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Tried an MTD Heir Today!

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by virtual.ray, Nov 19, 2001.

  1. Nov 19, 2001 #1
    virtual.ray

    virtual.ray

    Oct 25, 2000
    Schweeet! It was a 5 string fretted with the Maple fretboard option.It sounded very good and played just like I like 'em.One thing I noticed is that the bridge MM style pickup sounded different than on a Kingston 5 when soloed.I wonder if this is down to the neck pickup still being wired into the circuit even with it's volume down.One little niggle: I'd prefer a pan pot over the two volumes,it's quicker for me. I also tried a Kingston 5 fretless,also excellent.Both had the Feiten deal,but I can't tell any physical differences between these and non Feiten Kingstons.Didn't have a Strobe tuner handy to verify intonation however.
     
  2. Nov 20, 2001 #2
    craigb

    craigb G&L churnmeister Supporting Member

    Jan 27, 2000
    Spring, TX (Houston metro)
    Hey virtual.ray,

    How would you describe the sound? Maybe compared to other basses like the Kingston. I have an MTD Beast (jazz pickups) and have tried a Kingston. The Heir looks very interesting to me because of the added neck pickup and I haven't had a chance to try one in person yet. The Kingston was very focussed and had some growl but lacked the "depth" I like. I would think the Heir would add depth because of the neck pickup.

    Thanks man
     
  3. Nov 20, 2001 #3
    Mike Dimin

    Mike Dimin Inactive

    Dec 11, 1999
    I have been plugginh my Heir 4 into my Fodera stomp box preamp to boost the signal a bit -WOW!!!

    The Feiten system you will notice more when playingin an ensemble.

    Mike Dimin
     
  4. Nov 20, 2001 #4
    barroso

    barroso

    Aug 16, 2000
    Italia
  5. Nov 20, 2001 #5
    Mike Dimin

    Mike Dimin Inactive

    Dec 11, 1999
    The Heir is an upgrade from the Kingston. The bass has a basswood body with a maple veneer top. 2 pickups, a jazz pu in the neck position and a MM in the bridge. The pickups are designed by Bartolini but made in Korea with the rest of the instrument. It is passive, but has a cool sound and great playability out of the box. A real modern hi-fi sound. The neck is totally Tobias = playability. It is easily the bes bass for the money (perhaps 2x the money). The newest ones have the Buzz Feiten tuning system, which does NOT require a special tuner except for setting intonation. They are not listed on the website as the site is a bit out of date. I will remind Michael of that.

    Mike Dimin
     
  6. Nov 20, 2001 #6
    virtual.ray

    virtual.ray

    Oct 25, 2000
    Yes. BTW,CraigB,I have a 5 string Beast and a 5 string Kingston,but neither have Maple boards,so it's hard to pin down,but yeah,the neck pickup on the Heir gives it more depth and sounded good alone as well.It's got 5 large pole pieces as opposed to the small pairs on the Beast's pickups so it's a little louder.If my memory serves me well Musician's Friend is carrying these now.
     
  7. Nov 21, 2001 #7
    Captain Awesome

    Captain Awesome

    Apr 2, 2001
    PDX
    Cool, I need to track one of these down.
     
  8. Nov 27, 2001 #8
    Mike Dimin

    Mike Dimin Inactive

    Dec 11, 1999
    I took some time to cahnge strings on my Heir the other day. I decided to tweak the truss rod a bit and setup the action as low as possible (as that is how I like it). WITHOUT buzzing I was able to set the neck relief to under .08 (the feeler guage still bumped up the strings) and the action at the 12th fret to 1/16" on all four strings.

    That is amazing for an instrument in this price range. It means that everything from the design to the implementation was done right. It means the fret job is impeccible.

    I have been playing it through a little stomp box type preamp to boost the signal and round out the bottom a bit - KILLER!!!

    Mike