Tobias Kingston Growler

Part of the MTD Rescue Program. I found this bass recently in semi-disarray. When I received it I never even plugged it in – grabbed my tools and disassembled it.  Holes by previous owners were confounding, so those were are filled immediately.  Why these holes were made, I have no idea.

This bass came with a nice fretless neck, but a couple polyurethane coats were added for shine.

The unattractive scratched drilled black opaque finish quickly removed and new finish started.  I experimented with an abstract silver leaf layered with multiple layers of color – black and burgundy shades.  A matching headstock was done at the same time.

All the existing hardware was ordered and replaced.  Fortunately, the Bartolini MusicMan pickup was worth salvaging and adds that ‘something old’ quality to balance all the newness.

Repurposed Bartolini NTMB918 + 3F module preamp installed.  Volume/Bass/Treble knobs with mid frequency switch and a series/parallel/single coil switch completes the rebuild.

What was once an MTD Kingston has been recreated with electronics reminiscent of American made Tobias Growlers.  It’s my new favorite.