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The Official MTD USA Thread

#5,861
Bassflute said:
his basses sound quite a bit different several years in...the top end sweetens and lessens in intensity, the bottom end blossoms and gets punchier...people buy one, play it for three months, and sell it LONG before the bass is even broken in...it's just crazy...
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Well, as someone for whom the used market is pretty much the only option, I won't complain about that.

But do they really change that much several years in? My acoustic instruments tend to do that (the non-lam topped ones, that is), but I'd have a hard time buying that a solid-bodied instrument would mellow out that much. I can see it happening slightly, due to wood agin and drying, etc. But would it really amount to that big a change?
 
#5,865
On the bench ... :hyper:

MTD535-242.jpg
 
#5,867
bass12 said:
That's cool. I wasn't as taken with the ash/walnut/ash/maple combination as I'd hoped - but that impression is based on one individual 535. From what I can tell, there can be quite a bit of variation in the sound of the MTDs, even when the wood combination is the same.
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I'm one also who doesn't love the Ash/Walnut/Ash/Maple combo. I liked it a lot when he first started doing them but now that I've played a lot of them over the years, I find their are other MTD wood combos I like more.

With that said, I can see how some would absolutely love that sound -- and for good reason.
 
#5,868
Joelc73 said:
I'm one also who doesn't love the Ash/Walnut/Ash/Maple combo. I liked it a lot when he first started doing them but now that I've played a lot of them over the years, I find their are other MTD wood combos I like more.

With that said, I can see how some would absolutely love that sound -- and for good reason.
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Meh, whaddayouknow. ;) :D :D
 
#5,869
Vic said:
Meh, whaddayouknow. ;) :D :D
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:D

My next MTD is up in three weeks. It's the anti-Vic bass (Wenge/Wenge on Myrtle/Tulipwood.) I know you hate that combo!

Wenge/Wenge with an Ash body is actually still my favorite MTD combo. I ordered Tulipwood on this one as I was looking for something lighter with a bit warmer/blurrier tone. The Tulipwood/Wenge combo fits the bill really nicely.
 
#5,870
Joelc73 said:
:D

My next MTD is up in three weeks. It's the anti-Vic bass (Wenge/Wenge on Myrtle/Tulipwood.) I know you hate that combo!

Wenge/Wenge with an Ash body is actually still my favorite MTD combo. I ordered Tulipwood on this one as I was looking for something lighter with a bit warmer/blurrier tone. The Tulipwood/Wenge combo fits the bill really nicely.
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I know I'm taking a risk by saying this to you especially, but hey, it's TB, right??

You screwed up. :eek: ;)

Ok, semi-seriously, if you like ash but you wanted something lighter, it IS possible with Mike, it just may take a little while for him to find a piece that meets both his needs and yours. I know this because I have one. Ok, not one with a wenge/wenge neck (because I know how much that neck sucks ;)), but a light ash 535... yes... 8.4 pounds!!! Now on the warmer blurrier thing, ok, yeah, it's still ash, but being a lighter flavor, it's not gonna be as hard and brilliant as the usual heavier stuff... so it won't be like tulip, but it will at least be a little in that direction.

So this actually sets my particular ash/walnut ash/maple bass apart just a tad from the rest I think, so maybe my tastes aren't as bad as you think they are ;) but the bottom line is, you coulda' had a lighter ash/wenge 535 with a slightly warmer sound than ash normally provides. In short, you screwed up.

Ok, I gotta' go run and hide now... I'm sure the weapons are already on the way... ;)

:hiding:

:D :D
 
#5,871
Vic said:
So this actually sets my particular ash/walnut ash/maple bass apart just a tad from the rest I think, so maybe my tastes aren't as bad as you think they are ;) but the bottom line is, you coulda' had a lighter ash/wenge 535 with a slightly warmer sound than ash normally provides. In short, you screwed up.
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You could also have gone with swamp ash (which is something Mike suggested to me when I inquired about finding me a lighter piece of ash).
 
#5,872
bass12 said:
You could also have gone with swamp ash (which is something Mike suggested to me when I inquired about finding me a lighter piece of ash).
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That IS actually what I'm talking about.

Just my understanding is, unless his position has changed, he's kinda' reluctant to use that stuff, so it takes him a little while to find a piece he's ok with.
 
#5,875
Vic said:
I know I'm taking a risk by saying this to you especially, but hey, it's TB, right??

You screwed up. :eek: ;)

Ok, semi-seriously, if you like ash but you wanted something lighter, it IS possible with Mike, it just may take a little while for him to find a piece that meets both his needs and yours. I know this because I have one. Ok, not one with a wenge/wenge neck (because I know how much that neck sucks ;)), but a light ash 535... yes... 8.4 pounds!!! Now on the warmer blurrier thing, ok, yeah, it's still ash, but being a lighter flavor, it's not gonna be as hard and brilliant as the usual heavier stuff... so it won't be like tulip, but it will at least be a little in that direction.

So this actually sets my particular ash/walnut ash/maple bass apart just a tad from the rest I think, so maybe my tastes aren't as bad as you think they are ;) but the bottom line is, you coulda' had a lighter ash/wenge 535 with a slightly warmer sound than ash normally provides. In short, you screwed up.

Ok, I gotta' go run and hide now... I'm sure the weapons are already on the way... ;)

:hiding:

:D :D
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:spit:

Au contraire...

Honestly, I have had so many MTD's over the years including lighter northern Ash and Swamp Ash. I can say with sincerity that I know exactly what I'm getting -- and what it will sound like.

I've probably spent more time at Mike's shop picking woods than anybody on TB has - so I do have a sense of what's available and what Mike will and won't use. I just really dig this combo a lot. When I need something with more definition and cut, I still have my Ash/Maple/Maple MTD.

It's all good Vic. I still have a ton of respect for you (even if you don't know what the heck you're talking about!) ;)
 
#5,876
bass4worship said:
How do you tame this bass down, my MTD has so much mids and highs it's driving me crazy. Should I put flats on it. One problem is to much sustain.
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Well, the ash neck is no doubt responsible for some of the upper mids that might be causing you grief, but it seems strange to me that you'd have to resort to any kind of extreme EQing to make the bass sound decent (yes, I know "decent" is relative). It could be you just have the wrong wood combination for your tastes. Weren't you happy with the sound of the bass when you first got it? What happened?
 
#5,878
b4w, my only guess is the strings you're using? Maybe something about the amp's setting? Only things I can think of as I have two basses with similar construction and I don't have that problem. Mine are routinely played through an Epifani head into Epifani 4X10, or Yamaha BBT500H into a 1X12 floor monitor; definitely no overriding midrange problems there. I tend to set my amps with a slight lower midrange bump. What happens when you flick the mid-range selector switch on the bass?
 
#5,879
Joelc73 said:
:spit:

Au contraire...

Honestly, I have had so many MTD's over the years including lighter northern Ash and Swamp Ash. I can say with sincerity that I know exactly what I'm getting -- and what it will sound like.

I've probably spent more time at Mike's shop picking woods than anybody on TB has - so I do have a sense of what's available and what Mike will and won't use. I just really dig this combo a lot. When I need something with more definition and cut, I still have my Ash/Maple/Maple MTD.

It's all good Vic. I still have a ton of respect for you (even if you don't know what the heck you're talking about!) ;)
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I'd say you have much more than just "a sense", but I still can't resist bustin' yer chops. :)

I do have Mike shop visit envy tho, you bastage... :D
 

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