Here's comes one of the best work that a top builder can possibly offer in the most exotic form.
Background:
Michael Tobias has been building instruments for decades, and has unique approach when it comes to electric basses in terms of choice of wood, type of finish, and even his unique taste of making eyes catching builds . balance is the best word that I can possibly think of the describe MTD basses. and they're simply Ultimate and unique both Sonic wise and Visual wise. They're often used by alot of Gospel and R&B players all over the world.
Specs:
- Black Limba body
- Exotic buckeye burl top
- Two octave Wenge neck with a Wenge fingerboard board
- Matching peghead and truss rod cover
- MTD World Headstock logo
- Matching wood knobs
- Bartolini pickups and pre-amp (Hi/mid/Lo/ cut and boost EQ with selectable mid)
- Hipshot UltraLite Tuner and B style bridge
- 35” Scale Length
- 19mm string spacing
- Width at nut is 1 ⅞”
- Custom fitted MTD hard case
- Slightly over 9 pounds
Playability:
The playability of this bass is simply amazing. the catalyzed acrylic urethane satin finish, top notch fret works, at slightly over 9lbs weight make playing with no effort. I'm not sure how they treat the build, it's simply the most balanced instrument I've encountered in terms of playbility. I'm not a 35" player, but can easily spend hours playing this bass and not getting tired physically. The quality of work allows extreme low action without buzzing. I prefer the action to be slight higher as I can dig in harder on the right hand without less noises, the natural musical compression of this bass (could be the finish? or wood combination?) makes it very easy to control and fun bass that you'll want to go wild at all time.
Sound:
Bartolini pickup and 3 band EQ w/ switchable mid is very quiet, efficient and transparent. it perfectly spice up, amplified the overall woody-ness of the bass and makes in sing in all settings. My experience with barto electronic before is that it requires focus on the hands to avoid unwanted noises, it's rewarding when things goes clean but can always be the challenge. But somehow this 535-24 is just magically easy to play, yet powerful and versitile, this is a very thought after and balanced instrument in terms of sound as well. Tonal range starts from woody/organic end to hifi/modern end. I'm normally not a fan of Buckeye Burl when it comes to sound, but they've again proven me wrong.
Thoughts:
This bass is ultimate and definitely an exhibition show piece with all the upgrades you can possibly think of, even the back of the body is equally stunning. Active/Passive switch doesn't bother but I'm hoping to see a tone control knob .. It's straight up a gentle tone beast. For the longest time I refuse to play any 35" and 24 frets , but this bass literally changed my mind ...
Gallery:
Video: