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Do MTD Basses Record Well?

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#22
I saw a band w/ a bass player w/ a tobias (not sure if it was pre or post works w/ gibson, just know it was a tobias by the headstock) and he did not cut though at all. His rig was a SWR SM-900 and a 4x10 and 1x15 (both swr pro series). I'm pretty sure it was his eq'ing, but still, you'd think somone would cut though better than that. He sounded alright durring bass only into's ect., but when the guitarist (playing various les pauls w/ slide, and a small peavey combo) would start, you couldnt hear a thing he played, I watched his hand move around, but only felt a rumble. Thats the only experiance i can recall dealing w/ Michael Tobias... I'd still love to play one though...
 
#23
Well , hell... Im coming in a little late on this.. granted im not gonna go dissing this guy.. i just dont know what hes talking about- the bassist with Henry Rollins plays an MTD- Hubert Eaves with Erica Badu plays one, too- thuderous lows- David Dyson gets some of the best tone around with one, and FORGET Norm Stocktons tone!! staright into a roland 1680! i would give a body part for that tone- and yes, John- Mike makes a 7- i almost made mine a 7 - but the fingerboard wasnt wide enough- and my life is hard enough, thanks
So- i guess ill soon find out who says this- but i think i have an idea- whatever- hes full of it - ctach MeShell Ndegeocello live at west 54- listen to David Dysons tone and tell that bass is wimpy- pleeeeze!!!!-
well , i guess i DID dis him.. oops
 
#24
Originally posted by Muttluk
I saw a band w/ a bass player w/ a tobias (not sure if it was pre or post works w/ gibson, just know it was a tobias by the headstock) and he did not cut though at all. His rig was a SWR SM-900 and a 4x10 and 1x15 (both swr pro series). I'm pretty sure it was his eq'ing, but still, you'd think somone would cut though better than that. He sounded alright durring bass only into's ect., but when the guitarist (playing various les pauls w/ slide, and a small peavey combo) would start, you couldnt hear a thing he played, I watched his hand move around, but only felt a rumble. Thats the only experiance i can recall dealing w/ Michael Tobias... I'd still love to play one though...
Click to expand...

Well let tell you a real story. I was in Jeff Berlin's Playerschool of Music in Florida for the 1 week intensive course. In one of the sight reading classes, Jeff wrote a a few bars of walking bass on the white board, and he asked one of us who happened to be a Berklee Scholarship grad to play.

So Jeff hand over his Dean sig bass to the guy. That student was obviously a good bass player considering his back ground in berklee and being an instructor in a university. He sight read the music with no difficulty while playing on the bass ofcourse. Now he handed over the bass to Jeff, and Jeff started playing the same thing.

MAN! I can tell you that bass suddenly sounded SO much better when Jeff was playing. I mean it's basically the same (cheap:D) bass, pluged into a Peavey TKO combo using a monster cable.

Everybody in the class noticed the difference in tone when the berklee grad start playing compared to when Jeff was playing before.

In this example, both are great bass player, using the same exact gear, the same settings but totally different quality tone.

That alone prove that the problem could possibly be the player himself. Not to mention what JT has said before regarding the sound engineer, and so many other possibilities.
 
#25
I've recorded with my 84 Tobias 5, basically going direct with zero tweaks and even with an artist who was much more concerned with having keyboards up front in the mix... he just couldn't hide the sound of that bass.

Tobias and MTD basses don't sound the same so I don't understand lumping them together. Makes no sense. Pre and post Gibson basses don't tend to sound alike either. If this guy doesn't know the difference maybe he heard a MusicYo Toby Pro.

I've had an MTD 635 for a few months now. Anyone targeting the MTD as the cause of poor live sound might as well blamed the bass player's shoes. Any bassist who has been around for a while, especially a pro, should know how easy it is to screw up live sound. Using bedroom EQ settings, less than attentive sound people, not knowing how to play live... all of these things can be factors. I've used mine several times live and I've gotten nothing short of amazement.. well, after the first gig;)

The first time I used my 635 live, I had the wrong strap. This set the bass at a distance that for me caused difficulty in playing, I've spent most of my time with fives. In a word, I thought I sucked on that gig. The tone was cool, I just couldn't play it like I wanted to. I guess I could hope that people in the audience thought it was the bass' fault:rolleyes:

Next gig, with the right strap... look out.

As already mentioned, anyone who can listen to Jimmy Haslip or Juan Nelson and say these basses don't cut... I'm not sure what cutting means in their context.

Different strokes... and he's not wrong, that's his opinion, for whatever reasons he's come up with.
 
#26
I would love to post the name of this person on the forum but I feel that if I did, it would create some fallout. I don't think that it would be good for Talk Bass or myself if I did so. Here's what I propose. If anyone would like to know the identity of the person or would like to see the email correspondances that we had, contact me via email/PM and I'll send you the goods. If you decide to post it after I send it, that's your decision. ;)
 
#27
let's keep that private, ok? i don't want to cause a stink, and this individual _was_ trying to be helpful to you by answering your email.

so if anyone asks for the name, please do so in private, and keep it private - don't post it. if it is, i will delete it, and get cranky for the extra work :mad: ;)
 
#28
I won't post it John. I think that I've tried to be very careful when choosing what I was going to say so far and I will continue to do that. OTOH, I don't think that the person was being very helpful at all.

I didn't contact them. That person chose to contact me directly in regards to a thread that I had posted on another forum. If an MTD bass is not what would be chosen for their live performances or studio work, that's fine but why would this person resort to calling other individuals wimps? It only served to lower the level of respect that I had for them. I haven't even included other information. Someone last night asked me if I thought that this person was "Ok". You know, "Ok"? I wonder about that.
 
#32
Originally posted by ebozzz
Someone last night asked me if I thought that this person was "Ok". You know, "Ok"? I wonder about that.
Click to expand...

well, you are right to wonder if this person is ok. from some of this person's other claims that far surpass the mere ridiculous, i wonder if this person is "ok" as well.

that's pretty much the giveaway of who this person is, for anyone who's paying attention.

i also agree that slamming on mike tobias personally is uncalled for - he's truly one of the founders of the custom bass craze - his innovations in the field are second only to alembic, imo, in setting the stage for what's available today.

opinions are one thing, but insults are another. personally i can respect opinions, but not insults.
 
#35
Originally posted by ebozzz
Funky,

I couldn't believe that this person would make a statement like that! Here's another one:

quote:
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I've tried them and they're way too much like a guitar (too easy to play) and you can't dig in on them....they sound and play like a guitar, not a bass.......... they don't satisfy people's need for a real bass unfortunately. Whoever helped design that bass was a real wimp imo, and their sounds are just not right.
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Click to expand...

you know, knowing who this person is, this comment really cracks me up on so many different levels. :rolleyes:

sigh.
 
#40
I'm sure that I've made a few claims that were crazy! I haven't been around the bass block long enough and lots of things excite me. :) I don't think that's what bothered me in this instance. What bothered me was the fact that a respected bass builder was called a wimp because someone didn't like one of his basses. I would have thought that this pro could have shown a little more class. I don't particularly like a lot of the music that they have been a part of. I wouldn't go so far as to call them a wimp based on my feelings.
 
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