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The Official MTD USA Thread
- Thread starter johnpaulbass
- Start date
Mike just set up my AG 5. It plays just like the day I bought it home. I went to sleep really late last night....couldn't put it down.
I know that feeling...just had him set mine up in June and I'm not sure I want anyone else touching my MTD
There will be a NBD for me tomorrow morning - the older 535 with Wenge/Wenge neck and natural Korina body. Just need to get from the Fedex office.
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No one else has touched my AG since I bought it in June of 2012. Mike is 3 hours from me. I take it to him twice a year for him to inspect it, to make sure everything is ok, and set up.
Saw a pistachio wood fingerboard on the MTD Facebook page and was pretty jazzed at how stunning it was...anyone have any experience playing one and how'd it sound compared to rosewood and maple???
Ash body and neck, BEM board, walnut top
That is one of my favorite MTD combinations. I love the look of that, and while I don't feel the top woods have a ton of impact on the tone (I had the same neck/body with a Koa top for a while), the ash neck has a unique, girthy, midrange that helps balance (IMO) the very hi fi electronics of the USA MTD's (which even though they are made by Bartolini, are very NOT Bartolini sounding).
That build is kind of on the other extreme of the 'classic' wenge neck with lightweight body (ash or whatever) MTD tone.... fat low end, big dip in the upper mids, and that sweet, super extended 8K+ sizzle.
Those are the two MTD wood combinations I've liked the best (very different though) of all the MTD's I've played.
along those lines. Mike is actually experimenting with more with ash neck/BEM board as his "alternative" for wenge necks. For some reason...and Mike really does not know why either. An ash neck paired with a BEM board, compresses the sound of the ash. And gives it a tone similar to the wenge necks. I played a couple of them now paired with a poplar body and it does come close to that "Classic MTD wenge" tone. Mike said that wenge itself has been hard to get for a while but now the EU has been clamping down on people having instruments with wenge. So, he is looking at using this as an alternative to the wenge. I played his latest Saratoga 5 with the ash neck/BEM board and I was really suprised at how close to wenge it sounded.
Interesting. I've played 5 or 6 ash neck/BEM or regular maple board MTD's and they sounded absolutely NOTHING like my wenge instrument. None of that upper treble sizzle, and WAY more upper midrange response. Maybe the poplar body helps, since all the ones I've played/owned were ash bodies.
Wenge imparts such a unique tone to every instrument I've played with a wenge neck.... IMO and IME nothing else sounds like it. It is as impactful and unique IMO ans ebony, with that 'treble ping at the note attack' signature tone.
I play Gospel music. I ordered a Myrtle Burl top, ash body, maple neck, and Madagascar rosewood FB. Does anyone think that's a good combo?
