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The Official MTD USA Thread

#4,204
Hey guys, here is a video of my band doing a showcase. I'm using my 535-21, mahogany body,Buckeyed burl top, wenge/wenge neck.

http://www.brandywinevalleytalent.com/dejagroove/video

mtd.jpg
 
#4,209
Hi Mtd lovers!

I have a problem with my beloved Mtd bass...:crying:


I was playing my Mtd today and suddenly no sound! It was sounding like the batteries just died, like a distorsion sound with almost no signal output.

So i changed the batteries, the problem is still there. But no distorsion this time.

I did nothing wrong, i didn't shock the bass.

It seems the bass sounds like it is on a passive mode. The preamp does not work and the volume is really low even when i raise the volume on the amp...

I tried my others basses with the same cable and amp, no problem.



I am scared the preamp is dead...I checked it but i saw nothing wrong there...but i am not an electronician.

What do you suggest?


Do you have any photo of inside a Mtd preamp so i can compare?

Anyway i will bring it to my bass doctor.
 
#4,210
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...

We're talking a little less than 1 fret distance, and a 12th fret at that.

Strap on a Warwick sometime, with the horn at the 16th or so....talk about LONG....easy to get the high notes, though...

kuma9 said:
Hey guys, it's been a while since someone last posted. Is everyone still happy with their MTDs?
Click to expand...

A repost, but thought you'd like it:

I've had a used Warwick Thumb 6 broadneck with MEC's at my place, and was tweaking it up a bit yesterday. Could not get the C string as loud as the other strings no matter WHAT I did - close, but not close enough. I changed the string spacing, moving it over the pickup more, lowered the action, raised the pickup, everything. The pickup is just not installed right, is too far over the B string and not enough over the C string - the C string is just on the edge of the pickup's aperture. Bummer. Nice bass though, sort of. Organic, woody tone, sort of. Then I went back to Ms. Munro (635 in my sig).

Holy ****! Now there's a nice bass. Organic, woody, balanced, smooth, comfortable (so light! 9.2 lbs), refined, amazing sound, versatile as heck and super-fast action. So that's why we pay all that extra dough for one...it's all coming back to me now!

The Ferrari Enzo of basses. Unbelievable. Love mine. And they get nothing but better with age.

cartelli_man said:
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
Click to expand...

Yes, it will cause a LITTLE bit of wear on the fingerboard. Big Deal. When you've played it for about two or three years, you'll have to sand off a couple of thousandths. In about a hundred years, it'll need a new fingerboard.

:rollno:

Big deal. You know how many fingerboards the Strads and Guarneri's in the violin world have had? Many, many fingerboards. Very few are still original.

This is salesman's talk - they don't want ANY damage when they're hanging in a store, cause some anal retentive customers will freak on them. If it's a bass for a musician, use whatever kind of strings you like, and deal with the consequences. If it's for an anal retentive collector who hangs them on a wall or in a diplay case, then put some horrid flatwound/tape wounds on it that sound like **** but won't hurt it.

:spit:

If it was that bad, Mr. Tobias wouldn't be supplying his fretlesses with roundwounds. Or any of the other boutique makers who do.

pfunker said:
Hi Mtd lovers!

I have a problem with my beloved Mtd bass...:crying:

I was playing my Mtd today and suddenly no sound! It was sounding like the batteries just died, like a distorsion sound with almost no signal output. So i changed the batteries, the problem is still there. But no distorsion this time.

I did nothing wrong, i didn't shock the bass. It seems the bass sounds like it is on a passive mode. The preamp does not work and the volume is really low even when i raise the volume on the amp...I tried my others basses with the same cable and amp, no problem. I am scared the preamp is dead...I checked it but i saw nothing wrong there...but i am not an electronician.

What do you suggest?

Do you have any photo of inside a Mtd preamp so i can compare?

Anyway i will bring it to my bass doctor.
Click to expand...

I actually had a pickup go bad on my first MTD 635 - Mr. Tobias had a replacement shipped to me overnight, and waited for the one we replaced to get back to him. Most places won't ship you ANYTHING till they've got the defective part. Now that's service. Could be that, could also be corrosion/crap in your input jack/volume/tone pots, and the internal trim pot inside. COULD be a defective preamp as well. Good luck and let us know what happens. Also, before you freak, do a full sweep or two on the internal trim pot inside the control cavity.

Cheers,
Cameron
 
#4,211
Bassflute said:
We're talking a little less than 1 fret distance, and a 12th fret at that.

Strap on a Warwick sometime, with the horn at the 16th or so....talk about LONG....easy to get the high notes, though...
Click to expand...

It's long enough that I notice it when standing, and it physically strains my wrist compared to my other basses with a shorter scale and an upper horn at or above the 12th fret postions. Think of me what you will, but I'm just stating how I feel about it. Ultimately I think it was a driving decision in my selling of this bass. I'm just not comfortable on it at gigs anymore.
 
#4,213
Also, before you freak, do a full sweep or two on the internal trim pot inside the control cavity.
Click to expand...

You mean the trim pot on the upper right of the cavity?
I '' ll try.

Vic, my bass is a 535. I can hear the bass but with a really low volume, and the preamp is not working : i turn the bass or mid or treble knob and nothing happens. That is what i mean by passive mode.

I am a bit lost and sad, i hope it is nothing because i can still hear something from the bass.
 
#4,214
pfunker said:
You mean the trim pot on the upper right of the cavity?
I '' ll try.

Vic, my bass is a 535. I can hear the bass but with a really low volume, and the preamp is not working : i turn the bass or mid or treble knob and nothing happens. That is what i mean by passive mode.

I am a bit lost and sad, i hope it is nothing because i can still hear something from the bass.
Click to expand...
I'd say, after spinning that trim pot a little, if you still have the problem, look for any wires that seem to not be solidly soldered on, or maybe even popped completely off.

Sometimes wires can pop off if it's a cold solder joint (sometimes happens even to the best of us hand solderers). Also, they don't have to move much, so you might not be able to tell without moving the wires around a little (with something like a plastic ink pen). Otherwise, if all that comes up empty, while it is unusual, it is possible the preamp simply failed on you. I'd say talk to Mike then and decide if it's something you can do yourself with him sending parts or if you need to send him the bass.
 
#4,215
pfunker said:
You mean the trim pot on the upper right of the cavity?
I '' ll try.

Vic, my bass is a 535. I can hear the bass but with a really low volume, and the preamp is not working : i turn the bass or mid or treble knob and nothing happens. That is what i mean by passive mode.

I am a bit lost and sad, i hope it is nothing because i can still hear something from the bass.
Click to expand...

It sounds to me like the battery clip--or one of the wires from it--is loose/broken, so the preamp's not getting any power.

Mike
 
#4,216
Ok guys thanks for your inputs!
I just turned the trimpot and nothing changed...:crying:

I checked the cables and connections and it seems ok...but hard to be sure.

I emailed Mike and he is ready to help but since i live in France, i will check the bass with a luthier where i live.

I keep you informed.
Thanx bass fellas!
 
#4,217
mikezimmerman said:
It sounds to me like the battery clip--or one of the wires from it--is loose/broken, so the preamp's not getting any power.

Mike
Click to expand...

yeah, that can do it. Crimp all the 9v battery leads so they are tight when they go on.

And btw, checked the battery lately?

It could also be the input jack.

Hope this helps; let us know.

Cheers,
Cameron
 
#4,219
Ok thank you guys!

I changed the batteries with brand new alkaline as it was my first guess for the problem.

My Mtd is an early one (s/n # 280) and the battery pocket is really small. I 'll check again but it seems to be tighten ok.

Maybe the input jack...I was playing on my sofa with the bass on my knees and because of the particular angle of the jack coming in, i made a move so i bend a connection...?

Still this question : why i still have a little bit of sound coming from the bass?
 
#4,220
If it's an older MTD, the pickups themselves are also active, in addition to the active EQ. If the EQ is getting power but pickups aren't--or not getting enough power--they'll still produce output, but it will be very low. At least, that's what I'd expect to happen based on my experience with EMGs in my old Steinberger when the battery clip got broken...

Mike
 

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