MTD Kingston Z Series

[sephage]

Originally Posted by OnlyMe

Please do so, most definitely interested!! Thanx in advance

OK - here goes!

Appearance / Workmanship:
I received the bass last night. It looks amazing. It is also quite light for a 5-string. Workmanship is top-notch, especially for a bass that sells for under $1000 USD. Hardware is all very good, electronics cavity is clean. The finish is not very hard, so you can almost smell the wood when you're up close to the bass! I am still in the process of setting up the bass (neck bow, intonation, string height, etc.). Action out of the box was pretty low, and neck was a bit straight due to humidity (not surprising since the neck is a one-piece). The intonation was excellent except for the B-string (easily fixed).

Playability:
The bass plays *amazingly well*. I felt very comfortable on it immediately. What impressed me the most is that the neck seems to have no dead spots, or maybe only in the 22-24th fret range of the B-string (and who plays there anyway? :-).
Notes play and ring out very clearly all over the neck in a way that I would not expect from a bass in this price range. I think it weighs under 9lbs - which is pretty light for a 5-string bass so it's really comfortable on a strap. B-string is good but not amazing (though adjusting for intonation and proper string height improves the performance of the B).

Sound:
Overall the sound is very good. I think due to the lighter weight it does not have a deep sound - though this can be adjusted pretty easily by rolling off the highs and mids and boosting the bass of the on-board active EQ. The electronics are a little "hot" - *VERY* noisy (hissing) when you boost the highs - I know this is common even on expensive basses, but I felt that the volume of the hiss was disappointing for a bass in this price range.
The sound is versatile, but don't cut all of the 3-band EQ at the same time - that will make the bass sound pretty 'dead' with VERY low volume if you do.
So - the basic sound is very good, but the EQ on the bass is not fantastic (especially compared with my Carvin active 5-string which has very low noise electronics).

So - I think I will keep it :-). The bass will probably rule the under $1000 price range for some time to come - it's a bargain at the price. I think a big improvement would be installation of real Bartolini soapbar pickups and electronics but otherwise it's a winner.

[OnlyMe]

In october a new shipment of Z's should arrive, including the long awaited Z6 and new colors for the Z4 and Z5. Are any of these coming to TPB?

[ThePerfectBass]

Originally Posted by OnlyMe

In october a new shipment of Z's should arrive, including the long awaited Z6 and new colors for the Z4 and Z5. Are any of these coming to TPB?

Actually yes! We have 4 of each color/string/fingerboard combo coming in, including the fretless versions!

If you're looking for a Z, we'll have them!

I'll make a post our here when they arrive as it will take a while to get all of the new pieces on our site.

Peace!

[Lo end PUNCH]

Originally Posted by ThePerfectBass

Actually yes! We have 4 of each color/string/fingerboard combo coming in, including the fretless versions!

If you're looking for a Z, we'll have them!

I'll make a post our here when they arrive as it will take a while to get all of the new pieces on our site.

Peace!

May I ask what these colors and combo's are? What color will the sixes be offered in?

[ThePerfectBass]

There's only a few options on the Z:

Fingerboard - Maple, Rosewood, Ebonol Fretless

Colors - Burl Maple, Trans Cherry, Tobacco Sunburst

Strings - 4, 5 or 6 string

That's it! We'll have at least 4 of each model in stock sometime in November, and a few lefties here and there as well. We are taking advance orders, so if you want to make sure you get one soon, give us a call!

Peace!

[OnlyMe]

Originally Posted by ThePerfectBass

Colors - Burl Maple, Trans Cherry, Tobacco Sunburst
Peace!

The Translucent Cherry and Tobacco Sunburst being the new colors. The Kingston Heir comes in those same colors, so you can check'm out already on the MTD site (http://www.mtdbass.com/pages/heir_pp.html)

hmmm... The Cherry doesn't float my boat, the sunburst is nice, but I think I still like the Burl Maple better specially with the maple fingerboard.

[chinjazz]

Originally Posted by ThePerfectBass

There's only a few options on the Z:

Fingerboard - Maple, Rosewood, Ebonol Fretless

Colors - Burl Maple, Trans Cherry, Tobacco Sunburst

Strings - 4, 5 or 6 string

That's it! We'll have at least 4 of each model in stock sometime in November, and a few lefties here and there as well. We are taking advance orders, so if you want to make sure you get one soon, give us a call!

Peace!

Hey James,

Would you happen to know if the maple fretboard option, will these always get the darker wood colored pick up covers? I like how that looks, and would probably go with the maple board.

~ Thanks

[ThePerfectBass]

Originally Posted by Sounds_of_Ocean

Hey James,

Would you happen to know if the maple fretboard option, will these always get the darker wood colored pick up covers? I like how that looks, and would probably go with the maple board.

~ Thanks

The pickups on the Burl Maple top are always the same color... We haven't received the new color options yet (they are scheduled to arrive sometime late November), and no one has seen them yet, so I don't know what the pickups look like on those yet.

When we get the new colors, they'll be up on our site in a hurry, so stay tuned!

Otherwise, on the basses you see on our site, if you order one, you are ordering the bass pictured. So you know exactly what your bass would look like. We call this BYSIBYG or the Bass You See Is the Bass You Get!

Peace!

[chinjazz]

Originally Posted by ThePerfectBass

The pickups on the Burl Maple top are always the same color... We haven't received the new color options yet (they are scheduled to arrive sometime late November), and no one has seen them yet, so I don't know what the pickups look like on those yet.

When we get the new colors, they'll be up on our site in a hurry, so stay tuned!

Otherwise, on the basses you see on our site, if you order one, you are ordering the bass pictured. So you know exactly what your bass would look like. We call this BYSIBYG or the Bass You See Is the Bass You Get!

Peace!

James, thanks for the response. That's an awesome service: BYSIBYG. I'll wait for the new ones to arrive before I decide on color. Cheers, Adam

[WisconsinDavid]

Just bought an MTD Z4 and this bass is awesome. It has a feel unlike any bass I've played before. The variation you can get with the electronics is nothing short of amazing. Mine has the maple fretboard which gives it a bit more articulation than the rosewood. The fit and finish on my instrument is wonderful, and the setup was superb. I can't believe this quality of instrument can be had under a thousand. Also, have to plug "THE PERFECT BASS". From start to finish their service was terrific. Definitely have them as the source of choice from now on. Thanks!

[1kinal]

Originally Posted by WisconsinDavid

Just bought an MTD Z4 and this bass is awesome. It has a feel unlike any bass I've played before. The variation you can get with the electronics is nothing short of amazing. Mine has the maple fretboard which gives it a bit more articulation than the rosewood. The fit and finish on my instrument is wonderful, and the setup was superb. I can't believe this quality of instrument can be had under a thousand. Also, have to plug "THE PERFECT BASS". From start to finish their service was terrific. Definitely have them as the source of choice from now on. Thanks!

The Z4/maple is definately my favorite between the Z4-5 and Z6. It really has something special!

Congrats!

[chinjazz]

Originally Posted by 1kinal

The Z4/maple is definately my favorite between the Z4-5 and Z6. It really has something special!

Congrats!

Hi 1Kinal,

What do you thing the Z4 has over the 5 or 6? I can imagine that it's probably extreemly comfortable with the 34" scale.

Thanks ~ SoundsOfOcean

[1kinal]

I'm generally a 5 string player. But like I said the Z4/maple really has something special and many people who tried them all said like me.

If you don't know, I was asked by the canadian distributor of MTD to demo the basses recently at MIAC (canadian NAMM). What a surprise I got when I was told that Mike T. himself was going to be by my side during the whole show...

Anyway, back to topic:

First I think the maple fb balance really well the acoustic sound of the mahogany. That is true for all models. All the maple fb Z's I've tried were definately more "alive" sounding than the rosewood. Mahogany+rosewood was a bit too dark sounding for my taste. On the other hand, I only had the Z6 rosewood at the show, and this one was very sweet (even if I'm not a 6 player)!

As for the Z4/maple, this one stands out for my because by soloing the neck pickup you get a real p-bass sound. Mike said he compared the Z4/maple to an old p-bass he has at his shop and supposely they were sounding extremely close. Mike also agreed with me (or probably the opposite...) that it was not the case with the Z5.

Don't get me wrong, the Z5 is a very good bass but if I'd get a free Z, that'd be a Z4...and it's weird for a guy like me who always gig with a 5.

Finally, the Z6 (rosewood) was sweet. The low register was extremely fat, more than the 5 and the high register notes were singing! Unfortunately, a 6 is just too big for me and that's really not my style but this one was cool. The neck was very easy to play but keep in mind the 19mm spacing makes it for a WIDE neck.

As for the scale, I'm used to 35" so both were very comfortable for me. Yes the 4 was easier because of 34" scale but the 5 and 6 are so well designed that anybody would get used to it in a very short time. The neck is one of the best feature of the MTD's for me but even if I was first afraid of the 19mm, tonight I played my 2nd gig with mine (Heir 5 /maple) and it just felt perfectly right. The neck profile and radius also makes slap SO easy you won't beleive it.

Let me know if you have any other question.

[chinjazz]

Thanks for the explanation! It's cool that it comes close to a Pbass! I'm a prior MTD 535 owner, and know first hand the ergonomics. They all can be set up to play like butter! I also owned an Heir Maple at one time as a back up bass or gigging bass.

Norm Stockton was the one who got me into MTDs.. I was taking lessons from him in San Diego @ Bass Alone. Great guy and player, If I might throw him a shamless plug ....

Cheers!

Originally Posted by 1kinal

I'm generally a 5 string player. But like I said the Z4/maple really has something special and many people who tried them all said like me.

If you don't know, I was asked by the canadian distributor of MTD to demo the basses recently at MIAC (canadian NAMM). What a surprise I got when I was told that Mike T. himself was going to be by my side during the whole show...

Anyway, back to topic:

First I think the maple fb balance really well the acoustic sound of the mahogany. That is true for all models. All the maple fb Z's I've tried were definately more "alive" sounding than the rosewood. Mahogany+rosewood was a bit too dark sounding for my taste. On the other hand, I only had the Z6 rosewood at the show, and this one was very sweet (even if I'm not a 6 player)!

As for the Z4/maple, this one stands out for my because by soloing the neck pickup you get a real p-bass sound. Mike said he compared the Z4/maple to an old p-bass he has at his shop and supposely they were sounding extremely close. Mike also agreed with me (or probably the opposite...) that it was not the case with the Z5.

Don't get me wrong, the Z5 is a very good bass but if I'd get a free Z, that'd be a Z4...and it's weird for a guy like me who always gig with a 5.

Finally, the Z6 (rosewood) was sweet. The low register was extremely fat, more than the 5 and the high register notes were singing! Unfortunately, a 6 is just too big for me and that's really not my style but this one was cool. The neck was very easy to play but keep in mind the 19mm spacing makes it for a WIDE neck.

As for the scale, I'm used to 35" so both were very comfortable for me. Yes the 4 was easier because of 34" scale but the 5 and 6 are so well designed that anybody would get used to it in a very short time. The neck is one of the best feature of the MTD's for me but even if I was first afraid of the 19mm, tonight I played my 2nd gig with mine (Heir 5 /maple) and it just felt perfectly right. The neck profile and radius also makes slap SO easy you won't beleive it.

Let me know if you have any other question.

[Lo end PUNCH]

Any day now right?

[chinjazz]

I'm looking forward to seeing the other Z5 colors

[ThePerfectBass]

Yes, we have heard from MTD that the new Z's are "on the water"...meaning that they have shipped from overseas. So we wait approximately 2-3 weeks for them to arrive in the US and clear customs.

After that process is complete, they are quality checked and set up before shipping to us.

I believe the order that we have coming will be the largest MTD inventory in the US and they tell me that our shipment will be shipped first!

We'll make a post as soon as we start recieving product and getting pictures taken!

FYI, we have all available models of the Z coming in...4/5/6 string, rosewood/maple, fretted/fretless all colors! We even have a few lefties coming as well!

Peace!

[chinjazz]

Awesome! Thanks a lot for the detail James! Looking forward to it!

[Lo end PUNCH]

Can't wait!

[chinjazz]

Ok, here's a brief update on my Zephyr 5 quest...

I couldn't wait for the next batch of Z's with the more traditional colors.

I bought one from Brandt at TPB, and his customer service was stellar! James knows how to pick em!

Anyway, the Bass is great! When I first checked out a Zephyr in person it was thru a little amp and I didn't have the chance to feel it (pushing some air, you know what I mean)? My original impression was the output on the bass was lowish... Ok, so it might not be a full on 18v master blaster, but when I finally plugged in mine to a GK Backline 210 combo, turned off the pad switch on the amp, and set all the pre-amp knobs on the bass (B,M,T), to center click, pick ups in center, and turned up 1/2 way. The tone was clear, and full ranged. Really, with it set right I can see no reason to have the Bass tone cranked (I take it back.. I might have said this somewhere else on TalkBass).

I plan on recording some samples for you all to hear to see if it's right for you. This bass, as advertised comes real close to a 535 in tone. Playability wise, it's no different to me. I have some recordings of my 535, and my plan is to do a full on A/B. Play the same parts on a different track.

My goal with this bass was to get back my MTD tone, and I'm very happy to say, I'm close enough and satisfied.

This is a very nice bass!