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The Official MTD USA Thread
- Thread starter johnpaulbass
- Start date
Yes it is a custom set-up only available in the US MTD bass. It's definitely not a off the shelf Bart system.
Ya definetely custom. I have not heard another bart system that has the balance, clarity and openess as what is in the MTDs.
I've owned a number of MTDs, and have actually owned both wood combinations in question at the same time.
From my experience, the Maple board with the Ash body and Maple neck sounded much more harsh and zingy compared to the same bass but with a Rosewood board.
The Maple/Rosewood was much more balanced and seemed to play every style well.
The Maple/Maple was great if you wanted a very bright tone, but it didn't do all styles well and for me, it was rather tough to eq the upper end the way I wanted it.
All that said, Mike T said that the Maple/Maple bass that I had a heavier Ash body and that probably contributed a lot with the tone that I didn't care for.
For me though, I'm very impressed with the tone you get with the Maple/Rosewood combination. I prefer the Maple/Rosewood and Wenge/Wenge neck combinations...with those two, I have all the tones covered.
Hi Mtdholics!
I have few questions for those who played on both old (s/n <300) and new Mtd basses, is there a difference? (with same wood spec)
Is an old mtd better than a new or opposite? No difference? What about the buzz feitten system? I mean is therer something except the woods that changed?
It seems older Mtds are cheaper compare to new ones on the second hand market but why?
Stupid questions?
Thanx!
a mtd lover
Could be, but not guaranteed based on age alone. As I recall, it wasn't so much that he had an earlier sound and a later sound as much as it was that there were a few periods of time where he released runs of basses with different preamps from Bill that sounded somewhat different, but not like night/day. I also think there were two versions of the current preamp (I think he moved the pickup preamp out of the pickups into that separate module), but the tone was the same.
Anyway, my main thing is, I think we learned it's not always safe to assume if the bass is older it'll have a different sound from the elex.
That said, Mike's basses are so individualized anyway (which gets into your point about his wood selection, which I agree with), it's almost hard to even try to assign "tonal generations" to his stuff. It goes from bass to bass... not year to year.
Thank you guys for the answers!
It is interesting to hear that Bartolini changed the way they make the pick up.
(@ 03 min 05)
Link Removed
So i guess i was not all wrong. There is something different, at least in the pick up.
By the way what do you think about the buzz feiten system?
Well... I took the plunge. I am going to pick her up probably Thursday, from the store. I am kind of nervous though. I have yet to hear of anyone owning what I got. It is macassar top and an ash fingerboard, and to be honest the wood body escapes my mind, as I am tired out of my mind right now. I would post a pic, but the ones I have are the store pics, and until I have it in my grubby little hands, it just doesn't feel right. I was wary at first that the macassar would be too bright, but man, this bass is seriously warm and responsive. Really clear focused low end, great mids and clear highs. Just don't flame me cause she is the best looking k? 
It's a 535 by the way.
It's a 535 by the way. 
Well, I got a chance to take my MTD 535 (ash body/ash neck/maple board/walnut burl top) to a local jazz gig to let my friend play it through an Aggie 500SC/GS410 rig. It had plenty of company with other high end basses. I purposely sat in the audience to get a feel for how it sat in the mix. In the back of my mind I'm hearing the common "MTD's don't sit well in a mix" and "MTD's can't cut through a mix" complaints and when the MTD got plugged in, heads turned.
I'm not kidding you. It went up against just about every possible pickup option available to mankind, including the J type that FOH guys rave about, and nothing cut the mix quite like this 535, and the only thing boosted at the bass pre was the bass and mids, boosted *maybe* 5 - 10%, with the mid selector switch in the low position. It was insane.
Kudos to Mr. Tobias for making the finest bass out there.
I'm not kidding you. It went up against just about every possible pickup option available to mankind, including the J type that FOH guys rave about, and nothing cut the mix quite like this 535, and the only thing boosted at the bass pre was the bass and mids, boosted *maybe* 5 - 10%, with the mid selector switch in the low position. It was insane.
Kudos to Mr. Tobias for making the finest bass out there.
rockstarbassist
Inactive
I'm about to start gigging my 535 in my rock cover band. Although it's a wenge/wenge+tulipwood setup, I think it should do just fine.
The combo you're describing is what'll be my next MTD acquisition for those exact reasons.
Sounds kinda' like mine.
It's the phattest sounding 535 I have owned/played. I like it so much I could even potentially consider selling one of my other ones. It's very lightweight for an ash body'd 535 (just under 8.5 pounds!), plays insanely well (even for an MTD), and has that really big rich tone of that wood combo.
I rarely need to touch the low EQ, but I have boosted the low mids just a touch from time to time, and sometimes drop the treble a bit, but it's just unstoppable.
My band just did a "live" recording in the studio the other weekend and I took along my ash/ash 535-24 and the Chapman Stick. I couldn't believe how good the 535 sounded, running direct into the board from my Thunderfunk! I initially asked the engineer if he could mic up the cab as well, but he suggested doing the takes first and then if I wasn't happy with the sound, we could replay the bass through the rig and re-mic it that way. I simply didn't have to, it sounded great!
I should have the finished product in another week or two, will post up some extracts when I can. Actually, I have a few good rehearsal tracks, might post up one or two of them tonight anyway.
Cheers,
EG
I should have the finished product in another week or two, will post up some extracts when I can. Actually, I have a few good rehearsal tracks, might post up one or two of them tonight anyway.
Cheers,
EG
Forgot to mention I just bought an Aggie GS410 off a mate, it really kicks some serious ass! I used to tweak the Timbre control on the TF a notch anti-clockwise to boost the lows and cut the highs on the MTD, but I really don't need to with the Aggie. It's far more efficient than the pair of Acme cabs, so I guess it's pumping more lows, despite having a biting top-end as well.
What's even better, the Acme Low B-2 is *exactly* the same width and depth as the Aggie and has the same locking corners, so it fits on top and makes a 6 x 10 monster stack!!!
Cheers,
EG
What's even better, the Acme Low B-2 is *exactly* the same width and depth as the Aggie and has the same locking corners, so it fits on top and makes a 6 x 10 monster stack!!!
Cheers,
EG
I can attest to the power of TFfunk + Aggie as well. I love my rig! TFunk + DB112 is funkin' goodness, and well obviously with my MTD as well .
.
I can attest to the power of TFfunk + Aggie as well. I love my rig! TFunk + DB112 is funkin' goodness, and well obviously with my MTD as well
IMO, the best luck I ever had live with my MTD's in a mix was with a Thunderfunk and a nice mid oriented cab like the DB's. That wide footprint of the MTD's can be an issue sometimes, but the tightness of warmth and midpunch of both the TF's and the DB's (especially a stack of DB112's) just works wonders with the MTD voicing.
The MTD/TF combination is just perfect to my ear, and bringing in the deep low end and upper treble high end of the MTD just a touch really brings those basses alive in a mix IMO!
Nice!
Most the time people who have these kind of problems just have an amp that's too little for the real volume they need. For me the amp is really important in producing the final sound.
No problem for me. I confess the amp and the effects I use help me to have a bigger sound (Mesa 400+ + PH1000 + compressor & distortion).
Anyway, Mike's building world class instruments, and I can testify he provides world class service: I'll tell you the story in a few weeks when it'll be over!
A few weeks ago, I spent a weekend with Andrew Gouche at Gerald Veasley's Bass Bootcamp. He is the musical director for Chaka Khan. If you go to MTD's website, the jingle you hear is being performed by him. He showed MTD owners how he uses the bass eq. He sets the mids at 250, and boost all of the way, and he also boost the bass and treble all of the way, and cut to the desired tone. Try it, you may be surprised. Oh by the way, he has no trouble cutting.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,942
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
So THAT's why Michael always sets the preamp gain pretty much all the way down on all the basses that leave his shop!
My gosh that's awful advice. Another case of a great player who is just as clueless as many others regarding EQ.
I hate to even think about this
18db or more of boost from a battery operated circuit, including a shelving bass control going into an amp. My god.This might be a Talkbass first for me in that I'm not even going to say IMO!
Haha. If you can believe it, I actually didn't know about the preamp gain dial in the cavity until Tony (XavidmanX) told me/showed me this past Sat. when I went over with my rig + MTD to take Alleva off his hands.
What do you other MTD owners set your preamp dial at? Stock setting? Half way? All the way?
What do you other MTD owners set your preamp dial at? Stock setting? Half way? All the way?
Other than making sure it's not cranked all the way up for noise reasons, the only real reason to mess with it is for matching the output of your MTD to another bass if you switch between basses on the gig (so that you don't need to change the gain control on your amp when switching basses).
Otherwise, most amps and boards can easily handle an signal you give them, so I wouldn't really worry about it.
I set mine to 50-60% of max, and if I'm needing more mids, I typically set it to the low (250) setting and then boost maybe 25% or so. I also cut the treble from time to time, but I rarely boost bass unless I'm soloing the bridge pickup, and even then, sometimes all I do is give it a bit more 250 and still leave the bass eq alone. All that and even without using a particularly mid-forward rig... epifani UL and Eden, Markbass, Mesa M6, etc.
