Gallery
Gallery
TOOB images from 2007 to more recent past. Early photos scarce due to a computer crash. We’re try to bring in more fresh material. However, some ideas too crazy or hot to show…
1. UR-TOOB!
The first prototype from 2007: ugly, heavy, sound to die of…
2. EARLY PROTOTYPE
2. One of countless prototypes, circa 2014. Quick-release rims cut from the corrugated pipe made speaker swapping easy. Still in occasional use.
3. CUTTING DEVICE
Heikki Koivukoski from Padasjoki innovated and made the pipe-cutting device still in use. No static plastic sawdust.
4. #001 TO UPONOR!
4. May 2017: Markku handing over the first TOOB, a 12R #001, to Juha Kainulainen, VP Marketing of pipe supplier UPONOR.
5. FIRST SOLD!
TOOBS were launched in May 2017. We were biting our nails out, as nothing happened. Not until July, when pro guitarist Juho Kosonen from Jyväskylä bought a Cinnamon-colored TOOB 12R from F-Musiikki. Juho uses the cab frequently, both for teaching and live performances at e.g. summer theaters.
6. TELESCOPIC PROTO
First TOOB 10T Telescopic prototype taking shape. Still no molded rims. Finished in late 2017, it went to Guitar Legend Peter Lerche, like the twin sister a couple of months later.
7. COLOR CODED
A perfect match: First TOOB 12R Custom #007 in Electric Blue Python Tolex and a Blue Floral Ibanez Jem Premium.
8. CUSTOM VARIATIONS
8. Early TOOB 12R Customs: “War” (camo), “Peace” (Marimekko Poppy), Tweed and Blue Python.
9. IT PURRS AND ROARS!
This Faux Leopard TOOB 12R Custom appealed to a heavy metal guitarist.
10. FABULOUS PIETINEN BROTHERS
Tuomas (left) and Mikko Pietinen manning the TOOB stand at 2018 Helsinki Tonefest.
11. VISITING SICA/JENSEN
At the SICA/Jensen speaker factory in Trecastelli, Italy, in 2018. CEO Raimondo Sbarbati (right) and Tuomas Pietinen comparing sounds from a TOOB 12J vs. ordinary 1X12″ boxes.
12. HIS MASTER’S VOICE IN STEREO
Finnish cosmopolitan and guitar great Peter Lerche holding a sound clinic at 2019 Tonefest in Helsinki. Tuomas Pietinen looks into the settings. Peter’s pair to TOOB 10T Telescopics wear an Indian symbol, a hint to Peter’s extensive studies of Indian music.
13. KAISA’S MACHINE
Dividing her time between NY, Helsinki, studios and extensive tours, bassist Kaisa Mäensivu is a shining star on the international jazz scene. Her own band is called Kaisa’s Machine. We tried to make her busy life a little bit easier with a travel-friendly telescopic TOOB 12B bass cabinet.
14. @NAMM 2020
14. NAMM 2020, Anaheim, CA: We were invited to bring samples to the SICA/Jensen booth. The Metros had just been introduced. Video pro Tuomas Pietinen interviewing Jensen’s Speaker Guru Ignazio Vagnone, whom we thank for much insight.
15. AFTER NAMM 2020
Legendary guitarist Tim Pierce posing with his TOOB 10T Telescopic at his home studio in Tarzana, CA
16. METROS FOR MANY INSTRUMENTS
Multi-instrumentalist, Berklee Alumnus Juha Pöysä is one of our valued TOOB Ambassadors: test pilot, studio critic and frequent user. Here trying out Metros for violin in F-Musiikki’s listening room in Vantaa.
17. MIKKO KARHULA’S CHOICE
Markku invited acoustic guitar star Mikko Karhula to test the entire TOOB Metro range. All models were fine, both for nylon and steel-string guitars. The full-range 6.5FR was Mikko’s favorite. The current FR II version has an enhanced bass response.
18. AUTUMN LEAVES
An early Metro 6.5BG Custom ahead of shipping to USA.
19. IN THE LION’S DEN
Master Peter Lerche (right), apprentice, jazz prodigy Eero Dunkel and much floor spaghetti. We support Eero through the perpetual loan of a Metro 6.5BG and a TOOB 10S.
20. TOOB 10S & OTTO PORKKALA
Guitarist Otto Porkkala plays just about any style. He chose a Toob 10S as an allround cab.
21. METRO HIFI?
Home audio versions of our cabs have been requested. Here’s a Metro 6.5FR II Custom tested in that role. A different discipline, though
22. A POET AND A ONE-MAN-BAND
Robert Vennstrøm is a Swedish troubadour living in Bergen, Norway. Very particular about his sound, he uses several Metros in his elaborate rigs. Markku had the pleasure of visiting his beautiful home.
23. TOOB 12D CUSTOM
Finnish guitar and Oud player, composer and bandleader Jussi Reijonen became a TOOB Artist while still living in Boston, MA. We made him this Toob 12F Custom in natural birch to match the aesthetics of his Oud lute.
24. METRO FR II+ @NAMM 2023
Acoustic guitar virtuoso Elden Kelly’s rig on the main stage of the 2023 NAMM show in Anaheim, California. An upright Metro 6.5FR II+ powered by a French GSS amp. Omnidirectionality is what Elden has been looking for – and found in our products.
25. TOOB 12FT SPECIAL
Acoustic guitar virtuoso Elden Kelly ordered this full-range Toob 12FT telescopic version meant for playing upright only. It has criss-crossed USA and made transatlantic journeys under an airline seat.
26. AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
Stiven Laiho (92 when the photo was taken) is a retired business executive and lifetime jazz enthusiast, with bass as his main instrument. A couple of weeks after getting this Metro 6.5BG/TC Electronic BAM200 combination he called again – for another set as a retirement gift for his son!
27. SUMMER TRAINEE
Markku’s grandson Ohto (17 in the summer of 2023 when the photo was taken) is the second person on the planet to have assembled a Metro from scratch.
28. WINTER LOGISTICS
Markku hauling freshly cut TOOB shells in an eco-friendly way.
29. TONEFEST 2024
Our stand at the 2024 Tonefest in in Helsinki was a crowd magnet. Bassist Juhana Korkka Heinonen testing gear. Smiling in the center is punk guitarist/bassist Henkka Laine, Tuomas’s playing buddy since high school years. In the background, a Metro 6.5FR II+ pair used as PA.
30. EERO DUNKEL TRIO
Eero Dunkel Trio performing at the 2024 Tonefest in Helsinki. Eero on guitar (TOOB 12J), Oliver Karttunen on bass (TOOB 12B) and Kasper Halttunen on drums. All students from the Sibelius Academy’s Jazz dept.
31. PAUL BRÄNDLE
Globetrotting jazz guitarist from Munich, Germany, Paul Brändle has been using Toobs for several years. In 2024 we built him the ultimate Metro: a 6.5BG+ Custom Telescopic with Tweed covering. This, a micro-amp and a foldable travel guitar enable Paul to hop on a plane with hand luggage only.
32. ELIS KRZYWACKI AND TOOB 10S
Elis Krzywacki is a third-generation jazz guitarist, seen here with his late grandfather’s Gibson ES-165 and a TOOB 10S we gave him as a perpetual loan, to advance his studies at the Sibelius Academy.
33. METRO FR IN CHURCH
Harmonica virtuoso Benjamin Tremblay Carpetier from Montreal sent this photo of his gear at a church concert. Several harmonica players are using Metros, both FR II and BG.
34. CAIT JONES!
Radiant NY jazz vocalist Cait Jones now gigs with a Metro FR II Custom, powered by a Kyro Dulo amp, superior in both tone and portability to her previous big-name acoustic combo.
35. FABULOUS SIIKASAARI BROTHERS
Ari (left) and Eerik Siikasaari need no introduction in Finland. Retired from the Sibelus Academy and Pop-Jazz Conservatory, Ari has found a new role as a singer-songwriter, relying on a pair of our Metro FR II cabs. Jazz Legend, bassist Eerik (Trio Töykeät etc.) is coming back after a severe illness. He now uses a Toob 12B.
36. TONEFEST 2025
Tonefest 2025, Järvenpää, Finland. Guitar prodigy Markus Venehsalo tried out a couple of Metros.
37. A PROGRESSIVE DUO
WrenCove is a duo active in the Rochester, NY area. Melissa Davies contacted us in late 2024 in order to get rid of her and Andrew Cloninger’s heavy speaker cabinet. Melissa now plays her cello trough a Metro 6.5BG; Andrew is happy with a Metro 6.5FR II.
38. IT’S SERIOUS
Three Pietinen generations concentrating at a birthday party: Markku (left) on bass, Ohto on drums and Tuomas on guitar. Guitar and vocals through an upright TOOB 12F cabinet, bass through a Metro 6.5BG hidden in the corner.