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MTD vs F-bass vs Fodera Thoughts

#21
I've owned several F Basses, one MTD and have tried out a handful of Foderas.

After going to a local retailer to try some Foderas out, I was pretty underwhelmed (dont get me wrong, they were high quality, but didn't live up to the hype in my head). The F Basses they had (BN5's), were amazing, and turned me into a lifelong fan.

The MTD 535 that I had was equality as good, with a great neck. The tone wasn't as great (very modern) and the preamp wasn't as straight forward as the F. That being said, I'd still pick another one up if given the opportunity. They ooze craftsmanship and are just fun to play.
 
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#22
My personal choice is in this order
1. Fedora ABSOLUTELY love their 4 string basses
2. FBass before the price increase was best bang for the buck in Boutique builders. Now if I'm spending 5k plus its going to be a Fodera.
3. MTD while they make excellent instruments they aren't my cup of tea.
 
#23
As others have said, it's really about preference and specs. I do think that after a certain point, you are paying a premium for prestige. Does a Fodera or Alembic really play/sound $4000 better than something built by, say, M Bass, Stambaugh, or any of the many other boutique builders?

Personally, having played a lot of custom and boutique basses over the years, I think my custom Stambaugh basses play every bit as well as any Fodera, F-Bass, or any other boutique brand I've played. But, they are also designed and set up exactly for what I want, so I'm sure a Fodera with my preferred specs and setup would also play really great. But, again, would it play so much better as to be worth thousands of dollars more? I doubt that very much.

A boutique bass purchase should never be an investment. There is a finite market for instruments that cost thousands and an even smaller market of people looking for exactly the same thing you are. If you want to invest your money there are a million better ways to do it. For what it's worth, if I wanted a boutique-level bass to actually play, I'd be calling custom luthiers like Stambaugh (I'm biased, since he's built both of my basses, but he's far from the only guy in that class!) and getting quotes on what they could build for me. If nothing else, it would give you a real clear perspective on the financial options available to you, and being able to compare costs from several custom builders would help you better decide if any bass you went to purchase off the rack was an equal value to your dream custom build.
 
#26
What I liked most about the MTD was the ease of tone shaping and the familiar control layout. Basically, the same as my G&L M-2500 with a switch. While there is no passive option on my MTD I don't miss it. But tone wise it covers all the bases (see what I did there). The biggest advantage of my MTD is the weight. I need to weigh it when (or if) I get a chance. But it is noticeably lighter than the rest of the heard. The beauty of the instrument itself makes it a pleasure to play. The downside will always be the price tag. I believe mine rolled out of the factory at close to $8K usd. I purchased it from the original owner (who is a friend of mine) for $6.5K. I feel I got a fair deal being the woods, feel and obvious custom specs. I wanted 34" scale and 17mm string spacing. Not having those in your average 535 has kept me from owning one. The other bass's listed in the OPs topic have been passed on because of several reasons. All strictly because of personal preference. Sadowsky has been a hard pass because they just love 19mm spacing on their 5vers. Sadowsky 4 string instruments seem perfectly fine, but I don't play 4 string. Haven't for almost 15 years.

People need to find what works for them. I love "my" MTD. I don't love all MTD's. I'm not a fan of spallted maple. Or plain wood. Regardless of what it is. You can see the grain in my avatar. It's just friggin amazing. That's my personal preference. I love Fenders. More and more as life kicks me forward. But I enjoy my G&Ls as much. I'm even having fun with my Tobias Classic V.

Now that I've completely derailed the tread... My job here is done.
 
#27
My wife would tell me they all sound like a bass. And, they do.

It's hard to know where the line between drinking fine wine and cork sniffing lies. Yes, you can hear differences when you sit in a shop or studio. You may even hear differences in a live mix, which may indeed distract or support your playing.

With these three, I would put the F's and Fodera's somewhat in the vicinity of the Fender spectrum; while the MTD Bartolini standard sounds are more "HiFi." If you are going for high end Fender-ish sounds, I'm not sure why A-C's or Sadowsky's wouldn't be in the mix.

I have an MTD, on which Mike very eagerly worked with Mike Pope and Carey Nordstrand pickups; and it sounds somewhat closer to the Fender / Fodera space. Mike Tobias is an exceptional luthier, all round great guy, and a pleasure to work with. FWIW.

One perhaps oddball suggestion is that TB's @713HTown is a rather exceptional player, and has posted a fairly extensive range of sound bite vids with various high end basses in the Classified. If you listen to enough of them, you can hear most of the OP subject basses; and you may rightly come to the conclusion that the player matters more than the bass guitar. As I said, exceptional playing and excellent examples of what the various makers offer.

Ultimately, one needs to get the instruments out on their own gigs, and decide what sounds best for their own purposes. Best of luck.
 
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#30
tleebassist11 said:
I've owned all 3. The Mtd are great instruments but I always had trouble with cutting through in a live mix with them. The Fbass is basically like the perfect ergonomic jazz bass style instrument. The Fodera is just on another planet when it comes to comfort.
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Exactly this - same experience. I would add that Foderas (at least with Duncan duals) sound very much like a Jazz bass in single coil mode, and quite close to F basses, but they also have quite a pronounced bump in the upper mids, whereas F basses are slightly less mid-prominent. This could be a both a positive or negative; it does help Foderas cut through more, but F basses sound smoother for sure.
 
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#31
Jugghaid said:
Well, both of mine are 5 strings and everyone is different, but I think my 535 has a little faster neck.
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Ok, thanks. Btw, that's a great looking bass in your profile pic. G&L makes good fretless basses that are underrated. I have a fretless semi-hollow tele-style G&L with the same pickups, love it. The color on yours is beautiful
 
#32
Natem315 said:
Ok, thanks. Btw, that's a great looking bass in your profile pic. G&L makes good fretless basses that are underrated. I have a fretless semi-hollow tele-style G&L with the same pickups, love it. The color on yours is beautiful
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Love that thing. It's a Custom Shop (not BTO) with a crazy good top, black ebony board and flamed roasted neck. Plays like Buttah.
 
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#33
Jugghaid said:
Love that thing. It's a Custom Shop (not BTO) with a crazy good top, black ebony board and flamed roasted neck. Plays like Buttah.
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Jugghaid said:
Love that thing. It's a Custom Shop (not BTO) with a crazy good top, black ebony board and flamed roasted neck. Plays like Buttah.
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Nice! Mines also a custom shop. They really do play well. I've got flats on mine, but I've been thinking about trying rounds or a different brand of flats. What do you have on yours?
 

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#35
Regarding MTD 535s and cutting through the mIx: 535s were my main gigging basses for several years. Out of the six that I owned I only had an issue cutting through wth one. Otherwise I never had any problems - be it with a trio or a twelve-piece. You're always going to find individual basses in any model that don't sit well in the mix. That's just the nature of wood. I had a P bass with the same problem (and P basses are supposed to be the epitome of the "sits well in a mix" bass). And I guarantee there are plenty of Foderas and F basses out there that get just as easily lost in a mix as the MTD examples being cited in this thread.
 
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#36
tleebassist11 said:
I've owned all 3. The Mtd are great instruments but I always had trouble with cutting through in a live mix with them. The Fbass is basically like the perfect ergonomic jazz bass style instrument. The Fodera is just on another planet when it comes to comfort.
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Hey man. I've seen your videos on insta, you're a killer player. Love the sound you get out of that Fodera when you solo, groove, and play chords. I'm a fusion guy myself, and I'm trying to decide between Fbass, MTD, and Fodera. I see Bubby Lewis shredding on an MTD, so I'm sure they are comfortable. Which one feels and sounds the best to you when slapping/soloing/chording?
 
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#37
bass12 said:
Regarding MTD 535s and cutting through the mIx: 535s were my main gigging basses for several years. Out of the six that I owned I only had an issue cutting through wth one. Otherwise I never had any problems - be it with a trio or a twelve-piece. You're always going to find individual basses in any model that don't sit well in the mix. That's just the nature of wood. I had a P bass with the same problem (and P basses are supposed to be the epitome of the "sits well in a mix" bass). And I guarantee there are plenty of Foderas and F basses out there that get just as easily lost in a mix as the MTD examples being cited in this thread.
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My 534 sits just fine. Mostly made of Maple. Built in 24 I initially had setup issues. But there's a local tech that's an MTD guru. After an afternoon of tweaks and a couple of weeks to stabilize it's now becoming a serious contender for a top spot. Think of an MTD as being alive. Then you'll get it.

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The shop I get mine at just got something interesting. If I wasn't totally happy the 524 I have I might be there.
 
#38
@Mattk5804 hey bro thanks for the kind words! I'd have to say for that style of bass playing Fodera wins everytime! So great as a instrument that gets out the way and lets you improvise
 

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