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MTD "Marilyn Club"

:cool:
Very nice.
What are you using for an Amp?
MTD sits well in the live mix.
6-string Blues machine.:hyper:

my amps in my sig, but at that venue, the house rig is an antique Gallien 400RB with an even older Peavey 2x15 cab with JBL's in it. Most of what you here is the Gallien's DI and the huge house PA.

I always said MTD's sit well in a mix...it's up to the player, really. And it steps out front like NOBODY'S business.

Cheers,
Cameron
 
I received #51 just in time to take it to Glasgow Scotland for a Celtic Festival. It replaced my Rob Allen MB-5 fretless that I have used for the past 8 years. It plays and sounds fantastic and I got many comments on it. Redwood burl over mahogany with a rose of the mountain fingerboard. Ghost peizo with a sweet spot magnetic pickup. Beautiful instrument ! Please add me to the membership rolls.
 
I received #51 just in time to take it to Glasgow Scotland for a Celtic Festival. It replaced my Rob Allen MB-5 fretless that I have used for the past 8 years. It plays and sounds fantastic and I got many comments on it. Redwood burl over mahogany with a rose of the mountain fingerboard. Ghost peizo with a sweet spot magnetic pickup. Beautiful instrument ! Please add me to the membership rolls.

Congrats and welcome aboard the good ship Tobias.

Cheers,
Cameron
 
A couple of months ago I sold/traded all of my MTD's (my whole stable of 3 basses) to help pay for some unexpected, large medical bills for my wife. I missed my two fretted 535's but my Marilyn fretless left a huge hole. It's just the best fretless I've ever played or heard.

Thankfully, the TB'er I sold it to (kotzman) is also a friend and a kind gentleman. He knew it upset me and he offered to sell it back to me after the bills were paid and we were back on our feet. What a guy...

Now that she's back I'm pretty much convinced that if I were ever put in this position again that the Marilyn would be the last bass I would sell. Thanks Jack!

God is good...

IMG_0931-2.gif
 
What exactly is the difference between a regular American and a Marilyn? Other than the purple fret markers.
Actually, the purple fret markers have nothing to do with it. There've been some strays from the original "formula", but it was at least originally more than just the chambered body to get that name on the back of the headstock.

It was a redwood top (generally water cured/blackened), on a chambered (specifically) alder body, with a maple neck and ebony board.

He's done other chambered models with different tops and different body woods, I think mostly ash, but I'm not sure if those are officially badged as "Marilyns" on the back of the headstock even though the play on words is only about the chambers as already noted.
 
Actually, the purple fret markers have nothing to do with it. There've been some strays from the original "formula", but it was at least originally more than just the chambered body to get that name on the back of the headstock.

It was a redwood top (generally water cured/blackened), on a chambered (specifically) alder body, with a maple neck and ebony board.

He's done other chambered models with different tops and different body woods, I think mostly ash, but I'm not sure if those are officially badged as "Marilyns" on the back of the headstock even though the play on words is only about the chambers as already noted.

+1 I think my Marylin #3 is the only one with the purpleheart dot inlays.
 
Very cool. Beautiful bass. I have no idea if one or the other of the gods is good or not, but you have a good friend there.

The funny thing is that this combination works perfectly for me but it was originally intended to be a bit different. I was modeling this bass after a Marilyn that Joel at The Groove Shoppe had made for him by Mike. I narrowly missed that bass in an auction and decided I had to have one. They are similar in woods except that the pickup on Joel's bass was closer to the bridge. After I decided to put in the piezo system I decided to move the magnetic pickup further away from the bridge. I then had second thoughts after it was too late and was a little concerned until I plugged it in. Perfecto!
 
Bassflute, I really enjoyed your clips. The bass sounds terrific. The highs of the bass are very "sweet" sounding. It's difficult to accurately describe it, but I think that word gets the gist of it. Nice playing!

not me at my best, just trying out the new Q3 (which is completely amazing, btw).

And yes, I love the Chambered MTD - you can just hear a hint of the hollow kind of jazz-bass sound in it, but it s absolutely magnificent, as are all his basses. These two have changed and improved my playing exponentially.

Cheers,
Cameron
 
and it's sure nice to know there are many good people in the world who will help out someone they don't even know.

Glad it's back in your hands, man. Post some clips if you get a moment.

Cheers,
Cameron

A couple of months ago I sold/traded all of my MTD's (my whole stable of 3 basses) to help pay for some unexpected, large medical bills for my wife. I missed my two fretted 535's but my Marilyn fretless left a huge hole. It's just the best fretless I've ever played or heard.

Thankfully, the TB'er I sold it to (kotzman) is also a friend and a kind gentleman. He knew it upset me and he offered to sell it back to me after the bills were paid and we were back on our feet. What a guy...

Now that she's back I'm pretty much convinced that if I were ever put in this position again that the Marilyn would be the last bass I would sell. Thanks Jack!

God is good...

IMG_0931-2.gif
 
And yes, I love the Chambered MTD - you can just hear a hint of the hollow kind of jazz-bass sound in it, but it s absolutely magnificent, as are all his basses.
I have a question, and please be completely honest.

I've typically posted in the past that the effect of the chambers seems to be more and more noticeable as you increase playing volume. In other words, at home, they have a mild effect, but at a gig, it's a lot more significant. Do you hear the same thing or not?

No biggie, just curious.
 
I have a question, and please be completely honest.

I've typically posted in the past that the effect of the chambers seems to be more and more noticeable as you increase playing volume. In other words, at home, they have a mild effect, but at a gig, it's a lot more significant. Do you hear the same thing or not?

No biggie, just curious.

I definitely noticed that, but then again, mine was one of the first three, and Mike made them in varying thicknesses, so mine is 1/4" thicker (with deeper chambers) than yours, Vic (and most of the later chambered MTDs).
 
and it's sure nice to know there are many good people in the world who will help out someone they don't even know.

Glad it's back in your hands, man. Post some clips if you get a moment.

Cheers,
Cameron

Thanks...

I would love to get some live clips of this monster in a mix, but it mainly gets played at church. By the time the signal gets to the recording software it's been colored so much that it doesn't sound like the same bass. Still sounds great though. Hopefully I can get it recorded if I start this jazz quartet soon that me and a few friends have been talking about for a few months now...
 
I have a question, and please be completely honest.

I've typically posted in the past that the effect of the chambers seems to be more and more noticeable as you increase playing volume. In other words, at home, they have a mild effect, but at a gig, it's a lot more significant. Do you hear the same thing or not?

No biggie, just curious.

of course it would be more noticeable at louder volumes. But the big thing about this bass for me is the way ALL of the tones are more pronounced; in other words, if you play soft, it's really in the background and out of the way. And when you dig in and step out front, this thing goes RIGHT over the top and transforms into a snarling MONSTER of a bass. I've never had a bass with the ability to change character SO much with your fingertips. It's kind of like an old air-cooled Porsche; below 3,000, sounds like a Volkswagen Beatle, all rattley and ticky; step on it, and the engine transforms into this huge, deep, belching, roaring loud MONSTER.

You can hear the versatility of this bass on some of my youtube clips with some of the blues bands I play with; it goes from background deep, bassy out-of-the-way thump to screaming, rip-your-face-off treble-from-hell solo sound that cuts like a scalpel, without touching a knob... I don't have any jazz stuff up yet, but that's coming soon. And I'll be posting some real solo bass stuff soon.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MrBassflute

On the solos, I didn't touch a knob anywhere; all the tonality & volume changes were done with my fingers.

Mr. Tobias' basses are simply awe-inspiring and limitless; I have improved SO much since I got mine. The only limit is you.

And sorry it took so long to get back to you.

BTW, if you're in Calgary in April, come on out to this:

Link Removed

I'm a guest clinician at it.

Cheers,
Cameron