -- today.. just happy me 🥰
#crunchy
I think a Bartolini Original J @ the neck and a classic MM @ the bridge will solve all the woe and we might want that body made of ash.
Wish this was still for sale. It’s on the used but I would prefer to be able to buy it from a store.
I find this sound not bad, agressive for sure but too brilliant and not enough lows for my taste
I think it plays and sounds well !!Personally i am an ibanez guy but i found this bass very easy to play but 2 things i didnt like was the neck was too thick and the bass itself a little heavier than what i am used too other wise very good quality
please do Spector Legand Classic series
This was my first bass about 2 years ago now, kind of wish I still had it
5:50 he looks like daredevil
Though it may be a bit high in price, could you possibly try out the Chowny Volante
Tip: if you remove the active preamp altogether you'll get a much more traditional tone - it's NOT a subtle difference. The stock pickups are still a bit bland but totally useable.
What was the configuration once you bypassed the pickups. Do you know of a wiring diagram or have any suggestions on how to do this. I’m getting a lot of hiss on my Tobias deluxe iv and seeing this recommendation to bypass the active pre-amp in a lot of places.
Thanks for the review!
I loved my Tobias! I miss it & still wish I had it.
I still regret selling mine. That's why I'm getting another one and keeping it.
Great review, thanks !
You're welcome Eric, thanks for watching.🎸
I just got one for $150 from guitar center I just liked the neck felt like a pbass just gonna use it as a cheap travel bass
What would be an upgrade to a bass like this
i am buying it
Just copped me one!!
I've picked up one really cheap.... so gonna swap out the pickups... possibly switch it to passive only.
Good call.
A very good Review , thanks ! It looks good , the price is Okay and for a start not bad , I should say !
That bass is most definitely 100% Epiphone and has nothing to do with Michael Tobias, other than it still has his name on it. Not really a a fair comparison to the great instruments that he used to and now still builds.
Totally agree Gary, I've played *real* Michael Tobias custom basses and they're incredible instruments.
You guys should review the 5 string deluxe
You sound decent on it. A bit buzzy. I’d put diadarro strings. I’ve been experimenting not sure what you recommend.
Lol I customized 3 of these Tobias and own the T 5. I ruined 1 of them adding grooves all chewed up and the others are ok but I made the grooves too big and off center. I destroyed $1k if those guitars. I picked them because it has a wide neck. Yah they sound great.
I’ll show my evolution in a new vid to see how much better my new customs look. It’s embarrassing to even look st them. I’ll sell them 4 $50 each or give them away.
I’ll do any custom bass for $40 to start. It’s a super deal.
Is there a non active version
I got one that doesn't use a battery.. Or I'm blind and can't find it
Ernie ball strings are better
Very helpful video
Glad it helped Morrisman!
Bird Box Challenge
bass box challenge 👁👄👁
Strangely intelligent review. Thanks.
It's for a beginner. Pro might need to swap pickups to be satisfying.
What do you think of the epiphone goth thunderbird
For $299 the Tobias toby deluxe is better than the gretsch short scale or the 6 string ibanez. Good jazz bass for the money.
Gibson is not building that like Micheal Tobias, but they could if they would just get rid of a few nuts.
Nuts? As in the upper management strata?
Can i play metal songs with this guitar
What do you guys think about Schecter Oman 4 bass?
Hello Josh. First congratulations on your reviews, they are very nice and so is also your website.
I need some advise: I am looking for a bass and among all the ones i could try, this Epiphone Toby 4 is the one i preferered in terms of playability due to the bigger width of the neck and thus the large spacing between strings (i have "big/fat" fingers).
But i would like a better sound (more like jazz bass) . Could you possibly point me to a bass (under 1200 dollars) with a good punchy sound AND the kind of neck like on the Epiphone Toby 4 ?
Or do you think getting the Epiphone and upgrading with great pick ups could be an option ? (the less expensive option obvously!)
Thanks in advance for any advise!
Philippe
Ps: An example of the kind of sound i am dreaming of, for also the same kind of music that i will myself play.
Yolanda Charles, ua-cam.com/video/AV6prtZuyRY/v-deo.html
Hey Philippe, up to $1200 is a pretty generous budget so I can't imagine you'll have too much trouble finding what you're looking for. I'm not really sure about basses that sound Jazz bass-y but have a more "modern" neck like this. I like all the dual humbucker-y bases like the Ibanez SR line, the Yamaha TRBX's and the old Peavey Cirruses that I'm partial too, but none of them sound exactly like a Jazz bass.
I can't see what kind of bass she's got in that video with the bad lighting, but maybe investigate what she's playing, there's no rule against copying someone else's gear. :)
Hi Josh,
Like we say in french "i found my happiness": It is the "G&L Tribute L-2000 Premium BlueBurst", great versatile punchy sound and the neck fits my fingers (nearly) as perfectly as on the Epiphone Toby.
I wish there was a second hand american one available but no. I will settle with the asian (tribute) version then.
(Yolanda Charles's bass is a Levinson Blade B4, but also nothing available on the second hand market right now in France).
Thanks for all the advises, and keep on with the great reviews work !
Cheers, Philippe
ua-cam.com/video/n17ru1wRe2g/v-deo.html
Try ibanez sr with a Jatoba neck. The best thing i ever felt. I have a 4 string, if i had your budget i would also get the 5 string.
Is there a non deluxe or is that just what its called?
which should i buy this toby deluxe 4 or ibanez sr300? pls help
Ben Burleigh is such a stud!
Josh and gio def smashing
Are the frets sharp?
It sounds like you'd want one of these gutted and then throw in some nice bartolini or emg or even some nordstrands in there. Damn cheapo instruments.
Yeah, if it's even worth it.
Honestly I was thinking about getting one of these myself and along with a pickup swap I would probably redo the controls for my own comfort.
i need for rock it will be perfect, i guess
Flats would take you to a more vintage sound
For beginners, no marks in the frets 3,5,7, etc, is like bad...
I guess i will just buy the glarry bass
Can't belieive your good guy Man Tank buddy is called Burly 😂 Looks like he took up bass after regular guitars smushed in his giant fists
Looks like something negative for my gut feeling.
So sick of big brands' cheap basses cutting corners on electronics for their cheap instruments. They're just too greedy, want too much margin. Had an Epiphone Thunderbird "Pro"-IV Natural (the quotation marks are real) that sounded just like this Tobias: hot flimsy garbage. And that was $450. Luckily I could flip it for roughly full price. Harley Benton shits on both with the HBZ-2004.
Lofty Skinner That is the reason I got a Cort 5-string first. I'll upgrade soon, but when I upgrade I'll make sure it's a big upgrade like a nice Warwick
That's probably close to its strongest genres. I'd say it's most usable for punk. Then Thrash metal, then stoner. I play funk/ rock and pop though, and it's completely worthless for that.
And my Spector Legend $100 used SHITS ALL OVER YOUR HARDLY BENTON..it sits next to a Toby with Kick ass bridge passive antiquities SHITS all over Your Hardly too..Less than $400.00..
@@runnningonempty nope, you have nickel frets, I have stainless steel and a 0-fret to boot. Harley Benton is the future, no middlemen to ramp up the cost from factory to player. Find a traditionally structured company that sells stainless steel fretted basses for $350-500. Hell, find one under $1000. I think only Schecter and Ibanez have ever done it, on basses no longer available.
@@LoftySkinner AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!.....
Playing bass with pickup should be banned and players who play with pickup not considered bass players. Come on!
Personally I wouldn't be recommending a sound like that even for aggressive rock/punk/metal sounds. Why? A bass without bass is a bass without bass. The rock trebly pick attack sound has to be there on top of the bassiness not instead of it, I've unfortunately more than once (why do bass players always have the cheapest gear?) experienced first hand playing with guys with a cheap beginner level bass guitar made of lightweight crappy "whatever we could get for least at the factory" wood... those just don't sit in the mix where they're supposed to, especially when a note is sustained it just disappears, and using amp eq or active onboard eq is basically just like trying to polish a turd, looking for something that isn't there. Only "advantage" is that those cheapo thin sounding basses don't compete with the bass drum whatsoever and don't make a flooded mess in the lowest frequencies.
I have this bass for about 2 years and i must say you are wrong, because that bass boost knob will push any amp to the limit, but the frequency is very low, so mic does not pick up the sound of this bass properly. I never maxed out either tone or bass boost knob because it is just to much twang or to much low end for my taste. Also this bass comes with some very bad strings, I've put rottos 66 steel ones and it changed the tone completely, so much so I'd compare it to one of the warwick rockbasses. One more note: I think these guys are heavily biased and nostalgic because best basses by their opinion are cheap Squiers!?! Out of all basses up to 500$ or something their 4 picks contain 2 squiers, Not a single ibanez, aria, sire, washburn, harley benton, schecter, jackson, marcus miller... I can only agree on Yamaha TRBX304 but that bass is in production for a decade or more and everybody knows its a bang for a buck, so nothing new there.
So this bass is full shit???