BODY CHOICES
Medium-Weight Ash
Domestic Tulipwood (Eastern Yellow Poplar)
Alder
Makore
*Necks and bodies are available in a variety of combinations and we custom build-to-order for each Bass Player’s preferences.
POPULAR COMBINATIONS
Domestic tulip wood (aka poplar) with exotic top, maple neck, rosewood board
Poplar body with exotic top, wenge neck & board
Ash body with exotic top, maple neck & rosewood board
Ash body, with exotic top, wenge neck & board
Ash body with exotic top, maple neck maple board
Ash body with exotic top, ash neck, maple board.
Alder body with exotic top, maple neck ebony board
Makore body with exotic top, maple neck maple board
Makore body with exotic top, wenge neck and board
FINISHES
The MTD Standard Finish is a catalyzed acrylic urethane satin that looks and feels a lot like oil but is many times harder without building great thickness. This allows the bass to breathe, sounding more wooden.
Other finishes are available upon request.
MTD Handmade American bodies and necks are ergonomically carved to allow comfortable access to the extended scale bass. In general, ash (medium weight) has more growl and is more aggressive, poplar bodies have more punch, makore has similar properties to mahogany, however it has more sparkle and presence.
Alder makes a very warm, big sounding, punchy bass, slightly compressed. Adding a top helps to focus the low end. A hard top tends to create a quicker response with more bite and definition while a soft top will tend to round out the voice.
A wenge neck and board add compression and focus to the speaking voice of the bass. A maple neck and rosewood board is more open and slightly warmer than a maple neck and maple board. Ebony on maple is very quick in its response with lots of snap.
We have been using ash as a neck material and found it to be very similar to wenge in its focus but more “open”. We think it works best with a maple board.
ELECTRONICS
The pickups and active electronics are a proprietary design for MTD made by Bartolini Inc. which consist of a master volume and pan pot, treble, mid, bass cut and boost, with center click (from neck to bridge).
The three position switch selects the mid range cut and boost point. Down is lower mids, center is middle and up is upper mids. When the mid pot is at center click, the switch has minimal effect.
The EQ has 2 batteries and is a +/- 9 volt system.
EQUALIZATION
MTD Basses can be made to sound very "traditional" by cutting the mids all the way at 1000 (switch in top position), and boosting the bass and treble to 10 with the blend pot at center. This offers a great slap tone.
Boosting the mids at 250 ( switch in lower position), with bass at 10 and treble at 9-10 with the blend pot on the bridge pick up gives the early Bartolini TCT tone. This offers a very percussive finger tone.
*These are just suggestions. The tone will vary depending on the rig and technique used.
HARDWARE
Bridges and tuners are custom manufactured for MTD American Basses by Hipshot. All MTD Handmade Basses use the revolutionary Buzz Feiten Tuning System which enhances tuning dramatically, allowing the player greater freedom of expression.
Available Options
OPTIONAL FINGERBOARDS (WITH ADDITIONAL CHARGE):
Honduran rosewood
Florida Rosewood
Maple (regular or roasted)
Bird’s Eye Maple (regular or roasted)
Bubinga
Ebony
Rose of the Mountain
Pistachio (limited availability)
Epoxy Fingerboard (lined or unlined fretless)
BODIES
Black Limba, Korina, Walnut, Honduran rosewood
Swamp Ash (roasted or regular)
Roasted Alder
Black Limba
Korina
Walnut
Honduran Rosewood
Mahogany
Rose of the Mountain
Avodire
Chambers (semi-hollow)
Other choice exotic woods
FINISH
Sunbursts, Rubbed Oil Stain, See-through’s
Fades: red, coral blue, amber, tobacco, cherry
OTHER OPTIONS
Lined Fretless
Matching Peghead Veneer (matches face of instrument)
Matching Trussrod Cover (matches face of instrument)
Matching Trussrod Cover (matches fingerboard)
Piezo Bridge System (Ghost Piezo system in Hipshot bridge with
matching Bartolini preamp)