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The Official MTD USA Thread

#10,301
vision said:
Here's another clip - a full tune from another studio session. It's a rough mix so the bass is pretty up in the mix and will give you an even better idea of the raw tone of my MTD. I think I had the passive treble rolled back even more on this one.

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Thank you for sharing another clip, totally digging the playing and tone! I had a 535 & 534 several years back when Mike was not offering the passive tone (or at least I didn't know he was) and similar to KEVK I always found myself rolling off the treble and losing a lot of top end clarity....so curious to what that passive tone woulda done for those basses ugh....
 
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#10,302
I've been trying to move my first year MTD 635 for over a year now. I know that sixes don't move as fast as fives but this is pretty weird. Serial # 29, gloss finish, Ash body, Burl top, Wenge neck/board. Any clues as to why this is happening are appreciated. All I get are trade offers for strange basses that would be even harder to move.
 
#10,303
Brad Johnson said:
I've been trying to move my first year MTD 635 for over a year now. I know that sixes don't move as fast as fives but this is pretty weird. Serial # 29, gloss finish, Ash body, Burl top, Wenge neck/board. Any clues as to why this is happening are appreciated. All I get are trade offers for strange basses that would be even harder to move.
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If I recall correctly, your price was very reasonable too. I think a lot of people are having a difficult time moving basses in the $3000.00 - $4000.00 (used) range. Granted, I've seen some people ask way more then I think they will get for their basses but even the ones that are priced at the lower end of the spectrum seem to be moving slowly. Seems to be a bit of a trend towards lower-priced basses at the moment so maybe that has something to do with it.
 
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#10,305
Brad Johnson said:
I've been trying to move my first year MTD 635 for over a year now. I know that sixes don't move as fast as fives but this is pretty weird. Serial # 29, gloss finish, Ash body, Burl top, Wenge neck/board. Any clues as to why this is happening are appreciated. All I get are trade offers for strange basses that would be even harder to move.
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I hear you. It is a tough market. I'm seeing a lot of instruments up for a long time. This one is up on the market for a while now too. Lot's of trade offers, not quite what I want though. All MTD's are "one-of-a-kind" but this one really is in that it is 34" scale, 18mm spacing AND neckthrough. Lot's of tire kickers but money must be tight. Several people have said something like "As soon as my bass sells I'm on this one!" I don't think I'm noticing any trend toward lower priced instruments any more than any other time. Lower priced merchandise will always move faster. Wider audience. Sort of par for the course right now. Patience is the name of the game.

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#10,306
scubaduba said:
I hear you. It is a tough market. I'm seeing a lot of instruments up for a long time. This one is up on the market for a while now too. Lot's of trade offers, not quite what I want though. All MTD's are "one-of-a-kind" but this one really is in that it is 34" scale, 18mm spacing AND neckthrough. Lot's of tire kickers but money must be tight. Several people have said something like "As soon as my bass sells I'm on this one!" I don't think I'm noticing any trend toward lower priced instruments any more than any other time. Lower priced merchandise will always move faster. Wider audience. Sort of par for the course right now. Patience is the name of the game.

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Yeah, I've been an admirer of your bass for sometime now...and I'm very surprised that it hasn't been sold/traded yet. MTD USA basses are just rather expensive basses...plain and simple. I think that's what it comes down to mostly... the $$$. Sometimes theses buying/selling trends are cyclic, and as you mentioned, "Patience is the name of the game."
 
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#10,307
Brad Johnson said:
I've been trying to move my first year MTD 635 for over a year now. I know that sixes don't move as fast as fives but this is pretty weird. Serial # 29, gloss finish, Ash body, Burl top, Wenge neck/board. Any clues as to why this is happening are appreciated. All I get are trade offers for strange basses that would be even harder to move.
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I just did a search for all the 635s that sold within the last year or so. At first I thought yours was priced great, but after looking at actual sales I think I see a trend that the newer MTDs are selling for a good deal more than the older models. I would have thought it would be the other way around because the older models are much more rare (especially with a gloss finish which is a big upcharge!) but it looks like it's the opposite. The newer 635s I saw were selling around 4K used and the older (90's and early 2000) 635s were selling in the low 3k and even some in the high 2k range.

That being said, if you're not in a hurry to sell it I'd wait it out - when the right buyer comes around, maybe someone who prefers the original MTD electronics, or really wants a 6 with wenge/wenge which is getting harder to find, or wants that rare beautiful gloss finish, your price will be a GREAT deal.
 
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#10,309
vision said:
I just did a search for all the 635s that sold within the last year or so. At first I thought yours was priced great, but after looking at actual sales I think I see a trend that the newer MTDs are selling for a good deal more than the older models. I would have thought it would be the other way around because the older models are much more rare (especially with a gloss finish which is a big upcharge!) but it looks like it's the opposite. The newer 635s I saw were selling around 4K used and the older (90's and early 2000) 635s were selling in the low 3k and even some in the high 2k range.

That being said, if you're not in a hurry to sell it I'd wait it out - when the right buyer comes around, maybe someone who prefers the original MTD electronics, or really wants a 6 with wenge/wenge which is getting harder to find, or wants that rare beautiful gloss finish, your price will be a GREAT deal.
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Yeah, the market seems to be the opposite of what I would've expected. Definitely theo pposite of what's happening with older Foderas. The newer pricing has brought up the value of older basses.
 
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#10,310
Brad Johnson said:
Yeah, the market seems to be the opposite of what I would've expected. Definitely theo pposite of what's happening with older Foderas. The newer pricing has brought up the value of older basses.
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I'm guessing that with the Foderas that's a function of how much the new prices have increased over the years. 20 years ago a Fodera that was in the 4K range might cost around 16K new in 2016. A top of the line MTD from 20 years ago may have been around 3500, and now around 5k which is WAY lower inflation. That might be why the older Foderas are selling used for well over twice their original selling price, since that's still well below the new price for a similar model.
 
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#10,313
vision said:
I'm guessing that with the Foderas that's a function of how much the new prices have increased over the years. 20 years ago a Fodera that was in the 4K range might cost around 16K new in 2016. A top of the line MTD from 20 years ago may have been around 3500, and now around 5k which is WAY lower inflation. That might be why the older Foderas are selling used for well over twice their original selling price, since that's still well below the new price for a similar model.
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Agreed. And they just have a stronger market.
 
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#10,314
I have to say that I had no problems moving any of my MTDs for my asking price whenever they were listed. Yeah, I may have been more open to trades than sales, but my walnut and ash sold for $3900 and ash/Myrtle/wenge at $3500. Personally, I think the biggest factor is the market. I know not all folks are into gloss finishes and only 21 frets, especially at almost $4k. But hey, I even made a trade offer for yours, so I don't fall into that category lol.

Oh, here's a pic of my newer MTD 535-24. She's the waterfall flamed walnut, chambered roasted ash, maple neck with roasted birdseye maple fb. Weighs in at a whopping 7lbs 2oz. Yeah, I may have listed her FT, but that was mainly to see what it would stir up out there.
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#10,316
After foolishly trying for greener pastures by including my 434-24 as part of a trade for a "super" bass, shortly after, I realized I messed up. What was I thinking? :rollno: My MTD was perfect for me. I spec'd it with Mike and it turned out just like I envisioned. And was gone. :dead:

Well after almost two years, I'm poking around a bass web site and what do I see? My 434-24! :hyper: It was going to come home.

I don't know how much it's been played in the last two years but it looks just like it did when I traded it. I've been doing a lot of piccolo bass lately so that's how I've got it strung up. For me, there's just something about Mike's basses that set them apart.

Here's a pic from the first time around. And hoping I'll always have at least one of Mike's creations in my collection.

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#10,318
Brad Johnson said:
I've been trying to move my first year MTD 635 for over a year now. I know that sixes don't move as fast as fives but this is pretty weird. Serial # 29, gloss finish, Ash body, Burl top, Wenge neck/board. Any clues as to why this is happening are appreciated. All I get are trade offers for strange basses that would be even harder to move.
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Man, I really think you need to take better pictures, if I'm being honest. I can't see any figuring in the wood and it just looks like a tobacco burst finish. I recommended playing around with angles until you find one that flatters that bad bass!!
 
#10,319
String Cheesus said:
Man, I really think you need to take better pictures, if I'm being honest. I can't see any figuring in the wood and it just looks like a tobacco burst finish. I recommended playing around with angles until you find one that flatters that bad bass!!
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Thanks. It has a burst gloss finish and the Burl isn't the most dramatic that I've seen. While I could do something to enhance what little contrast there is, that wouldn't represent what the bass looks like in natural light. I take all of my pics from that spot because it's a good representation of what they look like. Check out the pics of my Brubaker KXB 6 for sale and my Foderas.

So far no one has requested better pics until now.

I appreciate the feedback. I am surprised that a very low serial number first year MTD in this condition hasn't garnered much interest other than the fact that it's a six and maybe people prefer a non-gloss finish.
 
#10,320
Brad Johnson said:
Thanks. It has a burst gloss finish and the Burl isn't the most dramatic that I've seen. While I could do something to enhance what little contrast there is, that wouldn't represent what the bass looks like in natural. So far no one has requested better pics until now.

I appreciate the feedback. I am surprised that a very low serial number first year MTD in this condition hasn't garnered much interest other than the fact that it's a six and maybe people prefer a non-gloss finish.
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Well, I'm going to go out on a limb here and just give you my opinion as to why I THINK it hasn't moved yet. Firstly, its pretty bare bones save for the burl top. What I mean is non matching headstock, truss cover, 21 frets. Because of that, I also think the price is a bit high. I mean, hey, it's your bass..... ask whatever you feel it's worth. I've had mine posted for 48 hours for $400 more than yours, and I've had 5 folks wanting to buy it for my asking price plus shipping. No way am I selling, ironically, but just to give you some perspective. Jerome had his beautiful 635-24 with some of the usual upgrades at a grand less, and his didn't sell either. MTD folks are picky, I know speaking of my own personal preferences lol. Well, take that with a grain of salt, but that's just my humble opinion bud.
 

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