Exactly.And you misrepresented his position by turning it a "my opinion doesn't count" deal. So it fits quite well, IMO, and it wasn't a guess.
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MTD mod'd with PEAVEY pickups??????
- Thread starter Vic
- Start date
Jaco didn't play an 08
That was before the Collector's GuildTM deemed them theeeee most awesomest basses everrrrrrr. When Jaco did his mods, they were Fenders just like any other Fenders. He wasn't going to sell the bass, so why not? I'm inclined to look at Jaco's bass the same way you're looking at the MTD.
The routs for Foundation Super Ferrites are 1.25" deep, 1.25" wide and 4" long. I suspect he had to remove some wood from the bottom to make the pickups sit deep enough, even if the width wasn't an issue.
Add one more piece to the body and you have the description of a Fender, pre-CBS or not.
Yeah, but only in very generalized terms of basic construction.
Fender never went through the careful wood selection Mike does, they don't care nearly as much about fret levels, neck pocket tightness, etc.
None of this may matter to some folks, and if there are those out there who would truly compare a mass produced Fender to a hand made MTD, that's fine, but I definitely don't share that opinion at all.
I do not think that is necessarily true but I will say that I think it is silly to mod basses that are supposed to have a very idiosyncratic tone.
For MTD (as in the basses BUILT by Tobias himself) that sound comes from the Bartolini setup. If you do not want that sound, why buy the bass?
I really wasn't doing what you think- I'm on the side of "you do to a Fender what you want". I'm definitely aware that an MTD is a better piece of craftsmanship than a Fender. He's (however slightly) implying that Jaco modding a Pre-CBS Fender is somehow worse than this guy modding an MTD. IMO, the real sin -if in fact there is any sin in either case- is modding the MTD.
BTW, I got a reply from the guy saying the original pickups were failing and he didn't want to sell something that didn't work. That's obviously very cool, but I had to ask if he at least checked into replacing with the original types before modifying for something else.
Just a quest of curiosity at this point.
Just a quest of curiosity at this point.
Somehow I bet it still sounds awesome.
So why is it such a big deal?
One of the last engines I built before I stopped working as a machinist was a small block Chevrolet engine, based on one that came out of POS trucks. It was headed into a Ferrari. He could've had the original motor rebuilt, but he wanted something slightly different, less expensive, still as cool functionally...just not original. It's a slightly reductionist explanation, but that's basically what he did. Still a cool vehicle.
It's not quite the same analogy in all respects, before it's jumped on as apples and oranges, since the Peavey pickups weren't rebuilt...but then again there's no reason to believe that the quality of the pickups were any better or worse than the Barts, just that Mike Tobias didn't pick Peavey pickups for his instruments. Either way, the vehicle for the pickups wasn't affected, and it's still going to be a great sounding and playing instrument.
...for those who originality means nothing. That is clearly me, no matter how much I respect Mike (which is a lot especially based on absolutely fantastic dealings over the years).
In the end, not mine, so who cares? I'm not sure what all the questioning will prove.
So why is it such a big deal?
One of the last engines I built before I stopped working as a machinist was a small block Chevrolet engine, based on one that came out of POS trucks. It was headed into a Ferrari. He could've had the original motor rebuilt, but he wanted something slightly different, less expensive, still as cool functionally...just not original. It's a slightly reductionist explanation, but that's basically what he did. Still a cool vehicle.
It's not quite the same analogy in all respects, before it's jumped on as apples and oranges, since the Peavey pickups weren't rebuilt...but then again there's no reason to believe that the quality of the pickups were any better or worse than the Barts, just that Mike Tobias didn't pick Peavey pickups for his instruments. Either way, the vehicle for the pickups wasn't affected, and it's still going to be a great sounding and playing instrument.
...for those who originality means nothing. That is clearly me, no matter how much I respect Mike (which is a lot especially based on absolutely fantastic dealings over the years).
In the end, not mine, so who cares? I'm not sure what all the questioning will prove.
It wasn't intended to be. The debate just kinda' got out of hand due to some somewhat antagonistic posts.
In my OP I was pretty critical of the guy, and, IMHO, I remain so. But I also know it's ONLY MHO and as such isn't necessarily worth anything to anyone but me, and I'm not the least bit upset or offended if folks disagree. In fact I expect it on such a polarizing sub-meaning, as one poster so accurately put it.
Actually, IMHO, your analogy is a good one. FWIW, anyway.
Not a darn thing. It's just academic. No "results" could come from this thread, but none were expected, either. The owner will never know about any of this, and even if he did, I seriously doubt he'd care, and I'm completely cool with that, too.
It's just a TB thread.
The plot thickens. I'm emailing the guy, and he seems pretty stand-up, but at this point, I can assure you the pickup choice was more about just getting something working in the bass for resale and what someone just happened to have laying around at the time. It had nothing to do with the specific desire to change the pickups for the Peaveys.
The story is interesting, and I'll post more later.
The story is interesting, and I'll post more later.
It being "academic" would imply that you were, no more no less, curious of the reasoning and answers purely for the sake of explanation. The OP has a 'thumbs down' mark attached to it that rides on the side of the whole thread. Where in academia does that fit in?
Yes you are admittedly being critical of the guy, which would've been hard to deny anyway (and that's perfectly fine in itself), but please don't try and couch it as intellectual curiousity.
Yes you are admittedly being critical of the guy, which would've been hard to deny anyway (and that's perfectly fine in itself), but please don't try and couch it as intellectual curiousity.
Because even though some things can initially seem stupid, and even though I was openly critical, I also know sometimes things can be explained or understood better with additional info, which I'm currently actively gathering. FYI, I'm open to that. That's where.
Sure I was critical, and of course I never had any plans to deny that. I'm just open to explanation, and it IS intellectual curiosity. You're assuming I'm totally closed minded about this, and that's a BAD assumption.
In other words, seems like you misjudged me, because "academic" DOES apply here.
Now see what you started Vic?
Yeah, for a moment I forgot about how Forums often go on stuff like this. Oh well.
Yeah, for a moment I forgot about how Forums often go on stuff like this. Oh well.
LOL. You've been right on with all of your comments. The guy removed "MTD" pickups from a MTD and stuck in Peavey pickups while, apparently, physically modifying the instrument to so. That was dumb, pure and simple.
Obviously, the guy wanted a different/better sound for his bass. His choice. I love SuperFerrite pickups: I own 4 Foundations. 3 of 'em have the SF pickups, one came with different pickups and I swapped them out for Nordstrand big singles. The price of Peavey basses w/superferrites is going up all the time, fewer of them out there. As far as the act being a "disconnect", maybe you need to hear the bass with that pickup combination before getting up on a high horse about it.
I would think that, most likely, the bass sounds pretty lousy considering that the MTD pickups and preamp are designed to work together. That is unless he changed the preamp too.
EDIT: I guess the preamp HAS been changed out also.
EDIT: I guess the preamp HAS been changed out also.
No, he didn't.
Read my more recent post. It was not at all about tone. All he cared about was replacing pickups that seemed to be failing for him with anything he could get his hands on that would work, so he could sell the bass without anything failing.
I've been in touch with him. Seems like a great guy, but it was pure chance these pickups ended up in the bass.
