A story...
I recently sold the Fretless Curbow that I picked up from the fine fellow TB'er drgregn to ANOINTD and was trying to decide on where my next purchase was coming from. There are more than a few great basses here in the classifieds right now and while there were some that had me really interested I was also interested in the Human BaseX.OC5 and had emailed Brian at The Low End about buying one from him.
I knew that there was one at the Bass Exchange here in Los Angeles so I decided that I had better try it before I pulled the trigger. Since I was going there I had decided to try another bass that I had wondered about but not really spent any time with and that was the MTD Z5.
Well, I played them both and realized that the Human Bass was not for me...great preamp but there was something about the neck that I didn't like.
I picked up the MTD and started playing it and really liked the shape of the neck. Normally I am not a fan of the 35" scale but I found this bass to be quite comfortable. The thing that I was really interested in was the preamp. I had read many opinions here about the pre sounding thin but was pleasantly surprised with it. I found that I could dial in plenty of lows and the mids and highs were right to my ears. Plus, this one was gorgeous...it had the standard burl maple but this one was natural in color and just amazing to look at. The maple board has some nice figuring to it as well and the dark wood accent between the burl and mahogany body sets the top off nicely. The added burl on the headstock is a bonus.
The bass was $999.99 (I also purchased a Tribal Planet gig bag - never heard of them, but a great heavily padded bag with lots of storage for $69...) so I decided that there was enough about the bass that I liked so I bought it.
I wanted to use PayPal and Gary, the owner, let me come around the counter to take care of the online transaction and I left the store with my new bass.
The guys at The Amp Shop / Bass Exchange were extremely helpful and the bass is great.
Here are some quick pics I just took. I'll get better shots up tomorrow...
A US MTD is still high on my GAS list and I knew that even though the Z5 is an import I hoped that it had some of the MTD magic and it does. I go through as much gear as any of you in here so who knows what the long term is for me and this bass but I dig it, it sounds and plays great and is a very solid 5 string that is a fantastic bargain.
I recently sold the Fretless Curbow that I picked up from the fine fellow TB'er drgregn to ANOINTD and was trying to decide on where my next purchase was coming from. There are more than a few great basses here in the classifieds right now and while there were some that had me really interested I was also interested in the Human BaseX.OC5 and had emailed Brian at The Low End about buying one from him.
I knew that there was one at the Bass Exchange here in Los Angeles so I decided that I had better try it before I pulled the trigger. Since I was going there I had decided to try another bass that I had wondered about but not really spent any time with and that was the MTD Z5.
Well, I played them both and realized that the Human Bass was not for me...great preamp but there was something about the neck that I didn't like.
I picked up the MTD and started playing it and really liked the shape of the neck. Normally I am not a fan of the 35" scale but I found this bass to be quite comfortable. The thing that I was really interested in was the preamp. I had read many opinions here about the pre sounding thin but was pleasantly surprised with it. I found that I could dial in plenty of lows and the mids and highs were right to my ears. Plus, this one was gorgeous...it had the standard burl maple but this one was natural in color and just amazing to look at. The maple board has some nice figuring to it as well and the dark wood accent between the burl and mahogany body sets the top off nicely. The added burl on the headstock is a bonus.
The bass was $999.99 (I also purchased a Tribal Planet gig bag - never heard of them, but a great heavily padded bag with lots of storage for $69...) so I decided that there was enough about the bass that I liked so I bought it.
I wanted to use PayPal and Gary, the owner, let me come around the counter to take care of the online transaction and I left the store with my new bass.
The guys at The Amp Shop / Bass Exchange were extremely helpful and the bass is great.
Here are some quick pics I just took. I'll get better shots up tomorrow...
A US MTD is still high on my GAS list and I knew that even though the Z5 is an import I hoped that it had some of the MTD magic and it does. I go through as much gear as any of you in here so who knows what the long term is for me and this bass but I dig it, it sounds and plays great and is a very solid 5 string that is a fantastic bargain.
