molan Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 (edited) I'm having a bit of a New Year's 'tidy up' of my bass collection. I'm currently standing at nine basses & I simply don't have enough time to play them all so I'm going to start thinning them down a little It's a really tough call as the nine I have are all stupidly nice & it's taken me a while to get such a nice collection! Here's my beloved MTD 535 - hand made by Mike Tobias in the USA. These are a totally different league to the sub-contracted MTD's that are made outside of the USA. Josh & I have traded this back & forth a few times and I've grown really attached to it. However it's not seeing anywhere near enough playing time so I'm going to offer it out & see if there's much interest: Basic specs are: 5 String - 35" Scale 21 Frets 4 coil passive pick-ups and electronics custom made by Bill Bartolini (these are much nicer than a lot of 'stock' Barts) Controls are vol / pan / bass / treble & mid with a 3 position mid frequency selector switch Buzz Feiten tuning system (I use a standard tuner & have never noticed any problems with tuning or intonation) Maple neck and board Mahogany body Spalted maple top The neck is fairly wide and shallow & the action is set really low. This bass is an absolute delight to play. I think it weighs around 8.5lbs but, if anything, it feels even lighter. The mix of mahogany body and maple neck gives the bass a huge range of tonal options. The 'stock' sound without any tweaking is smooth & controlled (not as bright as some MTD's) but you really can dial in just about any sound you'd like! The quality of workmanship on USA MTD's is seriously nice and the spalted top (with matching headstock) makes this one a real 'looker' Current new retail of one of these over in the USA is between $5,500 & $6,000 and they regularly fetch over $3,000 on the used market in the States. I'm not really looking for trades this time around as I'm trying to thin down the number of basses I have but I would consider something that was easy to sell on like a US Fender. Having said that you never know - if you have something interesting to trade then feel free to throw it at me, lol. I'm happy to ship pretty much anywhere & have no problems selling outside of the UK I'm in no rush to sell so won't be taking 'silly' offers on the price I'm afraid. Watch this space for more basses up for sale soon! Edited January 16, 2010 by molan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 [quote name='molan' post='698363' date='Jan 1 2010, 09:05 PM']I'm having a bit of a New Year's 'tidy up' of my bass collection. I'm currently standing at nine basses & I simply don't have enough time to play them all so I'm going to start thinning them down a little[/quote] So how's about keeping all of these fivers and selling the odd 4 string? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 [quote name='warwickhunt' post='698384' date='Jan 1 2010, 09:28 PM']So how's about keeping all of these fivers and selling the odd 4 string? [/quote] You fancy the Bootsy eh John? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johngh Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Molan. what ARE you doing selling this lot off. Are you MAD !!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 [quote name='molan' post='698386' date='Jan 1 2010, 09:30 PM']You fancy the Bootsy eh John? [/quote] Now you're talking my language; none of these sensuous ergonomic 'W' curves... but what does it weigh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpinalTap Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Sorry if I missed it in your ad. But what year was it build, and wat is the weight? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 [quote name='SpinalTap' post='698429' date='Jan 1 2010, 10:22 PM']Sorry if I missed it in your ad. But what year was it build, and wat is the weight? Thanks. [/quote] You didn't miss it and I don't actually know how old it is I'm afraid. It's #855 but there isn't an actual date on it anywhere (that I know of). I can ask MTD but not sure how quickly they'll respond at this time of year with NAMM looming. According to my bathroom scales it comes in at 8.5 lbs. If anything it feels even lighter than this because of the fantastic balance. Just about everyone that's tried it has commented on how light it feels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashevans09 Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 No! No no no! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ialma Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 I-must-drop-the-credit-card. I-don't-need-another-bass. I-wanted-a-MTD-24-frets. I-have-not-seen-this-ad. free bump for this amazing bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 [quote name='SpinalTap' post='698429' date='Jan 1 2010, 10:22 PM']Sorry if I missed it in your ad. But what year was it build?[/quote] I've done some investigating (by checking dates of about 10 other MTD's I've found!) and it looks like #855 should be around '02 / '03. Mike makes about 120 basses a year and I've found enough different basses to match this to their dates & to cross reference them all on a graph, lol. Closest direct match I found was #898 which was definitely made sometime on in '03. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 I've played this and if I could possibly afford it I'd have it in a shot. Very lightweight and sounds amazing. I think you need a firm talking-to Barrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galore Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 That's a great price! These basses are amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnozzalee Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Haha! I love the Bootsy Bass. Beautiful top on the MTD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 [quote name='Schnozzalee' post='698857' date='Jan 2 2010, 05:17 PM']Beautiful top on the MTD.[/quote] The matching headstock and trussrod cover are extra cost options but really finish it off nicely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 (edited) Now sold - thanks for all the interest Edited January 16, 2010 by molan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ialma Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 three frets and a black fretboard away from my dream MTD free bump for someone's next new beauty anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eubassix Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Beautiful example of a great bass - I've not owned one of these (yet .. give it time!) but those I've tried have been just great. A friend of mine in the States has a handful of these (along with a number of unique Marleaux, Ritter and other 50+ instruments) - some of the first built by Michael T .... he tells me (repeatedly!) that they're not going anywhere !!.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) [quote name='eubassix' post='706370' date='Jan 9 2010, 10:49 AM']Beautiful example of a great bass - I've not owned one of these (yet .. give it time!) but those I've tried have been just great. A friend of mine in the States has a handful of these (along with a number of unique Marleaux, Ritter and other 50+ instruments) - some of the first built by Michael T .... he tells me (repeatedly!) that they're not going anywhere !!....[/quote] I do think this is a particularly nice MTD with more 'depth' than some I've heard. I'm going to put this on 'hold' for a week as I have someone who's quite keen and is coming over for a second try-out next Friday And he's taken it home with him Edited January 16, 2010 by molan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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