The Official MTD USA Thread

[LeonD]

Anyone ever change out their pickups and preamp on an MTD?

I'm thinking maybe East or Pope preamp would be nice but I'm not all that familiar with swapping electronics

That's something I've never heard anyone doing. At least on a USA MTD. I think the electronics play a big part in the MTD sound.

While you certainly could change the electronics out, assuming you wanted to keep the same tone characteristics (i.e. modern vs. vintage), you could make it different but I don't think you could make it better.

 

[carlis]

That's my exact concern...kind of a "careful what you wish for" thing...

will you sell the out-of-factory preamp & pickups to me if you ever decided to replace them?

 

[CTC564]

will you sell the out-of-factory preamp & pickups to me if you ever decided to replace them?

I appreciate the offer but I'll likely hold onto them in case I wanted to switch back

 

[CTC564]

That's something I've never heard anyone doing. At least on a USA MTD. I think the electronics play a big part in the MTD sound.

While you certainly could change the electronics out, assuming you wanted to keep the same tone characteristics (i.e. modern vs. vintage), you could make it different but I don't think you could make it better.

I totally agree that it's largely responsible for THAT sound...just sometimes wish for a little more control and definitely missing an active/passive bypass

Just a thought, although it seems somewhat blasphemous ;-)

 

[rodneyat]

I totally agree that it's largely responsible for THAT sound...just sometimes wish for a little more control and definitely missing an active/passive bypass

Just a thought, although it seems somewhat blasphemous ;-)

Active/passive can be done to a 535. Those pickups are tuned for an active preamp so it may not give you the sound you want.

 

[Vic]

That's something I've never heard anyone doing. At least on a USA MTD. I think the electronics play a big part in the MTD sound.

While you certainly could change the electronics out, assuming you wanted to keep the same tone characteristics (i.e. modern vs. vintage), you could make it different but I don't think you could make it better.

+1

 

[CTC564]

Thanks for all the replies...I'm going to keep it stock

 

[bass12]

Thanks for all the replies...I'm going to keep it stock

That's probably a good idea - especially if you one day decide to sell the bass.

 

[antontanzil]

Anyone ever change out their pickups and preamp on an MTD?

I'm thinking maybe East or Pope preamp would be nice but I'm not all that familiar with swapping electronics

Hi...

I have considered replacing mine with Pope Pre's to get a more 'not so hi-fi sound', but as I was building the bass, I asked Mike about a passive tone control, and he said that could be done, and I opted for that.

Now, I don't feel that need to replace the preamp anymore, aside from wood combo, I feel that the Passive tone roll-off on my bass helps the sound to be warmer and more 'traditional' in a way that could not be done by cutting the treble eq. I always left the tone control 80% rolled off (20% clockwise), and set the onboard EQ from that point, it really helps, I can get a not so sizzling treble when slapping, and when I do need that sizzle, I'll just boost the Treble, and it came out immediately.

Active/passive switching can also be done, but due to the low output of the passive pickups mentioned, I wouldn't reccomend it.

So maybe you can talk to Mike about this, I'm sure he's happy to help, also FYI the Preamp on our MTD Basses are not normal Barts, they are highly customized, so I woudn't replace it with any other preamp.

 

[jebmd]

Hi...

I asked Mike about a passive tone control, and he said that could be done, and I opted for that.

That sounds like a really great idea. What is your knob layout? Please post a pic.

 

[antontanzil]

The knob layout is like any other MTD 535s, but the switch is replaced with the passive tone control.

And the mid eq knob is push pull for freq select (250 and 800 Hz)

 

[jebmd]

Beautiful bass. The knob layout looks like it works very well.

 

[Virgil]

Took the MTD out on the town again. Great gig, and once again it sounded great coming through the FOH.

 

[Neil]

Took the MTD out on the town again. Great gig, and once again it sounded great coming through the FOH.

I had the good fortune of playing Virgil's AG MTD yesterday and couldn't put it down. Probably one of the best instruments I've ever laid my hands on. The neck plays like butta! It feels exactly the same all the way up the neck. The notes speak so clearly and the electronics are ridiculous. And it looks so badass!

An absolute work of art by Mr. Tobias!

 

[bass12]

The knob layout is like any other MTD 535s, but the switch is replaced with the passive tone control.

And the mid eq knob is push pull for freq select (250 and 800 Hz)

She's a beauty, Anton!

 

[tombowlus]

Vic and I had a chance to play some MTD (USA) Saratoga models at Summer NAMM. I know that I had seen and played these basic models at Winter NAMM some years prior, and I think Vic did, too. Mike's work is always impressive, and those prior Saratoga models were certainly no exception. However, for whatever reason, these new ones seem to be something special. I mean, like off the hook good!

Mike had a 4-string and a 5-string. Here is a pic of Vail Johnson wailing on the Saratoga 5:

Link Removed

It had an ash body, with a maple top, and and ash neck, with a maple board. Killer bass! Very aggressive and growly, and it played like a dream.

These basses are 34" scale, with Bart single-coils. These two features, alone, change the tone and feel to be much more Fender-like, obviously. But they still exhibit that ridiculous playability that MTDs offer, and they also feature Buzz Feiten tuning. But the preamp has also been tweaked, and I dig the tweaks, a lot! You still get boost/cut Bass, Mid, and Treble, and you still get Volume and Pan. But now, there is a passive tone control (bottom knob on the Vol/Tone stack), and the switch now selects between active and passive mode. Yea!!!! The Mid control is push/pull for 400/800Hz, I think.

All in all, these tweaks make for some incredible basses which can offer an authentic Fender tone and feel, but with meaningful tweaks that make them very much a Michael Tobias bass.

For me, though, the real revelation came when I played the Saratoga 4. This bass has a solid alder body (with the hand-rubbed color finish option), maple neck, and birdseye maple board. While I was very impressed with the Sara 5, when I switched to the 4-string, my jaw hit the floor! In fact, I was so impressed, that this particular bass came home with me after the show!

Here's a picture of my new bass from the MTD website:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[tombowlus]

Here are some more pics of my Sara 4:

 

[bass12]

Great looking new bass, Tom. I've been really curious about the Saratogas and have yet to try one. What was it about the 4 that you preferred over the 5?

 

[BluesyCat]

Wow Tom! What a grab! I'm curious how it sounds now with all your various amps/cabs, etc.

Here are some more pics of my Sara 4:

 

[tombowlus]

What was it about the 4 that you preferred over the 5?

First off, it was the tone. It was more meaty and full, but still had great attack and clarity. I'm primarily a neck pickup (fingerstyle) player, and the tone of the Sara 4 just nailed it for me, personally.

Then there was the feel of the neck, which again, just nailed my personal preferences.