Boy howdy if this bass could talk.
I'm the original owner of this bass.
Ordered it through Glen Kawamoto at Austin Bass Traders.
Kind of a dream bass of mine that was an attempt to get at a few odd-ball basses I loved for one Franken-Six:
Better but not quite there.
So I sold it.
SOLD - BRAND NEW MTD 634 w/Aguilar Pre and VTC Wenge/Walnut NO TOP
The next owner put in the bart setup, chastised 'the original owner' me in a (I thought) condescending way, and then after seeing it bounce around, I got kinda heated and bought it back.
My next project: Roger Sadowsky's fantastic pre, with VTC, and some Aguilar Big Single Pickups. Note to any potential buyers: the cavity was routed out slightly to accommodate the Barts. Clean work and see pics.
Tonally results? Best J6'ish tone I've had, and the huge but was mainly that it was a 6-string.
So I sold it, and the new owners put back in the Bart pre ... sound familiar?
SOLD - MTD 634 Walnut (no top) Wenge Neck Sadowsky Pre Aguilar Single Coils
Now, I still maintain that the Sadowsky pre/Aggie pups in one of Mike's basses is a really cool sound, and if it was a 5-string, I would've just had a 'forever' bass.
But, as GAS sometimes goes, I saw this beautiful, chocolatey walnut beauty up for sale on Ebay, exactly as Mike Tobias would've prescribed as the bass Shaman he is, and just couldn't resist. Good day job at the time, and a balance in my PayPal account.
Here's where I eat crow ...
I went with a Cuban-Thai fusion as to spices. Very hot peppers, Cumin, Garlic Salt, to name a few things. I don't know how much it helped but I kept it down at least
This bass, with the bart pre/pups, which I never really gave a chance to, sound best for this bass. The bass 'as is', as of May 3rd, 2021, has the original Bart Pre custom-designed for Mike Tobias's MTD line, as well as the pickups.
I'm really glad I had a chance to experiment like that, but now that I have the original pre/pups, I can see that while I still don't have the instrument I want (mainly because of the 6 thing but because tonally I do prefer my Sadowsky PJ5 and Olinto P5 every single time) what I have is much more suited to Mike's original concept.
I've got the OHSC, the paperwork, and while the bass itself weighs about 11lbs (10.6 or so) the case feels like it weighs as much as a 70's muscle car. Including the short Italia strap and the Schaller strap-locks (not original mind you) that came with it, and this strap is only for you 'play the bass up by my neck tie' folks. If you're like me and like it slung low (or even in between) let me know and I'll include a brown leather strap that is more middle of the road.
Not looking for any trades, and not looking to ship to Europe. PayPal preferred and I'll be shipping FedEx. Shipping included unless you live in the far reaches of the US or in Canada, and then we'll work something out.
Thanks for reading if you got through all that!
I'm the original owner of this bass.
Ordered it through Glen Kawamoto at Austin Bass Traders.
Kind of a dream bass of mine that was an attempt to get at a few odd-ball basses I loved for one Franken-Six:
- Warwick'y Tone because of the Walnut/Wenge Combo (pretty close)
- Wide Spacing which I came to prefer over anything else (18mm in this case)
- The snap/full-bodied beef of a j-bass-esque, soapbar-equipped bass
Better but not quite there.
So I sold it.
SOLD - BRAND NEW MTD 634 w/Aguilar Pre and VTC Wenge/Walnut NO TOP
The next owner put in the bart setup, chastised 'the original owner' me in a (I thought) condescending way, and then after seeing it bounce around, I got kinda heated and bought it back.
My next project: Roger Sadowsky's fantastic pre, with VTC, and some Aguilar Big Single Pickups. Note to any potential buyers: the cavity was routed out slightly to accommodate the Barts. Clean work and see pics.
Tonally results? Best J6'ish tone I've had, and the huge but was mainly that it was a 6-string.
So I sold it, and the new owners put back in the Bart pre ... sound familiar?
SOLD - MTD 634 Walnut (no top) Wenge Neck Sadowsky Pre Aguilar Single Coils
Now, I still maintain that the Sadowsky pre/Aggie pups in one of Mike's basses is a really cool sound, and if it was a 5-string, I would've just had a 'forever' bass.
But, as GAS sometimes goes, I saw this beautiful, chocolatey walnut beauty up for sale on Ebay, exactly as Mike Tobias would've prescribed as the bass Shaman he is, and just couldn't resist. Good day job at the time, and a balance in my PayPal account.
Here's where I eat crow ...
I went with a Cuban-Thai fusion as to spices. Very hot peppers, Cumin, Garlic Salt, to name a few things. I don't know how much it helped but I kept it down at least
This bass, with the bart pre/pups, which I never really gave a chance to, sound best for this bass. The bass 'as is', as of May 3rd, 2021, has the original Bart Pre custom-designed for Mike Tobias's MTD line, as well as the pickups.
I'm really glad I had a chance to experiment like that, but now that I have the original pre/pups, I can see that while I still don't have the instrument I want (mainly because of the 6 thing but because tonally I do prefer my Sadowsky PJ5 and Olinto P5 every single time) what I have is much more suited to Mike's original concept.
- Mid Switch all the way down (250hz) with miss boosted slightly, and then bass/treble boosted: fantastic finger-style tone you could use all night. More MIDS on the bridge pickup and back off the treble and you've got 'that Jaco sound' ... More MIDS on the neck and it's a good P-Bass approximation. Down the center and with the ability of that treble knob to hit the stratosphere in a way that the Sadowsky pre can not, and you have a vicious slap tone
- Mid Switch all the way up (1Khz) with a cut, and bass/treble boosted a bunch ... and man that's not really my go to sound, but Holy (pun intended) Schlamol-ee that is a fantastic urban gospel sound. More dry snap because of the wood combo than I'm used to in the lows/highs, but the Low-mid-rich thing this bass just has built-in gives it a tremendous clarity
I've got the OHSC, the paperwork, and while the bass itself weighs about 11lbs (10.6 or so) the case feels like it weighs as much as a 70's muscle car. Including the short Italia strap and the Schaller strap-locks (not original mind you) that came with it, and this strap is only for you 'play the bass up by my neck tie' folks. If you're like me and like it slung low (or even in between) let me know and I'll include a brown leather strap that is more middle of the road.
Not looking for any trades, and not looking to ship to Europe. PayPal preferred and I'll be shipping FedEx. Shipping included unless you live in the far reaches of the US or in Canada, and then we'll work something out.
Thanks for reading if you got through all that!
