Tobias Growler 5 USA - just 3,6 kg - amazing satin finish

I am selling an American Tobias Growler five-string bass. According to the paperwork, it was first purchased in 2006, so it was probably made back in the 21st century (in the so-called Gibson era).

Personally, I think it's the most comfortable five-string in the world. It has a thin, flat and asymmetrical neck (fitted to the shape of the hand) with a satin finish and extremely low string action. The hand literally flows on the neck and the string spacing allows both comfortable slapping and fast fingerpicking or dicing passages, even with short fingers. The Growler is super light - it weighs just 3.6 kg - and superbly balanced, with absolutely no headroom at all.

Although on the surface the bass seems to mimic the Stingray layout, its sound is different - the Bartolonii pickup and triple EQ (with an additional midrange boost mode) produce a fat, balanced sound with a singing but not aggressive treble. The guitar has a strong tone, and subtle changes to the EQ reverberate strongly in the sound. It is also hugely sensitive to articulation - generally, you can hear any lack in technique ;).

I rate the condition as excellent - the frets are still fresh, the Grover keys hold the tuning, nothing creaks or rattles. The body and neck are perfect; the wood - covered I think only with some form of wax or ultra-thin nitro - has virtually no blemishes. The only flaws are on the headstock - one bruise on the front and a slight chipping of one of the corners. Plus there is one screw missing from the flap covering the entrance to the (double) tension rod. For a quarter of a century - pretty good :)

The body is swamp ash and the fingerboard is a very impressive wenge. The guitar is beautiful and, well, very pleasant to the touch. Yes, that's probably the best term.

I include the original Tobias moulded case.

The only reason for putting the bass up for sale is an overabundance of high-end 5-string basses and a shortage of time - I've put up an American Music Man Stingray 5 HH in another ad. I'll sell only one of them.