The Official MTD USA Thread

[Bassflute]

Question for the MTD club: does anyone own, or has anyone played a 634? I know they're super rare, but I've been thinking a lot about getting an MTD lately, and I would want 34" and 19mm, which are not the default specs.

Any idea what Michael would charge for those upgrades? There aren't any details about this on the site unfortunately.

two of my students have 634's and they're lovely. Send Michael an email and he'll let you know what it would cost.

Cheers,
Cameron

 

[lindseyp]

I had given some thought about selling my MTD. ...

I read that part and froze. Then I saw it was a false alarm. Darn. :scowl:

 

[west*coast*bass]

Question for the MTD club: does anyone own, or has anyone played a 634? I know they're super rare, but I've been thinking a lot about getting an MTD lately, and I would want 34" and 19mm, which are not the default specs.

Any idea what Michael would charge for those upgrades? There aren't any details about this on the site unfortunately.

Mike told me that he does NOT charge an upgrade fee for 34" scale. I never asked about string spacing.

 

[Virgil]

I read that part and froze. Then I saw it was a false alarm. Darn. :scowl:

LMAO. That's my laugh for the day. I will never sell it, it sounds awesome.

 

[Aram]

The best thing to do would be to just call up Mike himself and ask. Don't be shy!

two of my students have 634's and they're lovely. Send Michael an email and he'll let you know what it would cost.

Cheers,
Cameron

Mike told me that he does NOT charge an upgrade fee for 34" scale. I never asked about string spacing.

Thanks for the responses guys, sorry I missed these earlier...

I'm torn between an MTD, F Bass and a Roscoe for a new six string...seems like F bass is the only one where 19mm is the default, but the other options get pretty pricey, so it's a tradeoff. Oddly enough, it's hard to come across any of these basses in stock in NYC

 

[bass12]

Thanks for the responses guys, sorry I missed these earlier...

I'm torn between an MTD, F Bass and a Roscoe for a new six string...seems like F bass is the only one where 19mm is the default, but the other options get pretty pricey, so it's a tradeoff. Oddly enough, it's hard to come across any of these basses in stock in NYC

Never played a Roscoe but I have played a couple of F basses. There are folks out there who love F basses. I'm not one of them. Have you tried out all of the basses on your short list?

 

[Aram]

Never played a Roscoe but I have played a couple of F basses. There are folks out there who love F basses. I'm not one of them. Have you tried out all of the basses on your short list?

I've played all of them before, and my main bass at the moment is an F Bass 5 string which I am obsessed with. Tempted to get a six, but once you pile on the options they get super expensive, and I'm thinking I might want to go in a slightly different sonic direction anyway, hence the other two (bart equipped) options.

I played a Roscoe years ago, but I can't really remember if it did anything for me. However, the sound clips I've been hearing (particularly of the purpleheart fingerboard basses) are really intriguing for me, and I like the form of the SKB body shapes.

I've played a few MTD's over the years and have always wanted to spec one out because they play incredibly well and feel amazing. What's holding me back would be the 19mm (got to call a dealer to see if that's possible), and the fact that I like a more mid-rangey (and less scooped) tone, so I really need to find out what woods fit my tone profile. To date I think all of the ones I tried had wenge fingerboards and avadore or poplar bodies, and I had to do quite a bit of EQing to get the sound I was after.

I'd really like to work directly with Michael since he's in NY, however it seems from reading this thread that it can be quite costly and would the build time take much longer.

 

[bass12]

My early Christmas present (to myself) this year will be to visit Mike at his shop and have him fill my stocking.

 

[roadkill2309]

My early Christmas present (to myself) this year will be to visit Mike at his shop and have him fill my stocking.

I shudder to think what a stocking-stuffer from Mike's shop would be.

One of these days, I'm coming along for the ride.

 

[bass12]

I shudder to think what a stocking-stuffer from Mike's shop would be.

For a start, it's going to be chocolate coloured.

 

[roadkill2309]

For a start, it's going to be chocolate coloured.

I hadn't realised your chocolatey treat was ready. Can't wait to see it.

 

[metallutca]

Check this out, guys! Don't know how Glenn manage to find this stuff...

Link Removed

 

[roadkill2309]

Check this out, guys! Don't know how Glenn manage to find this stuff...

Link Removed

Eek. That site has very nearly done irreparable harm to my marital situation on several occasions.

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Is it just me, or is there a small maple veneer between two small purple heart veneers between that two piece wenge neck?

That is pretty sick...

 

[dirtbird]

well, close but no cigar. the seller decided he couldn't part with it.

It was the black limba, blackened redwood top, maple, ebony 635 than ElMon and mgrier sold on TB a few months back. I got to play it last Saturday in London, and what can I say - the 635 was much more managable than I anticipated, and that wood combination was just awesome to my ears. I only play 5ers, but I'd have made an exception for that bass even if I never touched the C string.

Now I'm quite disappointed, but I might have to get in touch with MT about building me one like it.

got there in the end... picked her up this morning!

just an awesome bass but now I need to learn to play with an extra string - it's a tough life

 

[Vic]

got there in the end... picked her up this morning!

just an awesome bass but now I need to learn to play with an extra string - it's a tough life

Woah!

 

[metallutca]

For a start, it's going to be chocolate coloured.

Don't tell me it's another walnut topped MTD

 

[metallutca]

got there in the end... picked her up this morning!

just an awesome bass but now I need to learn to play with an extra string - it's a tough life

Congratulations, man! How does it sounds like?

 

[dirtbird]

Woah!

Congratulations, man! How does it sounds like?

hey, thanks! I probably cannot do it justice, but playing in my living room with everything flat the sound is very warm and even. I thought maybe I would find the C string a bit bright, but no, it sits very well with the overall tone of the bass. The B string sounds fantastic too, well defined all the way up the neck and doesn't sound like it's ever going to be over-powering.

The woods on this are a black limba body (which Mike T told me was tonally similar to mahogany and makore), blackened redwood top, maple neck, and macassar ebony board. In comparison to the other MTDs I've played I would say it's less compressed sounding than the poplar wenge/wenge 535 that I had, with less low and high extension and more of a lower-mid focus.
Less open sounding that my alder maple/ebony 535, and slighly less aggressive bite than my ash maple/maple 535. Not sure how that tallies with other's experiences?

It's the bass that is forcing me to get to grips with a 6th string that's for sure. I got to try it before I bought it, and given my general preference for 5ers I guess this had to be a pretty special bass for me to take the plunge. I'm having fun with it, and the 6th string doesn't feel so alien after all.

It's a busy time at the moment but I'll try to get some better pictures up in the new year, as the ones I posted from my phone are fairly poor.

I guess I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry/happy festive season and new year! Cheers all!

 

[bass12]

hey, thanks! I probably cannot do it justice, but playing in my living room with everything flat the sound is very warm and even. I thought maybe I would find the C string a bit bright, but no, it sits very well with the overall tone of the bass. The B string sounds fantastic too, well defined all the way up the neck and doesn't sound like it's ever going to be over-powering.

The woods on this are a black limba body (which Mike T told me was tonally similar to mahogany and makore), blackened redwood top, maple neck, and macassar ebony board. In comparison to the other MTDs I've played I would say it's less compressed sounding than the poplar wenge/wenge 535 that I had, with less low and high extension and more of a lower-mid focus.
Less open sounding that my alder maple/ebony 535, and slighly less aggressive bite than my ash maple/maple 535. Not sure how that tallies with other's experiences?

It's the bass that is forcing me to get to grips with a 6th string that's for sure. I got to try it before I bought it, and given my general preference for 5ers I guess this had to be a pretty special bass for me to take the plunge. I'm having fun with it, and the 6th string doesn't feel so alien after all.

It's a busy time at the moment but I'll try to get some better pictures up in the new year, as the ones I posted from my phone are fairly poor.

I guess I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry/happy festive season and new year! Cheers all!

I had a black limba bodied 535 (though the neck was wenge/wenge). I loved the sound of that bass - so rich and piano-like (too bad it was 24 frets instead of 21). Have fun with that extra string!