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The Official MTD USA Thread

#3,142
evilgus said:
I just put a small sound sample of my ash/maple-burl, ash/mac ebony 535 on my myspace (below), checkout the track Sunset Over Sea Fadeout. Be aware that the (MTD S-Steel) strings have been on the bass for a while, so the tone has calmed down a bit.

Cheers,

EG
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Sound pretty good to my ears. :)
 
#3,143
I've been playing one of my other basses so much lately that I had forgotten how much I love the way my MTD 635 plays and sounds. I took it to rehearsal tonight and it just killed. It really sounds great in the trio that I play in these days. There is a lot of space in that band and the wide frequency spectrum of my 635 fills it out nicely. We are also in the process of recording and I used it on a few tracks. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.
 
#3,144
Vic said:
This may be a bit of a sideways comment, but why would you want to be "converted"?

I ask this because I tried for a long time to "expand" my tonal arena by trying really hard to like different models and wood combos... especially ones other than my faves, but no matter how killer the instrument, when all was said and done, on gigs, I spent most of my time trying to coax "my sound" out of these other basses, which were simply not designed for it. It was frustrating and expensive.

If you know what you like, consider yourself lucky. Don't keep trying to like something that doesn't speak to you... stick with what you like, and save time and a pile of cash. That's my advice. :)
Click to expand...

i guess Convert was the wrong word. What I meant to say was Let me hear that combo in a band or solo situation to hear how it cuts through The mix. I am Blessed to find a sound that i like. but I like a lot of sounds. the basses I have now just seem to fit the bill for the gigs I'm doing. So Convert no enlighten yes. Peace
 
#3,145
bassnote6 said:
i guess Convert was the wrong word. What I meant to say was Let me hear that combo in a band or solo situation to hear how it cuts through The mix. I am Blessed to find a sound that i like. but I like a lot of sounds. the basses I have now just seem to fit the bill for the gigs I'm doing. So Convert no enlighten yes. Peace
Click to expand...
Ahh, ok, I read your post to say you'd checked it out before and didn't like it previously.

The band I'm currently in has been doing a lot of ad hoc recording for posterity. It's a hard thing to suffer, but a great way to make marked improvements in the band's performance quality. If there's anything at all "shareable", I'll post.
 
#3,146
Hey guys, any of you have or have seen the MTD Heavy Duty Gig Bag? My Nordstrand gig bag has spoiled making my Incase Slimbag seem like a beast to haul around. I'd love to see a picture of two if you have them as well.
 
#3,147
Tony,

One of my MTDs came with the MTD gigbag and it is a great gigbag. What else would you expect with MTD on it? It is one of the most padded bags I have seen, but I haven't tried to many really high end bags. I do have a incase double bag coming though. I will see if I can get a pic up, but it will be pretty boring after looking at all the great basses.:D
 
#3,148
Saluki said:
Tony,

One of my MTDs came with the MTD gigbag and it is a great gigbag. What else would you expect with MTD on it? It is one of the most padded bags I have seen, but I haven't tried to many really high end bags. I do have a incase double bag coming though. I will see if I can get a pic up, but it will be pretty boring after looking at all the great basses.:D
Click to expand...

That's cool. I'd appreciate if you could get a pic or two up. I'm interested in seeing more than the tiny picture on the MTD website.
 
#3,149
So here I am again with another MTD question:

If I wanted an MTD 535-24 that had a lot of punch and growl for fingerstyle, yet with a big bottom, what kind of wood would you guys reccomend? From what I've read, the neck and board would be wenge. I'd like a bass with great focus in the midrange, yet not too overwhelming.

So I guess I'd want to know what kind of body wood would compliment an all wenge neck on an MTD?

I would ask Mike myself, but it would feel too much like kicking tires...
 
#3,153
tombowlus said:
My favorite combo for what you are after is an ash body and maple top.
Click to expand...
+1, but even with other top woods, at least if you have an ash body, that gets the core job done IMHO.

On the wenge/wenge neck, however, if you're primarily a fingerstyler, make sure you eval one before committing. It's very dependent on your taste and style whether that gets you the KIND of punch and growl you're after. It's pretty polarizing. I'm also primarily fingerstyle myself, and as much as I wanted to, because I love the look and feel of the w/w neck, I couldn't get what I needed from it. That lands me squarely back in the maple or ash neck camp, with the usual fingerboard choices... ebony, pau ferro, or even maple.

All this said, make sure you ask these same questions to Mike and see what he says. Try very hard to describe in exact detail the tone you're after... even if it's "The tone that <insert player> gets on <insert song name>". I also recommend a high level of trust in what he recommends, even if it's a wood combo you never thought of. :)
 
#3,154
Vic said:
+1, but even with other top woods, at least if you have an ash body, that gets the core job done IMHO.

On the wenge/wenge neck, however, if you're primarily a fingerstyler, make sure you eval one before committing. It's very dependent on your taste and style whether that gets you the KIND of punch and growl you're after. It's pretty polarizing. I'm also primarily fingerstyle myself, and as much as I wanted to, because I love the look and feel of the w/w neck, I couldn't get what I needed from it. That lands me squarely back in the maple or ash neck camp, with the usual fingerboard choices... ebony, pau ferro, or even maple.

All this said, make sure you ask these same questions to Mike and see what he says. Try very hard to describe in exact detail the tone you're after... even if it's "The tone that <insert player> gets on <insert song name>". I also recommend a high level of trust in what he recommends, even if it's a wood combo you never thought of. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess the Master is the one who will answer the question the best. About the whole wenge thing, it's because I'm an old Warwick-head, and not much beats an all wenge neck on Wicks...
 
#3,156
The_Owl said:
Yeah, I guess the Master is the one who will answer the question the best. About the whole wenge thing, it's because I'm an old Warwick-head, and not much beats an all wenge neck on Wicks...
Click to expand...
True, but keep in mind how DISTINCT a character the wick elex give the instrument as well. I believe that uber-barky tone is designed to compliment those woods. When I play a wick, I don't miss anything tonally for fingerstyle. On an MTD, well... I love it for slap, but for fingerstyle... at least for my tastes... it struggles a bit.
 
#3,157
DRay521 said:
I have a wenge neck/fb on a korina body (no top), and I find the tone can sound a little "hollow" to my ears when not EQ'd right. I need a little more aggressiveness and punch. Would the ash/maple top give me what I'm missing or is the wenge the issue?
Click to expand...
If you're like me, both changes would give you most of what you want. I definitely like the ash body with the w/w neck better than the tulip or korina body, but still not as much as the maple or ash necks.
 
#3,158
DRay521 said:
I have a wenge neck/fb on a korina body (no top), and I find the tone can sound a little "hollow" to my ears when not EQ'd right. I need a little more aggressiveness and punch. Would the ash/maple top give me what I'm missing or is the wenge the issue?
Click to expand...

I have an ash/maple/wenge/wenge 435 and 535, and IME/IMHO, they are very punchy and plenty aggressive. But, for the record, I play over the neck pickup, with minimal - if any - tweaking of the onboard EQ. Vic, who plays predominantly over the bridge pickup, borrowed my ash/maple/wenge/wenge 535, and it did not work as well for him.

So, I guess the moral of the story is, YMMV.

Tom.
 
#3,159
Disclaimer:
I might sound like I'm on a campaign against the wenge/wenge necks, but I'm really not... it's only MHO for my personal tastes. I'm sure I'll draw some fire on this just like before, but to try and head that off, I'm just being honest about MHO.

Obviously, it works great for lotsa' folks or it wouldn't be as popular as it is, but IMHO, while I have yet to hear an MTD that didn't sound great, for pretty much anything, I do feel the wenge/wenge necks are oriented a little bit more for slapping than fingerstyle.
 
#3,160
tombowlus said:
Vic, who plays predominantly over the bridge pickup, borrowed my ash/maple/wenge/wenge 535, and it did not work as well for him.
Click to expand...
Tho I will extend this to say I definitely liked it a LOT better than the tulip wenge/wenge one I had!

In fact, I liked it enough that I was almost set to get one until Mike hit me with the ash/maple neck thing. I was a little pensive about it until I played Adrian's ash/maple neck'd 635 in Vegas. I was a dead duck at that point. :)
 

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