A local shop traded me even,my 2 1/2 year old Ibanez SR885 for their NOS Czech made MTD Beast 5 string with Wenge fretboard today.When I first made the offer to the guy on Saturday all he wanted to know was what color the Ibanez was.When I said black he said : "sure,let's do it,I;ll sell it faster than that thing,it's been here forever." So there you go.As many have discovered,the Beast sounds and plays great.Today was a good day.
Good one, Deynn! v-ray, it's nice to see someone get the better end of a swap for a change. I'm betting that it blows your SR-885 away. Am I right?
As a fellow Beast tamer, i bid you good luck, and congratulate you on that deal. I also bought a Beast and got a discount as it had been there for a fair while, which was absolutely mind boggling to me. Well not so much i suppose the fact that it wasn't entry level, and wasn't a fender/some other popular headstock. but man the thing played nicer than anything else they had in the store at the time, even the ones that cost nearly twice as much, only thing it lacks is maybe electronics, but can you really complain about passive bart j's with great tone control??? anyway, BEASTS RULE, everyone has been talking about the kingstons, well i think if anyone is looking for a jazz(which is my type of bass) look at the beast, can be found for not much more, more consistent quality from my experience, hand made, and beautiful, anyway good luck with it, my only problem was i didn't so much like the 5 because the neck was too big for me since it kept the 4 strings same spacing, and have small fingers. anyway enough rambling, great bass, great deal
Man, that's a great deal. I wish I could get something like that. Have fun with the Beast, kinda sounds like a rollercoaster....hehe
if you guys would like a great deal on a Beast, email me soon- they are discontinued so there will be no more- smokin bass!!! [email protected]
the beast is discontinued, damn that kinda sucks, was a great bass, oh well i feel just more pirvelaged to have mine then i guess
I've got a Beast on the way! I found one for $450.00 brand new. It's a red pearl 5-string with a wenge fingerboard. I've never touched one before as there are no dealers in my area. Will I be satisfied with it?
will you be satisfied??? well i've never played their 5 strings, but, if you like jazz basses, and you like assymetrical necks you probably will be. i'm sure they aren't everyones cup of tea, but a handmade bass from the czech republic with quality electronics and hardware for only 450, well yeah, i'd say you should be satisfied.
I love Jazz Basses! I guess I was asking a rhetorical question. I was able to read some print material on it and view some photos prior to commiting myself to it. It appears to be an very good deal. If all else fails, I could always sell it. I usually don't try to buy for resale value though as I am still VERY much in the acquisition stage! Now if I could just find a killer deal on amplification! MTD doesn't have a case for it. Can anyone who has a similar bass offer any possible case solutions? It's pretty arid in my area of the country and a case allows me to store a humidifier inside with the instrument as well as protect it. BTW, there was still one 5 stringer left when I spoke to them at the end of the day. It's red with a maple board. $450.00.
No doubt you got the better end of that deal. I had essentially an SR-885 (it was a complimentary model given by Ibanez to a pro, didn't actually say SR-885, but it was one). I liked the feel of the neck, but the string spacing was too close for me and the sound was lackluster and the B string floppy. Not so the MTDB. I count myself fortunate to have picked up one of the closeouts at $450. The original pickups were changed out for me by Mike Tobias to a newer iteration (mine was one of the early MTDB's with the uneven exposed poles and my lousy technique yielded clicks when I palm-muted the B-string into the pole piece). I am extremely pleased with this bass- playability and sound are excellent. I wouldn't even put it in the same ball park with an SR-885. YMMV. BTW, thanks again to Adrian for the heads-up elwood
V-Ray, I found out that Tobias does have a case that fits. It can be had for $70.00. I don't know who the case manufacturer is. I think I'll check locally for SKB cases first. The one from Tobias may be a better deal if it's of the same or better quality. I just checked the UPS site and my bass is in transit. I'll probably receive it no later than Tuesday.
I suppose you mean MTD, not Tobias? Where did you see the info about the case, ebozzz? thanks- elwood
I got the "Da Beast" today. $450.00 well spent! I can't believe the playability of this bass. The tone ..... truly awesome. This bass could easily be someone's main axe! If I could change anything about the bass it would probably be the bridge. One of a little heavier weight might yield good results. The knobs also could have been better. Wide string spacing on this 5 string. Lots of snap and pop when slapping and equally good tone when finger playing. I just wish that I had found out earlier. Maybe I could have gotten a fretless version. Two basses of this quality for under $1000.00 would have been a steal!