The Official MTD USA Thread

[Benjamin Koshy]

Anyone have a Justin Raines Signature Saratoga 5?
Been keen on that model as well and have been going back and forth between that and a 534-24

 

[scubaduba]

Do it! Haha Whatever you choose is going to be amazing! I went with a walnut top, Swamp Ash body, maple neck & Birds Eye maple board this is my 4th MTD but it always feels like the first time lol

Swamp ash body with maple neck and Birdseye fingerboard is my favorite MTD combo. To date anyway.

 

[MannyBassik]

Anyone have a Justin Raines Signature Saratoga 5?
Been keen on that model as well and have been going back and forth between that and a 534-24

My Saratoga is similar to his signature. Quilted Maple top on an alder body and maple neck. the difference is I have an Indian rosewood board and his signature has a bird eyes maple board. I love it!

 

[MannyBassik]

Swamp ash body with maple neck and Birdseye fingerboard is my favorite MTD combo. To date anyway.

Yessss! Im super excited. My current MTDs have Indian rosewood and a wenge board. So I’m super excited about the Birds Eye board. Especially for some Gospel music

 

[Benjamin Koshy]

My Saratoga is similar to his signature. Quilted Maple top on an alder body and maple neck. the difference is I have an Indian rosewood board and his signature has a bird eyes maple board. I love it!

Nice! What do you think of it compared to your 534?

 

[MattLplaysBass]

Do it! Haha Whatever you choose is going to be amazing! I went with a walnut top, Swamp Ash body, maple neck & Birds Eye maple board this is my 4th MTD but it always feels like the first time lol

Hope yours turns as nice as mine

 

[MannyBassik]

Nice! What do you think of it compared to your 534?

At first I thought it was a little bit on the low volume side when it came to a flat signal, but I put up the internal gain by like 4db now I get a solid flat signal. But other then that I love it. very versatile very warm sounding due to the rosewood board, but tweaking the eq i cut through the mix really well. Our FOH engineer says he barely hasn’t to go anything on his side.

My current 535 is a different animal very tight and punchy with a natural mid scoop and solid clear treble.

Overall both are amazing basses, but my Saratoga is my workhorse.

 

[MannyBassik]

Hope yours turns as nice as mine
View attachment 5432151 View attachment 5432152

Beautiful!! Yesss, makes me more impatient about the wait

 

[Benjamin Koshy]

Those are gorgeous! Let us know what you decide to go with. Can‘t go wrong with the options you listed.

Well well well... we're one step closer. I had the pleasure of calling Mike today and there are 2 possible combinations I'd roll with:

More Classic MTD 534-24:
Poplar Body
See-through Finish (Depending on top: nebula burst, amber burst, dark amber burst, Dark Cherry Sunburst, black, or no finish at all)
Myrtle Top
Ash Neck
Roasted maple Fretboard
Added Tone Control (with active-passive switching if possible)
Potentially matching knobs depending on the finish.

More Traditional MTD 534-24:
Alder Body
Matte Black Finish (or a darker lead foot grey)
Roasted Maple Neck
Rosewood Fretboard
Added Tone Control (with active-passive switching if possible)

I'm kind of leaning towards the more classic MTD combo. Mike originally suggested the wenge/wenge neck/fb but I asked for something a bit more open-sounding and he suggested the ash maple combo.

 

[Taustin Powers]

Well well well... we're one step closer. I had the pleasure of calling Mike today and there are 2 possible combinations I'd roll with:

More Classic MTD 534-24:
Poplar Body
See-through Finish (Depending on top: nebula burst, amber burst, dark amber burst, Dark Cherry Sunburst, black, or no finish at all)
Myrtle Top
Ash Neck
Roasted maple Fretboard
Added Tone Control (with active-passive switching if possible)
Potentially matching knobs depending on the finish.

More Traditional MTD 534-24:
Alder Body
Matte Black Finish (or a darker lead foot grey)
Roasted Maple Neck
Rosewood Fretboard
Added Tone Control (with active-passive switching if possible)

I'm kind of leaning towards the more classic MTD combo. Mike originally suggested the wenge/wenge neck/fb but I asked for something a bit more open-sounding and he suggested the ash maple combo.

I love the feel of a nice ash neck!! Would definitely go with the first config.

 

[Taustin Powers]

One of the all-time best looking walnut top basses is available again on Ish Guitars. If I didn't have my own similar custom walnut 535 in the finishing stages right now, I would buy this instantly.

 

[red_rhino]

I'm kind of leaning towards the more classic MTD combo.

Yeah, that sounds like it would be great! My preference as well.

I love the feel of a nice ash neck!!

Absolutely! There's something so organic and soothing about the feel of an ash neck. (Not sure "soothing" is the right adjective, but that's the feeling I get when I play an ash neck MTD. It just feels good.)

 

[MannyBassik]

Well well well... we're one step closer. I had the pleasure of calling Mike today and there are 2 possible combinations I'd roll with:

More Classic MTD 534-24:
Poplar Body
See-through Finish (Depending on top: nebula burst, amber burst, dark amber burst, Dark Cherry Sunburst, black, or no finish at all)
Myrtle Top
Ash Neck
Roasted maple Fretboard
Added Tone Control (with active-passive switching if possible)
Potentially matching knobs depending on the finish.

More Traditional MTD 534-24:
Alder Body
Matte Black Finish (or a darker lead foot grey)
Roasted Maple Neck
Rosewood Fretboard
Added Tone Control (with active-passive switching if possible)

I'm kind of leaning towards the more classic MTD combo. Mike originally suggested the wenge/wenge neck/fb but I asked for something a bit more open-sounding and he suggested the ash maple combo.

Uff yess! I’m definitely digging the first config! With the ash neck you can’t go wrong!

 

[bass12]

I went wrong with an ash neck (or maybe it was the maple fretboard attached to it - or perhaps it was the body wood, or…). I wanted to love that bass (because it looked great and felt nice to play), but the fundamental of the notes would get lost in the mix.

 

[Benjamin Koshy]

I went wrong with an ash neck (or maybe it was the maple fretboard attached to it - or perhaps it was the body wood, or…). I wanted to love that bass (because it looked great and felt nice to play), but the fundamental of the notes would get lost in the mix.

Hmm interesting... Do you remember what the configuration was?

 

[bass12]

Hmm interesting... Do you remember what the configuration was?

535 21 fret. "Northern" ash body with a walnut top, ash neck with a birdseye maple fretboard. One of Mike's standard combos at the time. It was a gorgeous bass but, as I said, it was light on note fundamental (which meant that notes could be difficult to discern in a mix - and there was a huge bottom-end dropout switching from fingers to slap). It's the only MTD I've owned which got "lost in the mix".

Of course, this doesn't mean that the combo in question can't work. Wood can be unpredictable, and I know there are people with ash body/ash and maple neck MTDs that don't suffer from what I describe above. Luck of the draw I guess.

 

[red_rhino]

Wood can be unpredictable

Agreed. I had this combo in both a 535-24 & 635-24 at the same time and they sounded completely different.

 

[Benjamin Koshy]

535 21 fret. "Northern" ash body with a walnut top, ash neck with a birdseye maple fretboard. One of Mike's standard combos at the time. It was a gorgeous bass but, as I said, it was light on note fundamental (which meant that notes could be difficult to discern in a mix - and there was a huge bottom-end dropout switching from fingers to slap). It's the only MTD I've owned which got "lost in the mix".

Of course, this doesn't mean that the combo in question can't work. Wood can be unpredictable, and I know there are people with ash body/ash and maple neck MTDs that don't suffer from what I describe above. Luck of the draw I guess.

Oh interesting. A friend of mine named Peter K Lee has almost the exact combination but his really sings (as you said, the unpredictability of wood).
Thanks for sharing!

 

[Benjamin Koshy]

Agreed. I had this combo in both a 535-24 & 635-24 at the same time and they sounded completely different.

Wow that’s really good to know!
Thanks!

 

[bass12]

Oh interesting. A friend of mine named Peter K Lee has almost the exact combination but his really sings (as you said, the unpredictability of wood).
Thanks for sharing!

Yeah, at a certain point you just have to take an educated guess and keep your fingers crossed! Best of luck with your build (whatever specs you choose).