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The Official MTD USA Thread

#4,184
I will attempt to give my opinion of the MTD635 Bloodwood:

Fit and Finish:
Presentation is everything! When I unpacked it out of its new MTD hard case I was floored by the bass. This is probably the only time I've ever unpacked a new bass and it appealed to all the senses! The bass looked phenomenal from the bloodwood top to the bird's eye maple fingerboard. When I opened the case, the new MTD smell was something I'd never experienced when unpacking a bass before. I've bought quite a few fairly expensive new basses and most of them came in a gig bag and there's no smell...what gives! Give me my new bass smell! Upon taking the bass out of the case, you realize why MTD is at the top of the food chain. Nothing compares to the fit and finish of this bass. I actually hesitated to play the bass because it was so perfect and looked like something to just hang on the wall!

Sound:
Sonically, this is definitely a very versatile bass. You can really change the sound by varying the finger tension on the strings. The bass is very punchy and can definitely get growly if you dig in. The notes from this bass are very defined. The upper register on this bass is unheard of. I knew about the upper register before I got the bass and decided that it had to have 6 strings because of it. This was my 1st dilemma realizing that it's easier for me to slap on 5 strings. I just had to have that 6th string because of what you can get out of an MTD USA high 'C' string. The bass has great depth to the low 'B' too. In a previous post, I illuded to the problem I first experienced with my gear at the time I took delivery of the bass. With this bass, I had amp/ cab issues that initially prevented me from experiencing all this bass had to offer. After my gear problems were solved, I was able to hear the upper and lower end of the bass with great clarity. With my previous gear, it seemed that the upper and lower frequencies were rolling off too soon. There was nothing I could do to get the frequencies out of my Ampeg gear... I'm almost sure it was primarily an amplifier thing, but I knew it wasn't the bass. After some searching around, I heard some reputable guys say that playing their old Ampeg gear with a similar bass was like playing with a thick blanket over the cab. Therefore if you've got less than stellar gear, you may not get the full effect of what the bass can do. That's just something to think about. The clarity is far better than any bass I've ever played...hands down. It's a very crisp and musical instrument. The slap tone on this bass is incredible. I knew this before I got the bass though. The attack is very crisp and the notes really ring out with great tone. It has a very modern tone and every note on the neck is even.

There you have it, my 10 minute review which doesn't really do the bass justice. I can't compare it to other MTD USA basses with different tops because this is the only one I've owned. It's an excellent bass. I can't say that you may sound like Gouche if you get one because I don't know if you have Gouche skills. At this point, I realize that I'm not limited by my gear but by my own abilities. As far as the bloodwood 635's go, I don't think there are many out there. I spoke to Mike T. and Austin Bass Traders is supposed to get another in the next month or so. Mike said he was going to carve the neck for the bloodwood 635 next week. There you have it, my 1st bass review. It may be a little rough, but that's the scoop as I see it. Now can I get a job Tom, Vic, somebody? LOL :bassist:
 
#4,186
KJung said:
+1 The deep bass and '8k+ sizzle' that are the hallmarks of a wenge/wenge MTD are also the first areas to 'die' when a string starts to age.

However, IMO, better to 'have and lose' than 'never have':bassist: +1 to the post above, if you have enough cash and the will to keep relatively new strings (especially the MTD steel roundwounds) on a wenge neck MTD, that's where most of the 'MTD ooohs and aaahs' come from (i.e., that's the classic MTD tone to my ear).
Click to expand...

Agreed! OR you could do what I did, and get a compressor :). The Rane DC24 Comp, I'm using can cover the deadness of my strings pretty well. I don't think most people would be able to tell that the strings are full on dead when I'm running the compressor.
 
#4,190
Alphaman said:
I will attempt to give my opinion of the MTD635 Bloodwood:

Fit and Finish:
Presentation is everything! When I unpacked it out of its new MTD hard case I was floored by the bass. This is probably the only time I've ever unpacked a new bass and it appealed to all the senses! The bass looked phenomenal from the bloodwood top to the bird's eye maple fingerboard. When I opened the case, the new MTD smell was something I'd never experienced when unpacking a bass before. I've bought quite a few fairly expensive new basses and most of them came in a gig bag and there's no smell...what gives! Give me my new bass smell! Upon taking the bass out of the case, you realize why MTD is at the top of the food chain. Nothing compares to the fit and finish of this bass. I actually hesitated to play the bass because it was so perfect and looked like something to just hang on the wall!

Sound:
Sonically, this is definitely a very versatile bass. You can really change the sound by varying the finger tension on the strings. The bass is very punchy and can definitely get growly if you dig in. The notes from this bass are very defined. The upper register on this bass is unheard of. I knew about the upper register before I got the bass and decided that it had to have 6 strings because of it. This was my 1st dilemma realizing that it's easier for me to slap on 5 strings. I just had to have that 6th string because of what you can get out of an MTD USA high 'C' string. The bass has great depth to the low 'B' too. In a previous post, I illuded to the problem I first experienced with my gear at the time I took delivery of the bass. With this bass, I had amp/ cab issues that initially prevented me from experiencing all this bass had to offer. After my gear problems were solved, I was able to hear the upper and lower end of the bass with great clarity. With my previous gear, it seemed that the upper and lower frequencies were rolling off too soon. There was nothing I could do to get the frequencies out of my Ampeg gear... I'm almost sure it was primarily an amplifier thing, but I knew it wasn't the bass. After some searching around, I heard some reputable guys say that playing their old Ampeg gear with a similar bass was like playing with a thick blanket over the cab. Therefore if you've got less than stellar gear, you may not get the full effect of what the bass can do. That's just something to think about. The clarity is far better than any bass I've ever played...hands down. It's a very crisp and musical instrument. The slap tone on this bass is incredible. I knew this before I got the bass though. The attack is very crisp and the notes really ring out with great tone. It has a very modern tone and every note on the neck is even.

There you have it, my 10 minute review which doesn't really do the bass justice. I can't compare it to other MTD USA basses with different tops because this is the only one I've owned. It's an excellent bass. I can't say that you may sound like Gouche if you get one because I don't know if you have Gouche skills. At this point, I realize that I'm not limited by my gear but by my own abilities. As far as the bloodwood 635's go, I don't think there are many out there. I spoke to Mike T. and Austin Bass Traders is supposed to get another in the next month or so. Mike said he was going to carve the neck for the bloodwood 635 next week. There you have it, my 1st bass review. It may be a little rough, but that's the scoop as I see it. Now can I get a job Tom, Vic, somebody? LOL :bassist:
Click to expand...

I too have a 635-24 Bloodwood Bass- It has a Bloodwood top, Ash Body, Maple Neck, and Birdseye Board-

The sound is just fantastic. Very clear, with an upper register that sings. And it cuts through the mix like no other- At my last gig I had friends come up to me and tell me that they could hear every single note. Cutting through seemed effortless with this bass.

When I first played the bass, I had to get used to it as well, as I use different settings on my other MTD's- It reacts to the treble tremendously- The settings that I use are 250 with the bass and mids almost all the way up, and the treble either boosted just a tad or cut a tad- depends on the other instruments. Also, you could get a super fat bass sound by going 1k and cutting treble, boosting mids and lows. When you tweak the settings I find that if I cut the treble I need to add more volume, as it almost feels like there is a delay- that is until you boost volume... This was an adjustment for me.

This is am amazing instrument- you can get a thick P sound or a bright jazz sound- with the subsonic MTD vibe oozing throughout. Very fine wood combination, one of Mike's best in my opinion.
 
#4,191
#4,197
So I think I've solved the mystery as to why my MTD always feels so "long" when on a strap while standing. All of my comfortable basses have the upper horn at 12th fret, while my MTD, and every MTD I've looked at on the internet has the upper horn ending at the 13th fret. This seems to add an extra inch of reach making the bass feel longer than any 35" inch scale I've seen or played. Why is this done on MTD's? Is it purely cosmetic?
 
#4,198
It must be how Mike chose to deal with the 35" scale, because if you look at my 534 (a 34" scale) the upper horn ends at the 12th fret...

2420070983_f822c0273f_o.gif


Tony G said:
So I think I've solved the mystery as to why my MTD always feels so "long" when on a strap while standing. All of my comfortable basses have the upper horn at 12th fret, while my MTD, and every MTD I've looked at on the internet has the upper horn ending at the 13th fret. This seems to add an extra inch of reach making the bass feel longer than any 35" inch scale I've seen or played. Why is this done on MTD's? Is it purely cosmetic?
Click to expand...
 
#4,199
flath fifth i'm curious to know what kind of strings you use?
i'm looking to buy a fretless bass myself. but i'm not sure seeing as how i've never owned a fretless
so curiosity to your...and everyone elses opinion to what strings you use to get a good feel...
also note...
i also heard getting roundwounds on a fretless can cause damage to the neck
is this true?
thanks
 

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