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The Official MTD USA Thread

#11,341
unresolved said:
I did what Vision did—I had Mike add a passive tone control. I think the bass sounds great with the preamp flat and the passive tone rolled back between 25% and 50%.
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Yep - 25% to 50% roll back on the passive tone is my sweet spot as well. The added benefit is that if my strings start to get a little dull I can open the passive treble back up a bit to add in more of the zing, which sounds way more natural than boosting the active treble.
 
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#11,344
I'd sworn off boutique instruments, but I recently caved. 535-24 toasted ash/maple with Cocobolo top and fingerboard. I originally watched this one come together on the build table and could not resist.

This is my first 35" scale MTD...other than the bridge being moved back, it feels very similar to me?

mtd_cocobolo_setup.jpg
 
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#11,345
metalloid said:
This is my first 35" scale MTD...other than the bridge being moved back, it feels very similar to me?
Click to expand...
Totally plausible depending on what you're comparing it to. I assume a 34" scale bass of some type... maybe a Fender.

34-35" scale is not really a big deal at all. The significant difference in feel between basses is more about how their overall designs may differ rather than 1" of scale difference spread across 35" of space.

FWIW.
 
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#11,347
Vic said:
Totally plausible depending on what you're comparing it to. I assume a 34" scale bass of some type... maybe a Fender.

34-35" scale is not really a big deal at all. The significant difference in feel between basses is more about how their overall designs may differ rather than 1" of scale difference spread across 35" of space.

FWIW.
Click to expand...

Comparing two MTD 534-24's to a 535-24, granted not side by side at this moment, but a few years of playing...
 
#11,352
Anyone have some tips or tricks for getting some warm vintage gain on an MTD. I find as soon as I add some overdrive it becomes an instant heavy metal fest. I don’t want grind core bass I’m looking for vintage J bass breakup. If so what pedals are you using to make it happen. I have tried the Fulton valve, Fulton OCD, black glass vintage and Ampeg DI with scrambler, none of which work for me on the MTDs, but are great with a passive bass.
 
#11,355
foal30 said:
I have been using a Free the Tone Bass Blaster OD with MTD Grendel w/flats - Ashdown 300 Valve Amp

It's better than bad it's good

Just need an USA MTD...
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I bet that ashdown sounds awesome. I have been itching for the CTM-30 for a while.

I had labella gold flats on for a while. They sounded great, but they were very sticky. I didn’t love the feel.
 
#11,356
bassgrackle said:
Anyone have some tips or tricks for getting some warm vintage gain on an MTD. I find as soon as I add some overdrive it becomes an instant heavy metal fest. I don’t want grind core bass I’m looking for vintage J bass breakup. If so what pedals are you using to make it happen. I have tried the Fulton valve, Fulton OCD, black glass vintage and Ampeg DI with scrambler, none of which work for me on the MTDs, but are great with a passive bass.
Click to expand...

I’ve had really good results with both a Creation Audio Labs Grizzly Bass OD and the Damnation Audio MBD-1. I use the Grizzly for a more subtle “always on” kind of OD. The MBD-1 does that very well, too, but can easily get you back to your metal fest if that’s what you want. It’s more versatile than the Grizzly, but the Grizzly is warmer. YMMV.
 
#11,358
The CAL Grizzly is an amazing pedal. It’s only downside is that it does SO many (good sounding) things other than drive, AND it’s controls are VERY sensitive; so, making adjustments on the fly at your feet can be somewhat risky. Of course, you can set it and forget it; but, then you miss out on a lot of the other stuff going on there. Powerful pedal.

I just got a Shift Line Olympic preamp; and that “pedal” has what seems to be a pretty excellent classic gain knob on it. Other than the Fender derived (and quite excellent) tone stack, that’s the ONLY feature on the preamp. Only downside is the Gain control is interactive with the volume sends; so, it’s just a bit dodgy inserting the gain drive while keeping outputs (to the board) constant. Otherwise, a very straightforward to the point excellent unit that can deliver pretty classic drive tones.

One other thing to be aware of is that many pedals don’t play well with active basses. I used a Fairfield Barbershop for a while, which sounded pretty decent with passive Fenders, but freaked out with any kind of active bass signal.
 
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#11,359
bucephylus said:
The CAL Grizzly is an amazing pedal. It’s only downside is that it does SO many (good sounding) things other than drive, AND it’s controls are VERY sensitive; so, making adjustments on the fly at your feet can be somewhat risky. Of course, you can set it and forget it; but, then you miss out on a lot of the other stuff going on there. Powerful pedal.

I just got a Shift Line Olympic preamp; and that “pedal” has what seems to be a pretty excellent classic gain knob on it. Other than the Fender derived (and quite excellent) tone stack, that’s the ONLY feature on the preamp. Only downside is the Gain control is interactive with the volume sends; so, it’s just a bit dodgy inserting the gain drive while keeping outputs (to the board) constant. Otherwise, a very straightforward to the point excellent unit that can deliver pretty classic drive tones.

One other thing to be aware of is that many pedals don’t play well with active basses. I used a Fairfield Barbershop for a while, which sounded pretty decent with passive Fenders, but freaked out with any kind of active bass signal.
Click to expand...


I like these options. I will have to order a few and test them out. There are no good shops for pedals or bass around here. I may try turning down the gain on the basses preamp as well. Has anyone gone that route?
 

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