This is happening! My very first MTD!
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The Official MTD USA Thread
- Thread starter johnpaulbass
- Start date
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,942
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- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Congratulations!!!........I'm up to 4 MTD's myself and honestly I couldn't pick a favorite if I tried. Mike amazes me in that all his basses have their own unique character but the quality and workmanship is so consistent.....I mean when it comes to 535's he's got it down........perfection.
I’m heading up to mike tomorrow to work on a build, I thought I knew what I wanted to build which was a 535. But he tells me that I may want to look at a Saratoga. Have any of your guys played both. If so what are your thoughts and likes and dislikes?
What types of music do you play and what type of sound do you think you are looking for? I've owned many 535s and Saratogas. They are different beasts. I like both. I also have a Super 5. Which is REALLY a different beast
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I play in a few bands blues rock style indie band, classic rock cover band and I am currently sitting in for a piano singer song writer trio. My current 535 covers a lot of these, but what i’d like to hear is something fatter along the lines of an EMBB Stingray meets a P. But with the ability to get the modern 535 punch. I don’t know if it is possible to get all that in one bass. I had a super 5 built a yeah ago, while it had a beautiful buckeye top it was very scooped in the mid lows and lots of natural compression. I have played a lot of basses in the last 25 years, and find the 535 to be the most comfortable bass I have ever played. And most importantly let’s me do things I have never been able to play on other basses.
I've owned a bunch of 535s and one Saratoga (I've played a few other Saratogas, but only at Mike's shop). If you are looking for "fatter" then I would say that you're more likely to get that out of a 535. I've found the Saratogas to be more narrow in their focus, which makes sense given the pickups and placement (Jazz - unless you are looking at a PJ, which I've never tried). The Saratogas still sound like MTDs (if they are Bart equipped, which not all of the ones I tried were) but they don't have that broad low end that the 535s do. Having said that, I've played 535s that were "fatter" sounding than others - even in the same wood combination. So much depends on the individual bass, no matter how things are supposed to turn out (sonically) "in theory". What is the wood combo of your current 535?
Norm Stockton Saratoga may be something to consider as well. It's the best of both worlds. Pricey. But, maybe it will give you what you are looking for.
My current 535 is toasted walnut with a pistachio top and ash neck with toasted BEM fretboard.
Yeah they are nice but very pricy.
I also toyed with a 6 string for a few minutes. But I don’t think I’ll know what todo with a C string.
You might get a "fatter" sound with something like an alder body, maple neck and rosewood fretboard. My 535 with ash neck and maple board was a bit thin-sounding for my liking.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,942
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
vision
It's all about the groove!
- Feb 25, 2005
- 3,988
- 618
- 47
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- Endorsing Artist: MTD Basses, La Bella Strings, and 64 Audio IEMs
The Norm sig bass is pricey. But you could accomplish something very similar in terms of versatility with a regular Saratoga and choosing specific electronics. You could get the Super 5 pickups in traditional position, or you could also go away from Bartolini altogether and get some Nordstrand dual coils or something else which allows your to switch between single coil and humbuckers to get the best of both worlds.
- Oct 23, 2005
- 1,439
- 1,378
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- Endorsing Artist: MTD Basses, Bartolini, Genzler Amplification, GHS, Tsunami Cables, Sonic Nuance
Deposit made, new 535 build underway 
Walnut top, ash body, ash neck, birdseye board, matching headstock (w/ blue world logo) & truss, magnetic truss rod and battery compartments, Hipshot A style bridge at 18mm spacing, no treble hole drilled with stacked mid & bass or maybe stacked vol & blend. Hell yeah.
Walnut top, ash body, ash neck, birdseye board, matching headstock (w/ blue world logo) & truss, magnetic truss rod and battery compartments, Hipshot A style bridge at 18mm spacing, no treble hole drilled with stacked mid & bass or maybe stacked vol & blend. Hell yeah.
Took a vist to Michael and Daniel today and but down my deposit as well on a 535. Black Limba body, maple burl top. Laminated neck flamed maple, bubinga, and ash. With a toasted birds eye maple fretboard. Super 5 pickups and electronics in the traditional 535 position. And the mid cut changed to 250 and 1000 and the addition of a tone control for both the active and passive circuits.
Super cool. I always saw Daniel describe black limba bodied MTD with "fat" or "thick" sounding in his IG. Why did you opt for the mid cut frequency change?
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,942
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Very nice, congrats! I really love the laminate neck on my latest 535 build. It adds a bit more focus, but still sounds nicely open.
