The "Official" MTD USA Thread (Part 8)

[Vic]

Originally Posted by blen dem

I do dig the Fodera Nickels after playing one (on a Emperor Standard) last year @ Bass San Diego during a lil family vacation...Felt really good and sounded even better. K, it's between them and the DR LoRiders then...leaning towards the DR's just because they are easier to get for me locally and super curious as I have never played em. Thanks!

I've played both, and while the Fodera's are very nice strings, I think the DRs keep up with them pretty well.

[blen dem]

Originally Posted by Vic

I've played both, and while the Fodera's are very nice strings, I think the DRs keep up with them pretty well.

Gonna take your word on this one Vic, DR's it shall be...Thx!

[bass12]

I actually just took off the Lo-Riders that were on my Lull. I wasn't too into them. Not as flexible as the MTDs I'm used to. Having said that, the MTDs I just put on the Lull aren't working as well as they do on my MTDs and the Lull really doesn't like that tapered B. I'm going to slap on some Hi-Beams and see how those work out. I hate playing musical chairs with strings but some strings just work better on some basses than they do on others.

[HotRoded]

Originally Posted by Handyman

I don't own an MTD, but this thread certainly makes me want to empty out my bank account to get one.

The workmanship on this stuff is astounding.

Same here ... one day ...

Originally Posted by bass12

... some strings just work better on some basses than they do on others.

That is definitely true. I found that out too and not all my (similar) Basses have the same strings

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by blen dem

Gonna take your word on this one Vic, DR's it shall be...Thx!

You really can't go wrong! DR are also great strings.

[rodneyat]

I have not seen this one before...It certainly looks real. Maybe someone here can confirm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MTD-BASS-CUS...item3f20c1b098

[metallutca]

Originally Posted by rodneyat

I have not seen this one before...It certainly looks real. Maybe someone here can confirm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MTD-BASS-CUS...item3f20c1b098

That is certainly a never seen before MTD!

[celinder 72]

Its real, There was a post about this bass last month. Beautiful color and woods .I think the fretboard ,headstock,and truss rod cover are Madagascar Rosewood. The body shape is errrr interesting.

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by celinder 72

Its real, There was a post about this bass last month. Beautiful color and woods .I think the fretboard ,headstock,and truss rod cover are Madagascar Rosewood. The body shape is errrr interesting.

I agree.

It is really not that expensive for what it is.

I would buy it in a second.... If I liked the body shape.

[bass12]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

I agree.

It is really not that expensive for what it is.

I would buy it in a second.... If I liked the body shape.

Yeah, Mike should definitely stick to making double cutaways.

[roadkill2309]

Originally Posted by bass12

One of my band's videos's is currently a contender in a competition. Of course, it would be lovely if some of my fellow MTD lovers voted for it () but the reason I'm posting it here is that the recording was made with my old ash/walnut/ash/maple 535. The bass was recorded direct and the track might be interesting for anyone who wants to hear that particular wood combo "in the mix". The growly nature of the bass' tone is especially evident towards the end of the track.

http://banddegarage.telequebec.tv/vi...ter/123/kebeko

Okay, I voted. And uh... Spammed my friends about it.

[bass12]

Originally Posted by roadkill2309

Okay, I voted. And uh... Spammed my friends about it.

Haha - thanks J!

[roadkill2309]

Originally Posted by bass12

Haha - thanks J!

I'm here to help

[LeonD]

I received my 434-24 last Thursday and have some comments/questions about the electronics.

The first thing I noticed is the output of the bass is very low. Probably the lowest out of all my basses. Opening the control cover, I noticed the gain is turned all the way down (which explains the low output).

Reading the suggested tone settings that come with the bass, Mike recommends boosting or cutting eq to "10". On all my other basses, many times turning an eq knob all the way up or down would result in an unusable tone. On this bass, all the setting are useable.

The next thing I tried was setting the gain up 50%. While this made the output louder, it now made the settings with the tone knobs on "10" unusable. The eq now behaved similar to my other basses.

The above leads me to believe that while the gain has an impact on the output, it also has a (major) impact on the eq.

Mike also said thew frequencies are interactive. It's leads me to believe there are a whole lot of different tones in this preamp. I'd also love to see a review of an MTD done in the Bass Gear style with all the gain and frequency charts.

So, am I off base here or is this similar to others experiences with MTD basses?

And going with the "no pic, no bass" rule, here's my MTD. (Sorry for the poor quality. As soon as I got it, I had to hit the road for work. So it's an iPhone photo in a hotel room.)

[Vic]

Originally Posted by LeonD

I received my 434-24 last Thursday and have some comments/questions about the electronics.

First, beautiful bass!!!!

Second, that gain thing is real common. I also set all my USA MTDs to about mid-way and it really makes the bass come alive (as well as gain matching my other stuff, which initially was the main reason I did it too).

Third, I love Mike, but have never agreed with his EQ suggestions in those cover letters.

So leave that gain set about mid-way, and only use as much EQ as you need, which at least IME, has NEVER been to max any of out.

[bass12]

Originally Posted by Vic

Third, I love Mike, but have never agreed with his EQ suggestions in those cover letters.

So leave that gain set about mid-way, and only use as much EQ as you need, which at least IME, has NEVER been to max any of out.

I'll echo Vic on this one. Mike is a world-class luthier but he's not a bassist! I was a little surprised the first time I looked at his tone-shaping suggestions on his cover letter. One thing about the MTD Bart electronics - they impact the overall volume considerably. So if you do find yourself boosting or cutting a lot you might want to also adjust your volume pot accordingly. Having said that, I absolutely love the electronics in my MTDs. The only thing I miss is not having an active/passive switch.

[carlis]

Originally Posted by LeonD

I received my 434-24 last Thursday and have some comments/questions about the electronics.

Congratulations on your stunning 434-24! Is yours maple/ebony neck with a makore body? If yes, the only difference between our 434 will just be the top and finish

I always adjust the trim pot by boosting it slightly to match the volume with my other basses. I guess if you leave the preamp gain all the way down it is just about as loud as a passive bass.

As for the onboard EQ, most of the cases, I leave them all flat and go from there – a MTD already sounds perfect with flat settings. In extremely rare cases I will need to boost a tiny little bit bass and/or mid to feel the "presence," but that only happened once or twice.

Enjoy your bass! now I can't wait to see mine...

[LeonD]

Originally Posted by carlis

Congratulations on your stunning 434-24! Is yours maple/ebony neck with a makore body? If yes, the only difference between our 434 will just be the top and finish

Enjoy your bass! now I can't wait to see mine...

Mine is maple/ebony neck with a makore body. Does yours have a burl top and blueburst finish? I saw one there like that.

Originally Posted by bass12

The only thing I miss is not having an active/passive switch.

I asked Mike about that. He said when they were designing the preamp, they agonized about adding a passive setting. In the end he decided not to because the pickups were so low output, he thought they would be nearly unusable without the preamp.

Originally Posted by Vic

Third, I love Mike, but have never agreed with his EQ suggestions in those cover letters.

So leave that gain set about mid-way, and only use as much EQ as you need, which at least IME, has NEVER been to max any of out.

Thanks for all the input and kind words guys.

I also always thought his eq setting recommendations were crazy and I never tried them.

Lately, I've been playing in very crappy sounding venues. Just terrible. That's where I learned to love the P bass. It just worked and that's all I've been using. When I was at Mike's shop checking out the bass, he actually set it to one of his crazy eq settings. And it didn't sound too bad. Kind of like my P bass actually.

When I got home, I played with eq some more. And also with the gain. What I found is that with the gain up 50%, I could get amazing modern tone but couldn't get the more vintage sound. When I backed the gain down, I then could get the vintage sound but the modern tone went away.

I'm sure the gain is affecting the eq. I'm actually considering drilling a small hole in the cover to change the gain on the fly. I'm hearing the gain affect the tone of the bass that much. And this makes for probably the most versatile bass I've owned.

I'm sure the natural sound the each instrument affects how the eq is used. This particular bass has a very focused sound and tight low end. (And in the name of accuracy, I'm not just turning knobs to 10. But I am using the eq more on this bass than any other I've owned.)

Thanks again for your input.

[rodneyat]

Originally Posted by LeonD

I'm sure the gain is affecting the eq. I'm actually considering drilling a small hole in the cover to change the gain on the fly. I'm hearing the gain affect the tone of the bass that much. .

I had a Lull with a Bart preamp that had a small hole in the cover. It was a nice option to not have to pull the cover off to make the change.

I actually leave my MTD between 33-50% up on the gain. Its a good mix for me.

[Virgil]

I have owned 3 MTD's, and my AG 5, is the best MTD I have ever owned or played. I can't put it down. It sounds good regardless of the rig I play it through. And as far as the gain, it is set at the lowest setting, and I can't set the gain on my amps past 11:00 before it starts clipping.