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First time MTD 535 owner

nonsqtr

nonsqtr

The emperor has no clothes!
Aug 29, 2003
3,994
25
Burbank CA USA
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#1
Over the years I've learned that walking into a bass store with money is a dangerous thing. Take today, f'r instance. I spied this really nice MTD 535, tried it for about three minutes, and bought it on the spot. Why? Don't ask me, I don't know. I need another bass like I need a hole in the head. And I'm going to catch all kinds of grief tomorrow morning. But this is a VERY NICE bass. I'm very impressed. I tried four MTD 535's in the last week, and this one surpasses all the rest by a long mile. It has an ash body, and an ash neck (that's right, one of a handful that Mike made recently). Maple board, and maple top (what they call "blister maple", which is actually quite quilt-like). I couldn't resist that faded blue jean look. The bass was calling out to me when I was in the store, I could hear it, teasing, quietly, "buy me, buy me". Guess I'm just a sucker for a nice bass. I should probably go to Gasaholics Anonymous. :)
 
#5
mutantbassist said:
Yeah, me too, I'm curious. But I can guess: clear, bright, punchy and a bit agressive attack

Looks very nice! :cool:

Could you post a pic of the entire bass? :hyper:
Click to expand...


Yes. You nailed it. Quite punchy, great slap sound, nice and consistent when switching between fingerstyle and slap. Here's a (bad) pic of the entire bass, I'll try taking another one tomorrow and will post it as soon as it's available.
 
#9
Well, I asked about that. Supposedly the neck was made from a special batch of ash that was dried in a special way. I'm not a luthier and don't know from woodworking, but I do know Mike has an excellent reputation and makes some stellar basses, and he said it'll work, so... If anything bad happens, I'll be sure to let y'all know. :)
 
#10
Okay, well, the first review are in. The verdict is: this is one very nice instrument. I think I lucked out this time. That is to say, Michael got this one right. I'm tracking with it here in the studio at the moment, and these tracks are sounding AWESOME. Unbelievably good. We're going straight into the line input on the board. This bass is really hot, I think the preamp must be near top output, but it sounds good that way, the tone controls are really responsive throughout the entire range of the volume control. This is a superb instrument. It has a perfect balance between solid bottom end, and funkiness, and playability. It's incredibly responsive. From a technical standpoint, I'd have to say the precision and tolerances easily rival an Alembic, the neck, fingerboard, and fret work are so precise it's just amazing, it's really a pleasure to play. Really it's a great instrument. The MTD strings are on there at the moment, and I see no need to change, they sound perfect. You can dial up pretty much any sound you want on that bass. Good job Mike.
 
#16
pistoleroace said:
Ditto, it sure would be nice to hear that thing with the Ash neck, I've read about the MTD's with the Ash neck and from what I read it's what I like in a bass - clear, bright and agressive.
Click to expand...


My first impression was that the ash neck was very aggressive -really good for rock. But I play solo, with lots of looping, chord melodies, etc and find that the ash neck's articulation and even tone are great (at least on the 2 that I played in his shop)

Mike
 
#19
Well... yea...

But, by that I mean, generally available to the public... It sure seems as if availablity isn't an issue... If you want one, you can generally get your hands on one....

In NO way, do I mean to imply that they're made on some sort of production line or anything....
 
#20
McHack said:
Well... yea...

But, by that I mean, generally available to the public... It sure seems as if availablity isn't an issue... If you want one, you can generally get your hands on one....

In NO way, do I mean to imply that they're made on some sort of production line or anything....
Click to expand...

Talked with Mike T last week - wait time is about 8 months
 

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