The Official MTD USA Thread

[Dan Knowlton]

Just don’t spend too much time here in AZ on the way over! LOL

San Diego to Flagstaff in one day, then off to 4 corners for my son... then 2 hours drive to the next RV park.

Dan

 

[Heikki]

Mtd Experts,
What kind of tonal characteristics would you expect from a Mtd 535 with a following wood combination: makore body, buckeye burl top, maple neck and rosewood fingerboard? I would appreciate your opinion.

Heikki

 

[Bass Viking]

Mtd Experts,
What kind of tonal characteristics would you expect from a Mtd 535 with a following wood combination: makore body, buckeye burl top, maple neck and rosewood fingerboard? I would appreciate your opinion.

Heikki

I don’t know but I do recall Michael Tobias saying in a video that they built a makore body bass and it sounded amazing.

 

[ceerod]

Mtd Experts, What kind of tonal characteristics would you expect from a Mtd 535 with a following wood combination: makore body, buckeye burl top, maple neck and rosewood fingerboard?

I just got my first MTD (a Norm Stockton Saratoga) a few months ago so I'm by no means an MTD expert but I came across this video. It compares the Norm Stockton model with a bass having a makore body, maple neck and rosewood FB. Hope it helps!

 

[Heikki]

Nice and helpful find. Thanks!

 

[bass12]

Mtd Experts,
What kind of tonal characteristics would you expect from a Mtd 535 with a following wood combination: makore body, buckeye burl top, maple neck and rosewood fingerboard? I would appreciate your opinion.

Heikki

I had a 535 with a makore body, mango top and maple/rosewood neck. It sounded pretty close to the makore MTD in the video posted above. The tone was a little bit brittle for my liking. I much prefer my alder/maple burl with maple/rosewood neck 535. Having said that, any two 535s in the same wood combo can still sound considerably different from one another.

 

[Green1]

So I had an interesting experience the other night. I left the pedal board at home....it was beastly hot here in AZ and I was being a bit lazy if I am being honest. So I'm plugged direct into the amp, bass (535) is set flat except for a little mid boost. This is a club that I play frequently with the same sound guy and the bass sounded better than it ever has. I could hear everything!! soundman said the same........pretty much whatever you did tonight you should keep it set that way. I really don't get crazy with pedals, a little compression and a bit of dirt from a Darkglass pedal but after this last gig I might just start going direct.........Sometimes simpler is better I guess.....who knew?.......haha!

 

[Vic]

So I had an interesting experience the other night. I left the pedal board at home....it was beastly hot here in AZ and I was being a bit lazy if I am being honest. So I'm plugged direct into the amp, bass (535) is set flat except for a little mid boost. This is a club that I play frequently with the same sound guy and the bass sounded better than it ever has. I could hear everything!! soundman said the same........pretty much whatever you did tonight you should keep it set that way. I really don't get crazy with pedals, a little compression and a bit of dirt from a Darkglass pedal but after this last gig I might just start going direct.........Sometimes simpler is better I guess.....who knew?.......haha!

my "effects chain" is a guitar cord. lol. i always recommend revisiting this config once in a while. sure, we all need dirt or maybe chorus, especially if you're in a cover band replicating tone, but you'd be amazed how many line drivers, filters, compressors, boosters, eq's, etc, you can get away withOUT just through on-board eq, good technique, and a good setup. not being super critical of the pboard fans, but sometimes it's just good to re-base and get a sanity check on what all really needs to be in your chain... or rather... what doesn't. side benefit, simplifies ground loop hum resolution.

IMHO!!

 

[bassgrackle]

Just picked up my new 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. We're calling the color Burbonburst.

 

[tombowlus]

Just picked up my new 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. We're calling the color Burbonburst.

View attachment 3054940

Very nice! I love it!

 

[Vic]

MTD x3x's are just so damn beautiful.

 

[Bassworship1]

Just picked up my new 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. We're calling the color Burbonburst.

View attachment 3054940

You sir own the best looking MTD I've ever laid eyes on.

 

[bass12]

Just picked up my new 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. We're calling the color Burbonburst.

View attachment 3054940

Congratulations - that's a beautiful 535. Love the black limba!

 

[iwearpumas]

Just picked up my new 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. We're calling the color Burbonburst.

View attachment 3054940

I wish we were neighbors.

 

[bassgrackle]

You sir own the best looking MTD I've ever laid eyes on.

Thank you, I am very happy with the color and wood combos.

 

[bassgrackle]

I wish we were neighbors.

Funny you say that, I picked up the bass yesterday and last night he posted it on his Instagram. He says he got a lot of interest from guys looking to buy it. I told him for the right number anything is for sale.

 

[iwearpumas]

Please post sound clips or video.

 

[JeffreyMcJunior]

What sort of amplifiers are you guys using?

The SVT & fridge has been my #1 for over a decade. Over the years I’ve strayed and had various combinations of 2x10’s 2x15’s etc, a few hybrid heads and I still keep coming back to the fridge + SVT. The others always just pale in comparison.

However, there is a certain clarity and lush-ness that I hear from my MTDs on smaller (solid state) amps at lower volumes, that gets lost when I show up to rehearsal and plug into the big boy. Every fender, Warwick, Spector, etc that I’ve played sounded fantastic thru this rig, but am I feeling like the Ampeg-ness that is coloring my tone is actually taking away from the natural timbre of the MTD’s??

Is this an amp thing? Is it the speakers?
Is this early onset GAS??

It’s not like I can’t get a decent tone from my rig, it sounds great and is as loud as I could ever want it. But now I am taking into consideration a more “transparent” route. Keep in mind I play metal and my band is LOUD, so showing up with a single 12” and telling everyone else to turn down isn’t a valid suggestion, regardless of what TB says.

Thoughts??

 

[Combinator]

View attachment 3058347 What sort of amplifiers are you guys using?

The SVT & fridge has been my #1 for over a decade. Over the years I’ve strayed and had various combinations of 2x10’s 2x15’s etc, a few hybrid heads and I still keep coming back to the fridge + SVT. The others always just pale in comparison.

However, there is a certain clarity and lush-ness that I hear from my MTDs on smaller (solid state) amps at lower volumes, that gets lost when I show up to rehearsal and plug into the big boy. Every fender, Warwick, Spector, etc that I’ve played sounded fantastic thru this rig, but am I feeling like the Ampeg-ness that is coloring my tone is actually taking away from the natural timbre of the MTD’s??

Is this an amp thing? Is it the speakers?
Is this early onset GAS??

It’s not like I can’t get a decent tone from my rig, it sounds great and is as loud as I could ever want it. But now I am taking into consideration a more “transparent” route. Keep in mind I play metal and my band is LOUD, so showing up with a single 12” and telling everyone else to turn down isn’t a valid suggestion, regardless of what TB says.

Thoughts??

I'm an oddball but I personally really dislike playing through big, sealed 8 x 10s - they don't go very low or very high and always seemed to me to be a blunt instrument for producing raw rather than meaningful volume. I tend to stand alone in that opinion among larger groups of bassists, so take it as you will. But MTDs are very full range instruments, especially in the very upper harmonic range - none of that's coming through a tweeter-less 810 no matter what you do. The SVT itself may or may not be voiced to emphasize things you like about that bass; maybe try it through a different cab if possible. I'm also not a fan of big tube heads but I can only lose so many friends in one day... I'll stick with just alienating the fridge crowd for now

 

[bucephylus]

View attachment 3058347 What sort of amplifiers are you guys using?

The SVT & fridge has been my #1 for over a decade. Over the years I’ve strayed and had various combinations of 2x10’s 2x15’s etc, a few hybrid heads and I still keep coming back to the fridge + SVT. The others always just pale in comparison.

However, there is a certain clarity and lush-ness that I hear from my MTDs on smaller (solid state) amps at lower volumes, that gets lost when I show up to rehearsal and plug into the big boy. Every fender, Warwick, Spector, etc that I’ve played sounded fantastic thru this rig, but am I feeling like the Ampeg-ness that is coloring my tone is actually taking away from the natural timbre of the MTD’s??

Is this an amp thing? Is it the speakers?
Is this early onset GAS??

It’s not like I can’t get a decent tone from my rig, it sounds great and is as loud as I could ever want it. But now I am taking into consideration a more “transparent” route. Keep in mind I play metal and my band is LOUD, so showing up with a single 12” and telling everyone else to turn down isn’t a valid suggestion, regardless of what TB says.

Thoughts??

My $0.019:

Mike’s basses with the Bartolini preamps are exceptionally smooth.

The fridge is a sealed cab originally designed for the more raw Fender type tones. Sealed cabs are smoother than ported cabs; and act as a bit of a leveler for the raw Fender tones.

There is a yin-yang between the amp and the bass. Smooth cab + smooth bass preamp = lost in the mix. A better cab pairing with the Bartolini electronics would be a ported Bergantino rig, or other full range cab(s); such as Audiokinesis, Barfaced, Fearless etc.