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The Official MTD USA Thread

#4,804
Vic said:
Wow. Man, again, no offense to the buckeye fans out there, but that just doesn't sound good to me.
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I agree. I had Keith Roscoe build me a skb 3005 a few years back using BuckEye cause I LOVE the look. But..When I got it, the sound was all low end and top end..the mids were "Sucked" in like everyone has described. The top he had put on had a ton of deep knots in it, looked Amazing but the Laq finish was "poured" on just to fill it in. Just did not do it for me at all. So..It looks like Mike uses Buckeye that is pretty solid, maybe to avoid this effect as much as possible. Not my first choice at all though. But if thats your thing..thats cool:)
 
#4,805
Agree... When I was making my custom bass from Chris Stambaugh, he told me to stay away from buckeye burl, coz it needs a lot of finish/very absorbent, and too much finish will compressed the tone, so according to him, it adds a negative effect, not just having no effects to the tone.

The wood has a striking appearance, but if it makes the instrument sound worse, I don't think it's a good idea. I almost bought the used MTD 635 at bassnw ($3200) with a buckeye top, such a nice looking bass, but recalling what Chris said to me, I backed off.

So, either buckeye burl does nothing or does damage to the tone, it's not worth spending my money on, there are a lot of jaw dropping tops out there. Heck, I drop my jaw everytime I saw an MTD. The 'Red-Yellow Rodman' Bass pictured in the Premier Guitar Magazine review on the MTD site is crazy. I swear if someday someone sold that bass, it's mine...
 
#4,808
t0t0m said:
Thanks guys for the inputs on buckeye tops..My eyes have deceived me, I am now backed off from buying the bass.
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Well, talk to Mike first. It's entirely possible the previous poster was right, and Mike uses thinner pieces for this, so the tonal effects are pretty much nil, so that folks who like the look, don't have to suffer any tone hits. If that were the case, that'd bring this whole subthread full circle. The fact that, at least in Mike's case, when he uses Buckeye, he uses it in such a way as to be purely cosmetic.

Bottom line, TRUST MIKE. If he says it'll be fine and the tone won't be affected by the Buckeye, I say buy with confidence if that look is your thing.

FWIW anyway.
 
#4,809
bass12 said:
Next on the agenda: maple burl. ;)
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Now THIS one, I've had experience with. I have yet to have a bad experience with maple burl tops. Not only do they look amazing (at least to me), they definitely don't seem to hurt tone at all. In particular, I had a 535 previously, ash body, maple burl top, maple neck, ebony board, and that thing just ROCKED. It had a "void free" burl. Completely void free. Not even any spalting in it. One of the very few I've seen like it, and it was amazing to look at.

Here's a recent picture of it. It's actually currently available from Dan at Luthier's Access Group.

pi_13_55_mtdp1030982_2.jpg
 
#4,810
Vic said:
Well, talk to Mike first. It's entirely possible the previous poster was right, and Mike uses thinner pieces for this, so the tonal effects are pretty much nil, so that folks who like the look, don't have to suffer any tone hits. If that were the case, that'd bring this whole subthread full circle. The fact that, at least in Mike's case, when he uses Buckeye, he uses it in such a way as to be purely cosmetic.

Bottom line, TRUST MIKE. If he says it'll be fine and the tone won't be affected by the Buckeye, I say buy with confidence if that look is your thing.

FWIW anyway.
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I did emailed mike yesterday and this is what he said;

Buck eye is a very striking wood. It is soft and porous and to finish it I use a very thin clear penetrating epoxy as a sealer. That helps to minimize finish build up. I use it on everything.

The bass will have a slightly compressed attack however the hard ash and ebony board will offset that nicely. It will not be as bright as maple
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#4,811
t0t0m said:
I did emailed mike yesterday and this is what he said;
Buck eye is a very striking wood. It is soft and porous and to finish it I use a very thin clear penetrating epoxy as a sealer. That helps to minimize finish build up. I use it on everything.

The bass will have a slightly compressed attack however the hard ash and ebony board will offset that nicely. It will not be as bright as maple
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I would believe that. Still, at least based on what Mike said, while I'm sure it'd sound great, I don't think it'd be for me.
 
#4,813
Vic said:
Now THIS one, I've had experience with. I have yet to have a bad experience with maple burl tops. Not only do they look amazing (at least to me), they definitely don't seem to hurt tone at all. In particular, I had a 535 previously, ash body, maple burl top, maple neck, ebony board, and that thing just ROCKED. It had a "void free" burl. Completely void free. Not even any spalting in it. One of the very few I've seen like it, and it was amazing to look at.

Here's a recent picture of it. It's actually currently available from Dan at Luthier's Access Group.

pi_13_55_mtdp1030982_2.jpg
Click to expand...

I have that top on an ash body, ash neck and maple board on my 535, and the tone is killer.
 
#4,814
Virgil said:
I have that top on an ash body, ash neck and maple board on my 535, and the tone is killer.
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Yeah, there's also the "sister" to this bass, which is an COMPLETELY amazing looking blue burst fretless. It's serial number was close, too, so probably cut from the same billet! I can't remember the owner anymore, but he's a TB'er... something like winterbass I think. If I were ever to spend enough time on fretless to make it a main instrument (again), THAT would absolutely by my dream fretless MTD.
 
#4,815
I'm thinking of ordering something unique and amazing look/sounding ... What do you think of a flame or quilt redwood top on black limba? Or something deep brown with a lot of red in it? (maybe Macassar)? Any other thoughts?
 
#4,816
LikeButtah said:
I'm thinking of ordering something unique and amazing look/sounding ... What do you think of a flame or quilt redwood top on black limba? Or something deep brown with a lot of red in it? (maybe Macassar)? Any other thoughts?
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Dude, that would look amazing. I would imagine that would be just ALL about big punch.
 
#4,818
LikeButtah said:
I'm thinking of ordering something unique and amazing look/sounding ... What do you think of a flame or quilt redwood top on black limba? Or something deep brown with a lot of red in it? (maybe Macassar)? Any other thoughts?
Click to expand...

As much as I like mac ebony as a fingerboard wood (for its sonic characteristics as well as for its appearance) I don't tend to like it as a top wood. I just find it too hard-looking, if that makes any sense. It also does tend to make me think of furniture, which most other tops don't. I do, however, have a soft spot for a nice piece of redwood. :)
 
#4,820
I currently have a bass on order from Mike (it's due for delivery in May). I'm curious about what's normal regarding the selection of the top wood. Does Mike usually email pictures for the buyer to choose from or does he select the wood himself (unless the buyer has specified that he wants a say in the matter?). What about progress photos? Does Mike usually send these out un-prompted (or should I be asking). I trust Mike's judgment with wood selection, so I haven't made any direct inquiries, I'm just wondering what others' experiences have been with direct orders.
 

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