Will they make a truss rod adjustment wheel like in the Music Man instruments? I think Congress should pass a law requiring all basses and guitars to have that. Best feature ever.
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The Official MTD USA Thread
- Thread starter johnpaulbass
- Start date
just sand it down a little, right? no biggie!
I’m honestly fine with the regular ones, especially at the neck joint, as long as I don’t have to unscrew a cover (I ordered the magnetic covers on my 535-24
), but if they all could use the same dang wrench… 
Really wish I had the magnetic covers. The weird weather here in Alabama (in the morning it’s 29 degrees, in the afternoon it’s 60…) means I have to make frequent micro adjustments to keep the action where I like it. I’ve had to unscrew those three tiny screws way too many times.
Of all my dozen basses, the MTD is the only one where I never need to adjust the truss rod, and I am also picky about low action. It’s just super stable. My Stingray Special with a roasted maple neck needs to be adjusted just about every other week. Lovely bass otherwise though!
Same, I can't remember the last time I had to touch the truss rod on my 534. My Stingray Special and Fender P bass need constant attention.
LOL. Welcome to California. That’s right in the same daily temp range of my area. The big challenge here has been the low humidity. I need to stay on top of keeping the fretboards oiled. I’ve had a couple of basses with fret sprouts that needed filing because I wasn’t paying attention. My 535 was almost one of them but I caught that in time.
I’ve only had two basses that never needed adjustments, my 65 P and my Tobias Classic 4. Which is good, because the Tobias has dual truss rods, and I don’t want to mess with that. It’s ridiculously stable though. The 434 has been very stable so far as well. I did make a slight adjustment when I got it to add a bit more relief; the previous owner had set it straight as a rail.
Yup. Here in the valley countryside it was 35 on my drive to work at 5am and was 64 when I left for home at 2pm.
My korina/wenge sn #81 never needs adjustment, but the newer ash/walnut just hasn’t really seemed to stabilize to the point of “set it and forget it” yet.
Here’s my 534-24, #2186. It’s from 2012. Majors body, amboina top, maple neck, ebony board. Pretty heavy, around 11 lbs. I picked it up used a few years back. I don’t think it originally had the inlay or wood knobs. I have a second matching truss cover sans inlay, depending on mood. Currently sporting Ernie Ball Cobalt rounds which are the bomb.
WHY are the 534's so heavy? Mine is over 10 pounds. It's heavier than my 535 was.
It's also way heavier than my Saratoga.
There's a lot of variation in the weights of 535s - even within the same wood combo (though some wood combos are likely to be consistently heavier than others).
- Oct 23, 2005
- 1,439
- 1,378
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: MTD Basses, Bartolini, Genzler Amplification, GHS, Tsunami Cables, Sonic Nuance
I have a nearly identical 535 and 635 pair, and the 5 is about a pound heavier.
I'm really GASing for a 634, but I am worried that the weight will end up too heavy to manage and inherent risk because I've never owned a 6 before. Jump in the deep end or test the waters first?
If you tell Mike that weight is a concern he will sort for weight, and get you a nice low weight combo.
For those of us that prefer to buy used, we're at the mercy of the market.
I wonder if I can send mine back and have him shave an inch off this solid ash body...
I guess it depends on your cutoff. The Ash/Walnut 635 I used to own was right at 10 lbs and was pretty darn comfortable. I bought it new, and while I did play it first, I had no idea what the weight was before I purchased it; I just knew it was manageable.
I say dive in.
I guess it depends on your cutoff. The Ash/Walnut 635 I used to own was right at 10 lbs and was pretty darn comfortable. I bought it new, and while I did play it first, I had no idea what the weight was before I purchased it; I just knew it was manageable.
I say dive in.
10 lbs is my cut off, so anything less than that would be acceptable. I put up with my 534’s weight because is it indeed awesome, but I’m going to be more discriminating in the future.
