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The Official MTD USA Thread

#5,621
Hey All,

I've been lurking around a bit and finally thought I'd post. I've got three of Mike's beauties, two fretted and one fretless. I traded him back my acoustic MTD for the second fretted about a year ago.

I've only ever strung the basses with MTD strings, exposed core B. Any thoughts on other strings? I've been thinking, since I've got two fretted anyway, I might try stringing one up differently for kicks and giggles.

Here are some pictures of my babies, including the acoustic. (I had it for many years, but it just wasn't getting any playing time!)

535-1.jpg

535-2.jpg

frettless1.jpg

fretless2.jpg

Ele3.jpg

acoustic1.jpg

acoustic2.jpg

acoustic3.jpg

acoustic4.jpg
 
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#5,627
Usedtoplaymore said:
Not an MTD Owner but looking at one locally - How do you look up the serial? This one is a 535 wenge neck - odd Blue Green color - (Not Norm stockton as the top is a long wide grain wood). Any help would be appreciated. thanks.

Kirk
Click to expand...
What are you after? If you're looking for details on woods and such, you'll have to email Mike for that. If you're just looking to date the instrument, pull the electronics cavity cover off. You'll see the serial number on the back of the headstock as part of a longer number stamped into the wood there... the rest of that number is a date code.
 
#5,630
bass4worship said:
Where can I get one, that is one awesome looking bass and I best it sounds just as goo:eek::eek::eek:d.
Click to expand...
Austin Bass Traders is my current fave USA MTD dealer. Glenn is awesome and VERY well versed in all that is USA MTD. Otherwise, bass exchange, bass central, bass and beyond, Gelb, etc. LOTS of dealers.
 
#5,633
I've never bought anything from Glenn but I did email him with some questions regarding a second-hand MTD that I'd acquired. He was very helpful and seemed to be a really personable fellow. I wouldn't hesitate to deal with Glenn - I've heard nothing but good things about him and Austin Bass Traders.
 
#5,634
bass12 said:
I've never bought anything from Glenn but I did email him with some questions regarding a second-hand MTD that I'd acquired. He was very helpful and seemed to be a really personable fellow. I wouldn't hesitate to deal with Glenn - I've heard nothing but good things about him and Austin Bass Traders.
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I've spoken to Glenn MANY times in the past, but only at this past NAMM did I finally get the chance to meet him in person. He's absolutely the real deal.
 
#5,637
RoosterRusek said:
Hi folks,

OK, yes I do not have an MTD (I do have Killer B 4 string) but am diligently saving my pennies for one day. Question: If you were to choose between an Ash body vs an Alder body, which would you choose and why? From what I understand the tonal characteristics are similar but wanted opinions. Thanks folks
Click to expand...
Yeah, for me, and pretty much on almost any style of bass, I like ash best, but alder is a very close second. IMHO, Alder is gonna' be a little bit bigger and warmer... slightly more classic sounding, where ash is gonna' be a bit more focused and aggressive... maybe a little more modern sounding. On something like a USA MTD where the tone is so crystalline either sound will work really well, so they're both great choices.
 
#5,638
RoosterRusek said:
Hi folks,

OK, yes I do not have an MTD (I do have Killer B 4 string) but am diligently saving my pennies for one day. Question: If you were to choose between an Ash body vs an Alder body, which would you choose and why? From what I understand the tonal characteristics are similar but wanted opinions. Thanks folks
Click to expand...

I haven't played an alder MTD, but I do have an ash-body 535. The ash Mike typically uses for his U.S. MTDs is Northern ash, which is a bit more "growly" sounding than the swamp ash that is commonly used by a lot of other builders. If you want the punch of ash but would like it to sound a little less "growly" than what you'd likely get with northern ash you could go with swamp ash.

Here's a clip of David Dyson slapping a swamp ash/wenge combo:

 
#5,639
bass12 said:
I haven't played an alder MTD, but I do have an ash-body 535. The ash Mike typically uses for his U.S. MTDs is Northern ash, which is a bit more "growly" sounding than the swamp ash that is commonly used by a lot of other builders. If you want the punch of ash but would like it to sound a little less "growly" than what you'd likely get with northern ash you could go with swamp ash.

Here's a clip of David Dyson slapping a swamp ash/wenge combo:

Click to expand...


Re Dyson...drool....and yeah Swamp Ash seems to be the way to go, at least it would be for me.
 

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