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My NEW MTD Z5 Natural Gloss

#22
tbone0813 said:
The GBE750 & the Avatar 212 are an awesome combo. Precise & clear. The body wood of the Z5 is mahogany. I will be replacing the preamp with an Audere, and the pickups with a set of Nordstrand DC5's when I get back in town at the end of the week. It will also have a toggle switch for each pickup that will allow me to switch between parallel/single coil/series.
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tbone,

Have you replaced the preamp and pups in your Z? Would love to hear what you think about the change. Thanks!
 
#24
tbone0813 said:
Actually I just dropped it off at Pete Skjold's place yesterday to have all of it done. I probably won't have it back until next weekend as I am out of town from Mon-Fri.
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tbone,

Thanks for getting back at me. Pete would be a great guy to have do the work. Lucky you to have Pete close enough. I would be interested to hear what he thought of the bass as well. Please keep us informed about your new bass. I am looking forward to hearing how it sounds after the upgrades.
 
#25
avid said:
tbone,

Thanks for getting back at me. Pete would be a great guy to have do the work. Lucky you to have Pete close enough. I would be interested to hear what he thought of the bass as well. Please keep us informed about your new bass. I am looking forward to hearing how it sounds after the upgrades.
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When he looked at the bass yesterday he was blown away by the quality of the finish. We'll see what he thinks of the final build after the electronics are installed.
 
#32
Basso Gruvitas said:
Tommy,
I stopped by Pete's shop this Saturday and saw your bass in person. I'm very impressed. + it had the Nordstrands installed so that really should help you with the tone you're after.

Really a great looking bass in person...and it looked very well-made.
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Thanks John. It really is a well-made bass. The quality of construction is fantastic. I can't wait to hear it with the new electronics in it.
 
#34
Gtrslngr said:
Cool bass. I've been considering getting a Z5. Are the stock pups that bad? I'm having trouble coming up with a grand just to get the bass.
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I was bound and determined I was going to transfer the EMGs from the Spector I'm selling to my Z5 when I got it...then I played a few gigs with them...and decided that they were a perfect match for the Z5, why mess with it? Totally the sound I was looking for myself for my funk/hiphop/rnb/soul gig...and cuts it real well in my rock gig as well!
 
#35
Gtrslngr said:
Cool bass. I've been considering getting a Z5. Are the stock pups that bad? I'm having trouble coming up with a grand just to get the bass.
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No they are not bad at all. I bought the bass with the specific intention in upgrading the pups & preamp. I prefer the Nordstrand pups over the ones in the Z5, and IMO the preamp that comes with the Z5 has lower output than I am used to. The bass sounds great stock. I really had made up my mind before I ordered the bass that I was changing these things out. That's why I went with a bass in this price range. The Z5's construction is far superior to any bass in this price range, and I guarantee you that it will rival basses costing $2K +.
 
#36
tbone0813 said:
No they are not bad at all. I bought the bass with the specific intention in upgrading the pups & preamp. I prefer the Nordstrand pups over the ones in the Z5, and IMO the preamp that comes with the Z5 has lower output than I am used to. The bass sounds great stock. I really had made up my mind before I ordered the bass that I was changing these things out. That's why I went with a bass in this price range. The Z5's construction is far superior to any bass in this price range, and I guarantee you that it will rival basses costing $2K +.
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+1, except for the preamp comment...I've only used EMGs tone circuits or passive tone controls previously, though I've tried others natch when checking out different instruments, so perhaps I have a limited view...but IMO, this pre kicks a**!

Chacun son gout, I always say!
 
#37
Thanks for the response guy's. I'm laying it down for the Lord with my Carvin LB75 at a local church down here in North Carolina. I have a wife and 3 kids, making it tough to justify a new bass, but I really like the feel of the Z5 I tried a few weeks back.......I'm probably a few months out from making a purchase, but I got a bad case of MTD Z5 GAS. I'm a little anxious about going to 35" scale and wider neck, but when I slap the low E on the Carvin, I keep hitting the low B and I think It would ring cleaner with a little more space.....
 
#38
Gtrslngr said:
Thanks for the response guy's. I'm laying it down for the Lord with my Carvin LB75 at a local church down here in North Carolina. I have a wife and 3 kids, making it tough to justify a new bass, but I really like the feel of the Z5 I tried a few weeks back.......I'm probably a few months out from making a purchase, but I got a bad case of MTD Z5 GAS. I'm a little anxious about going to 35" scale and wider neck, but when I slap the low E on the Carvin, I keep hitting the low B and I think It would ring cleaner with a little more space.....
Click to expand...

Used mine at church this morning for the second week in a row...you'll definitely be glad of the wider spacing...
 
#39
Well I picked up my bass from Pete on Monday. All I can say is WOW!!!! This is one of the most amazing basses I have ever layed my hands on. I figured just between the pickup switches & z-mode switch there are 27 different tonal options. This isn't including the Hi & Mid-Z adjustments on the preamp, and the 4 band EQ. I can pretty much dial in just about any tone I am looking for. I think it would be safe to say if this bass can't find a tone then the tone isn't out there.

I couldn't be more pleased. My hats off to Pete Skjold for an amazing installation. Pete treated this bass like it was one of his own. Everything is aesthetically pleasing, and easily accessible. Thanks Pete for a top notch job.

I currently am playing with the pups in Series, and the Z-mode in Low-Z. The gives me a nice even tone with a nice amount of low end. The mid range is growly & aggressive without being overly harsh. The highs just sing. The string to string setup is perfectly balanced with an even tonal response across the entire frequency spectrum. Pete setup the bass with his Skjold strings which really adds emphasis to the high end. The Mid-Z mode with the pickups in Single Coil cops a jazz bass vibe that I think anyone would like.

Here is an idea of the tonal options available:

Front Pup / Rear Pup / Z-Mode

Parallel / Parallel / Hi
Parallel / Series / Hi
Parallel / Single Coil / Hi
Sereis / Series / Hi
Series / Parallel / Hi
Series / Single Coil / Hi
Single Coil / Single Coil / Hi
Single Coil / Parallel / Hi
Single Coil / Series / Hi
Parallel / Parallel / Mid
Parallel / Series / Mid
Parallel / Single Coil / Mid
Sereis / Series / Mid
Series / Parallel / Mid
Series / Single Coil / Mid
Single Coil / Single Coil / Mid
Single Coil / Parallel / Mid
Single Coil / Series / Mid
Parallel / Parallel / Lo
Parallel / Series / Lo
Parallel / Single Coil / Lo
Sereis / Series / Lo
Series / Parallel / Lo
Series / Single Coil / Lo
Single Coil / Single Coil / Lo
Single Coil / Parallel / Lo
Single Coil / Series / Lo

Now on to the Pics of Pete's awesome install:

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