If you are concerned about it, you can always order a 534 from Mike at no upcharge.
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The Official MTD USA Thread
- Thread starter johnpaulbass
- Start date
If you are concerned about it, you can always order a 534 from Mike at no upcharge.
I am thinking about it. But I feel that he made them 35 inch for a reason, and by ordering a 34, it would take away from the bass.
My phone isn't doing the song any justice, when I get to my computer, ill definitely check it out.
I respectfully disagree. My 1st MTD was a 535 (ash body, ash neck, crotch walnut top and maple board) and it sounded great with an awesome B string. I'm a 34" guy so I sold the bass and custom ordered a 534 (ash body, maple neck and board w/walnut top - my Avatar pic) and to me sounds as great maybe better, really AND provides that 34" comfortability. I would not hesitate ordering a 534 from Mike.
Actually considering a 534 Makore body, burl maple top, maple neck w/Rosewood board.... Played a 535 w/this combo at my local dealer and it had TONE FOR DAYZ....warm, fat yet articulate. Anyone have one w/this combo that can elaborate on its tonal characteristics a bit more? I want to cop that warm old schoolish yet modern vibe. My current 534 can get close to it but it's wood combo gives it a more natural "brighter" color. Decisions decisions.....
That sounds really nice, where did you play this bass?
I do think Mike threw in the 35" for a reason tho, as it gives a bass a little different character. 34" tends to have a slightly warmer less defined b string. Ofcourse this differs from one instrument to another, but thats why I said tends...
You should consider 34' if you like the traditional feel and like a slightly more fenderish tone.. which I think Makore maple and rosewood could do... if im not mistaken makore is in between mahogany and alder somewhere...
I do not like 35 inch scale basses. Partially for the increased reach (which may or may not be psychological) and also for the increased string tension. My aversion to the 35" caused me to sell a lot of nice basses over the years. But now all my basses are 34" or less.
Regarding the current tone wood discussion, I was looking for a more "vintaged" toned MTD. I had been playing a P bass recently and it was working very well on gigs. I wanted my MTD in that sonic space.
The 34" scale helped with the vintage vibe. Similar to blen dem's thinking, I went with makore body (which is between mahogany and alder), maple top and neck and ebony fretboard. With the preamp gain down, mostly the back pickup, cutting the bass and boosting the mids, I can get really close to my P's sonic space.
(I think a rosewood fretboard would be even warmer but I felt ebony gave the bass a certain amount of clarity and articulation. Plus I love the look and feel of ebony.)
Gelb Music, Redwood City. Maybe the best MTD I have ever played but the beast was over 10lbs and of course had a 35" scale. I emailed Mike and he said he can build me one at 9.5lbs max but I know that extra weight on the one I played added to it's thundering clear yet warm tone...still, highly considering it but if i do pull the trigger I will need to sell my current one (can't afford 2 sadly
)... I can see your point on the 35 vs 34 issue but in terms of B-strings, however my current 534's B is not lacking by any means....best 34" B I have ever owned (tied with a Sadowsky I had a few years ago)....
LeonD - I love the spec and look of your bass! Was considering a 534 version of it but a little afraid the ebony would make it too bright. Is it a natural bright sounding bass? Nice to know you can get to the P's world with it....I certainly didn't expect that from an ebony board. Would you say that the Makore had more to do with that?
I'm sure the makore and 34" scale has a lot to do with it. I would never call my bass bright. I didn't ask for the bass to be bright but specifically, articulate. And I described articulate as playing a multi note chord and hear each note distinctively. Mike delivered. I think the makore delivered the warmth and the ebony delivered the articulation.
As a side note, all the above applies to what ever strings I've had on the bass (including the SS MTD strings). After trying about a half dozen different strings, I settled on TI Jazz Rounds. I LOVE these strings! Very low tension. Warm without being muddy. Articulate without being bright. I gulped when I saw the price; I won't play anything else now.
As a side note, all the above applies to what ever strings I've had on the bass (including the SS MTD strings). After trying about a half dozen different strings, I settled on TI Jazz Rounds. I LOVE these strings! Very low tension. Warm without being muddy. Articulate without being bright. I gulped when I saw the price; I won't play anything else now.
Thanks LeonD, very good to know. Every single ebony board I have played defines "articulate tone" at it's best so I hear ya on that. Any sound clips? Here's one of my current 534. Just a reggae instrumental recorded a week after receiving it back in December so totally unbroken in w/the stock SS strings. Bass has warmed up a lot since then and has much better dub/reggae sound now. Especially now that I know how to use the preamp and switched to nickels lol. Just an Ok recording unmixed and bassline doesn't move much (one change).
https://soundcloud.com/ltbassie/dubndeliver
https://soundcloud.com/ltbassie/dubndeliver
Are you telling me that all of the controls on the bass were set flat? I love the tone of your bass. What preamp was used?
The controls on the bass were set flat and the signal was recorded direct. I'm not sure if the engineer ran the signal through any preamp during his rough mix. If he did then I'd say it didn't colour the bass' natural tone a whole lot.
Thanks, Virgil. I love this bass and my acquisition of it is a funny (kind of) story. I'd seen another TBer raving about how it was his favourite of the MTDs he'd played (it had been owned by a friend of his) when the subject of MTDs came up on a thread. The bass came up for sale here on TB and I was second in line as a potential buyer. The first guy in line bought the bass and I ended up making a trade for something else instead. Turns out that MTD got lost in shipping and the deal fell through (on friendly terms) between the buyer and seller. It then was sold to another TBer. I ended up putting the bass from my former trade (the trade which would have landed me this MTD in the first place) up for sale on TB. I was contacted by a member who offered up his MTD as a trade. Turns out it was the same MTD I'd missed out on a year back. I don't believe in fate, per se, but I like to think there was a little destiny involved.
