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The Official MTD USA Thread

I wonder if my Cottonwood top will make that much of a difference from your bass tone.

I talked to Mike about this extensively when I ordered my Saratoga last fall. I was originally going to put a cottonwood top on a poplar body. Since, yes, cottonwood is from the poplar family. I was looking for something that would get me as close to a solid poplar body but still have a top on it. But, in the end, I decided to go without a top. For the sound I was looking for, it made more sense to go without the top. He said without the top, the bottom end would be more open and the bass would have more punch. Which, for this bass, was what I was looking for. Mikes tops are fairly thick, so any top is going to have some effect on the tone, to some extent. Mike is really good at knowing what that effect will be based on what it is paired with and what type of wood the top is.
 
Finally, after several years, my first USA handmade MTD, a 635/24 with a Ziricote Grade-10 top on a Black Limba body finished in a natural matter.

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Anyone else experience a year+ build time on their MTD? My 634 keeps gettin pushed back to the end of the line. Any tips? Hand-written notes in cursive? Gift certs for beard rubs? I'd follow thru at this point. GAS is gettin baaaaaad.
I did once. Or maybe more than once - I don't remember. No tips - but I'm pretty patient when it comes to that kind of thing. I would probably just tell Mike you'd really like to have the bass for a certain gig on X date. Does your bass have any particular features that are maybe contributing to the delay?
 
It's pretty juch a plain Jane. No top walnut with wenge neck. I think the timing of the order compared to the gear circuit (NAMM/etc) is part of it. Good to hear it's not just me. Last email from Mike he was shooting for late January...which is why I'm ancy. I know it'll be worth it of course!
 
Last time I got my MTD in 2011, the lead time was about 6 months. I ordered another in October last year, original lead time was 8 months, now it's 10+ months. Mike is getting really busy nowadays. Lots of shows, trying new stuffs...

Check this one out:
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Seems like Florida rosewood is Mike's new favourite fingerboard wood... [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]