You hit a good point LowEnd, as a studio owner and with over 50 basses if I am going to pay that kind of money for a bass it needs to be unique. That's why I love for example Alembic basses because of their unique quality of tone, wood and hardware. I notice some of the higher priced basses don't give you a unique tone, some sound close to a Fender for example. My point is if a want a Fender sound I will buy a Fender, if a want a Music Man sound I will but a Music Man at a much lower cost. If I am going to spend that kind of money I am looking for something thats different and unique IMHO. And don't get me wrong you don't need to spend $4k-$6k to get a unique bass but if I am going to spend that kind of dough :) Give me something thats different from everything else I have.
i agree, the main difference between basses for the studio vs “feel” + sound for a performing musician are not the same. In a perfect world we would have everything high end in the studio, but alas even if you have a 200k budget I’m not sure this bass would make the cut….. been there done that! Vintage neves, neumanns, pultecs, designing a decent room could easily eat that entire budget. Still, this is a GREAT bass and sounds fantastic.
Thanks for the review! What an amazing sounding instrument! Waaaaay back at the turn of the century I saw a Growler and fell in love with the shape. Twenty years later I still don't have that kind of money (or talent to justify the expense). However what I DO have is the ability to make my own instruments (getting ready to paint #3 as soon as the weather cooperates). They aren't steller but they play decently and are a true labor of love. Maybe I'll finally have a "Growler" in build #4. Fun Fact: I couldn't resist putting a MTD headstock design on a Hofner kit a few years back.
Lobster That Bass is 👹Beast👹 But you know i love my MTD s. ( I have a Nostrand Pup- Babiz Bridge- 3 position Midrange Selector- 3 position coil Tap modified Kingston Z5) is a question? Are you gonna get your own Modified Kingston Super 5??
Lovely Bass, Lobster. MTD's are the shizznit. I just bought a KZ5, and it's incredibly impressive (even more so, given how close it sounds to yours!). The MTD mixture of deep, 3D bass with no mud, mixed with the clarity and distinctive, bitey top end - It can't be beat.
Have a super 5 myself. Absolutely love it. Have been a huge fan of MTD basses for years. Can't ever see myself getting a USA model sadly. With mortgage and kids my priority it's just not going to happen.
yeah they dialed their electronics in pretty intently. I love how the active electronics actually bring out the great timbre of the thing instead of blasting over it - that's part of the whole skillful builder package, really.
What a beautiful bass. Some of the specs made me think of the Cort A4 Plus, I'd be interested in your opinion on one. It has Bartolini (Cort made) pick-ups which are also a split reverse P style, a big Hipshot bridge & Hipshot Ultralites too. The neck is a through neck, nice and flat but not ultra thin like an Ibanez and is very comfortable, I've played so many basses looking for "my bass" and definitely found it in the A4!
I hope this stuff makes its way into more budget friendly production basses. It seems like the implementation wouldn't be too tough. Someone on TB put together a little guide to convert an existing cavity cover to be magnetic, but it is somewhat involved.
Love this bass!! I haven’t seen a 5 out of 5 🦞 in a while!!! So many great tones you got!!! We all got that one “go the grave with bass” mine is my 04 stingray!!!
MTDs are the best looking basses on the market today, IMHO. My friend has one that is simply beautiful with this birdseye fingerboard. My only concern with MTD and F Bass vs Foreda, for instance, is the buzzing it makes after you hit the note. To my ears it sounds like it is not a refined sound. You can fix most of it with the preamp adjustment but it is always there. MTD you get fully what you are paying for whereas Fodera you pay some extra for the brand as well. My preference is still the refinement of a Fodera even if I don’t care much about the brand. Did a couple blind sound checks with my wife helping me and it still sounds better without visual / brand bias
To me the only fault is not having a passive style tone control, even with treble fully cut is way to bright , that gives the bass a hi fi sound but kills its versatility quite much
nothing turning down the treble on your amp cant fix, i learned to actually use my amp when I got a Spector euro, that bass was insanely bright. then i turned the treble in my amp ALL the way down and used the pre amp on the bass for all my treble needs and it was way better.
What a beautiful instrument! This is a piece of high art! Beautiful and functional, this is an unique piece. It’s amazing how much the wood affects the tone. On basses this is obvious. On guitar….not so much. Guitar sound is all about the electronics but basses resonate! All basses should have a zero fret and an easily accessible truss rod adjustment access. I’ve never played a custom MTD but I’m thinking about it ;) Hey Low, next time you talk to Mike Tobias ask him about the basses that he built for Chris Squire. That should be very interesting 👍
Around the 17:30 mark, it is sounding like a classic Fender! I love (and require a bass) that has this versatility! I think I missed it, but what pickups are those? I settled on an Ibanez bass for the fact it had Bartolinni pickups, and that was after sampling HUNDREDS of basses! Those pickups provided some of my favorite low-end sound with great versatility!
Lobster,what kind of interface do you use for sound on your videos? I noticed something at 7.33 which seemed to be a live sound.The reason I ask is that while you have the ability to make any bass you play sound great,I've noticed just the slightest touch of 'sameness' to your sound.I'm probably wrong as my 70 year old ears arent what they were,and that these basses all sound completely different,but just wondered if you alter your EQ according to the bass that you're reviewing.That is one beautiful instrument BTW.
Hey Gerry! I have a video linked in the description that goes over my setup. Ah yea, I forgot to delete that little bit. That audio bit is both my vocal mic and the interface picking up sound. The rest of the audio is all direct through my focusrite (captured from the line out of my amp). EQ on the amp is centered on all frequencies too.
I don’t think so at all. They have very different voicing. The Fodera kills a more traditional tone. I think that why allot of your top players use Fodera
@@bassclef1962 That is definitely a valid point (and the Fodera is definitely beautiful), but if I want a traditional tone, I can get that at a fraction of the price (I’m a sucker for the P and the Stingray myself). I probably shouldn’t have been SOO aggro, but I still stand by my opinion.
Thanks for a good review as always. I just have a question for you. In so many videos you say that you don't like Bartolini pickups actually you are very negative about them. But now when you have an expensive bass with Bartolinis is your favourite, is the price determining or the tone?
I never said I don't like Bartolinis, however I do criticize the MK1 and BH2 which are produced by Cort for import instruments and not 'true' Barts. They are very different vs what is in something like my MTD
@@LowEndLobster Yes you are right I looked at the Ibanez headlines video again it has bartolini bh2 pickups and for sure the MK1 are a bad pickups I don't know why bartolini allowed to use their name otherwise for my personal taste the number one are delanos and second choice are bartolini. BTW thanks again for very good reviews and also for a good choice of instruments
My bucket list bass 🤤I have a stingray special 5 HH and it’s nice but man that tone on the MTD is killer and the construction ! You get a lot more for your money with MTD then Fodera imho and the tone is so MTD ! Like Ken smith love or hate , you know a Ken smith when you hear one but the MTD tone is perfect
I played Lee's 535 at Bass exchange once. I knew at that time that MTD were one of the best. Nothing else has felt as good as that 535 did... They were only $3500 back then too. Hindsight hurts on this... lol. Sweet Bass though
Never thought I'd hear you call a 5 string your number one bass. Nice. I am unsure what can be said that improves upon what we hear and see. It's what it is and what it is, is, bass in a bass. All bass, in a bass. These are the instruments people look for so they don't have to keep 10 others on hand because this one does it all. Maybe call it the whittler because you'll be neglecting your other basses so much that you'll decide to whittle down the stack.
5:30 I mean Ritters are cool but the MTD are pretty and workhorses and also sound fookin 'mazing. The only other bass up there with Ritter that comes to mind might be the PRS Grainger anniversary model(s) but PRS put themselves off limits to me when they started dealing with Cor-Tek. Everyone knows how I feel about Cort, so I won't go into it again. Vote with wallet, amnesty international, yodda yodda
23:45 what I realized when you're going through all the tones is that this thing literally sounds like it's recorded already when it's actually live in the room. Fits perfectly in a mix, speaks out during solos and comping, this is probably the trippiest bass I've ever witnessed just because of the comfort, ease of use, and broad spectrum of quality timbre coverage, it's hard to find a flaw, I mean, it's super showy without being gaudy like, again, basses like Ritter...the overall roundness and balance of every single aspect of this instrument, super utilitarian and the thing is, GOOD TOOLS COST MONEY. You got what you paid for and a bit more - besides the fact that it's so hard to find one, even in the same factory/workshop, that does what this one does and hugs like this one hugs (and you know what I mean, sometimes when you wear an instrument it feels like it's hugging you, and every time you pick this one up it practically reaches out to meet you half way, it's pretty obvious). hug that thing hard like it's gonna come apart, secure in teh confidence that it's gonna do anything BUT come apart.
Lobster, any thoughts about a one-piece neck versus 3-piece neck? I'm surprised a bass costing from $5,000 to $10,000 has only a one-piece neck. Maybe it has a graphite truss rod or two?
Most of these high end brands that use one piece necks, they are quarter sawn. Just as strong and usually more expensive then multi piece necks. Fodera just switched to multi piece quarter sawn necks because of issues getting quarter sawn wood blanks big enough to make necks
Its a good one (not special in any "style" but does everything okay) - would try also an Trbx 304. Half the price but more than a half of the tone of the 604. But in this price range, I would go for the Sire M5^^
You hit a good point LowEnd, as a studio owner and with over 50 basses if I am going to pay that kind of money for a bass it needs to be unique. That's why I love for example Alembic basses because of their unique quality of tone, wood and hardware. I notice some of the higher priced basses don't give you a unique tone, some sound close to a Fender for example. My point is if a want a Fender sound I will buy a Fender, if a want a Music Man sound I will but a Music Man at a much lower cost. If I am going to spend that kind of money I am looking for something thats different and unique IMHO. And don't get me wrong you don't need to spend $4k-$6k to get a unique bass but if I am going to spend that kind of dough :) Give me something thats different from everything else I have.
Absolutely!
i agree, the main difference between basses for the studio vs “feel” + sound for a performing musician are not the same. In a perfect world we would have everything high end in the studio, but alas even if you have a 200k budget I’m not sure this bass would make the cut….. been there done that! Vintage neves, neumanns, pultecs, designing a decent room could easily eat that entire budget. Still, this is a GREAT bass and sounds fantastic.
@@chillpillology Agree 100%
That bass sounds as good as a $4000 should; amazing tone, literally no bad settings.
Opening the week with a new review is a treat!
You’ve got there an absolutely stunning looking and sounding instrument. Congrats on your beautiful MTD!
Thanks for the review! What an amazing sounding instrument! Waaaaay back at the turn of the century I saw a Growler and fell in love with the shape. Twenty years later I still don't have that kind of money (or talent to justify the expense). However what I DO have is the ability to make my own instruments (getting ready to paint #3 as soon as the weather cooperates). They aren't steller but they play decently and are a true labor of love. Maybe I'll finally have a "Growler" in build #4. Fun Fact: I couldn't resist putting a MTD headstock design on a Hofner kit a few years back.
MTD headstock on a Hofner. Cool!
Never seen such a happy lobster!
Lobster That Bass is 👹Beast👹 But you know i love my MTD s. ( I have a Nostrand Pup- Babiz Bridge- 3 position Midrange Selector- 3 position coil Tap modified Kingston Z5) is a question? Are you gonna get your own Modified Kingston Super 5??
I should have known that was you Bro Calvin 😂😂😂🦾🦾
Another great review! Great playing lobster
Thanks Corey!
@@LowEndLobster np lobster 🦞
Absolutely beautiful 🥲! And I'm officially jealous! I ordered the Kingston super 5 with all the up grades and can't wait to get it!
Lovely Bass, Lobster. MTD's are the shizznit. I just bought a KZ5, and it's incredibly impressive (even more so, given how close it sounds to yours!). The MTD mixture of deep, 3D bass with no mud, mixed with the clarity and distinctive, bitey top end - It can't be beat.
Thank you Oxford! Congrats! Those KZ's look killer
Have a super 5 myself. Absolutely love it. Have been a huge fan of MTD basses for years. Can't ever see myself getting a USA model sadly. With mortgage and kids my priority it's just not going to happen.
yeah they dialed their electronics in pretty intently.
I love how the active electronics actually bring out the great timbre of the thing instead of blasting over it - that's part of the whole skillful builder package, really.
That is a really nice instrument. Love MTD basses. Love the Kingston super 5 I have. Might consider a KZ to the collection.
Thank you! MTDs are the best
What a beautiful bass. Some of the specs made me think of the Cort A4 Plus, I'd be interested in your opinion on one. It has Bartolini (Cort made) pick-ups which are also a split reverse P style, a big Hipshot bridge & Hipshot Ultralites too. The neck is a through neck, nice and flat but not ultra thin like an Ibanez and is very comfortable, I've played so many basses looking for "my bass" and definitely found it in the A4!
The magnetic covers is such a clever thing that I'm now upset that every bass with a rear control panel access doesn't have that.
I hope this stuff makes its way into more budget friendly production basses. It seems like the implementation wouldn't be too tough. Someone on TB put together a little guide to convert an existing cavity cover to be magnetic, but it is somewhat involved.
Wow, Wow, Wow..... Let's hope Gibson maintains the MTD standards. Lobster, Thx for the review.
Love this bass!! I haven’t seen a 5 out of 5 🦞 in a while!!! So many great tones you got!!! We all got that one “go the grave with bass” mine is my 04 stingray!!!
I was struck by the tonal balance across all five strings and the sublime sounding eq options. Very informative demo.
MTDs are the best looking basses on the market today, IMHO. My friend has one that is simply beautiful with this birdseye fingerboard. My only concern with MTD and F Bass vs Foreda, for instance, is the buzzing it makes after you hit the note. To my ears it sounds like it is not a refined sound. You can fix most of it with the preamp adjustment but it is always there. MTD you get fully what you are paying for whereas Fodera you pay some extra for the brand as well. My preference is still the refinement of a Fodera even if I don’t care much about the brand. Did a couple blind sound checks with my wife helping me and it still sounds better without visual / brand bias
To me the only fault is not having a passive style tone control, even with treble fully cut is way to bright , that gives the bass a hi fi sound but kills its versatility quite much
Just kick on a pedal…
@@steverolfeca yo don’t pay $9k to need a pedal lol
Yeah that’s my one gripe as well
Like if I’m playing a more mellow song then I would want less treble in it.
nothing turning down the treble on your amp cant fix, i learned to actually use my amp when I got a Spector euro, that bass was insanely bright. then i turned the treble in my amp ALL the way down and used the pre amp on the bass for all my treble needs and it was way better.
What a beautiful instrument! This is a piece of high art! Beautiful and functional, this is an unique piece. It’s amazing how much the wood affects the tone. On basses this is obvious. On guitar….not so much. Guitar sound is all about the electronics but basses resonate! All basses should have a zero fret and an easily accessible truss rod adjustment access. I’ve never played a custom MTD but I’m thinking about it ;)
Hey Low, next time you talk to Mike Tobias ask him about the basses that he built for Chris Squire. That should be very interesting 👍
What a lovely bass.
Being a stingray fan, I always wanted to have of those MTD beauties.
Maybe one day
Around the 17:30 mark, it is sounding like a classic Fender! I love (and require a bass) that has this versatility! I think I missed it, but what pickups are those? I settled on an Ibanez bass for the fact it had Bartolinni pickups, and that was after sampling HUNDREDS of basses! Those pickups provided some of my favorite low-end sound with great versatility!
Excellent Lobster 🦞🍺🍺🎶🎵🎸
What a beauty, term slap 👹 monster is thrown around...This Bass is the real deal.
Lobster,what kind of interface do you use for sound on your videos? I noticed something at 7.33 which seemed to be a live sound.The reason I ask is that while you have the ability to make any bass you play sound great,I've noticed just the slightest touch of 'sameness' to your sound.I'm probably wrong as my 70 year old ears arent what they were,and that these basses all sound completely different,but just wondered if you alter your EQ according to the bass that you're reviewing.That is one beautiful instrument BTW.
Hey Gerry! I have a video linked in the description that goes over my setup. Ah yea, I forgot to delete that little bit. That audio bit is both my vocal mic and the interface picking up sound. The rest of the audio is all direct through my focusrite (captured from the line out of my amp). EQ on the amp is centered on all frequencies too.
I would like to get another MTD one day (USA one) I had an Andrew Gouche 6 Kingston model. I was almost brought to tears when I had to sell it.
Thanks John! Bummer you had to sell yours. I hope you get another someday!
You WILL......get another AG6 Kingston!!!
Is the top one piece? Kind of unusual for a two piece where the two different colors meet. MTD makes some nice stuff...
I think so
This bass shits on the fodera (tone wise). Well done as always lobster.
I don’t think so at all. They have very different voicing. The Fodera kills a more traditional tone. I think that why allot of your top players use Fodera
@@bassclef1962 That is definitely a valid point (and the Fodera is definitely beautiful), but if I want a traditional tone, I can get that at a fraction of the price (I’m a sucker for the P and the Stingray myself).
I probably shouldn’t have been SOO aggro, but I still stand by my opinion.
buried with that bass eh...? So if Lobster were to die.... hmmm....
kidding of course, lots of love and thanks for sharing more tones of this beast!
I'm writing you out of my will XD
After a hundred Stingray videos: Favorite bass.
Now his right hand will stay normal!
Thanks for a good review as always. I just have a question for you. In so many videos you say that you don't like Bartolini pickups actually you are very negative about them. But now when you have an expensive bass with Bartolinis is your favourite, is the price determining or the tone?
I never said I don't like Bartolinis, however I do criticize the MK1 and BH2 which are produced by Cort for import instruments and not 'true' Barts. They are very different vs what is in something like my MTD
@@LowEndLobster Yes you are right I looked at the Ibanez headlines video again it has bartolini bh2 pickups and for sure the MK1 are a bad pickups I don't know why bartolini allowed to use their name otherwise for my personal taste the number one are delanos and second choice are bartolini. BTW thanks again for very good reviews and also for a good choice of instruments
My bucket list bass 🤤I have a stingray special 5 HH and it’s nice but man that tone on the MTD is killer and the construction ! You get a lot more for your money with MTD then Fodera imho and the tone is so MTD ! Like Ken smith love or hate , you know a Ken smith when you hear one but the MTD tone is perfect
Hi LowEnd I am assuming the Kingston is the mid range line? I noticed the price is a lot lower.
Yes, the Kingston line is MTD's import line. QC done by MTD USA, but produced overseas. We've reviewed a couple and they're great
@@LowEndLobster Thanks LowEnd I will check out those videos
That basses is amazing
I played Lee's 535 at Bass exchange once. I knew at that time that MTD were one of the best. Nothing else has felt as good as that 535 did... They were only $3500 back then too. Hindsight hurts on this... lol. Sweet Bass though
Yeah the bass is nice and all, but that Tshirt is the real winner here
Do they make a 4 string version of this bass Lobster?
Yes, the 434 or 435
Champange of low range
20:36 awww yeahh
"What seems to be the problem officer?"
Cop: "How much bass have you consumed this evening?"
MTD is right up there with Fodera.
Now a barefaced cab and a Bergantino amp with the MTD ! That would be great
Never thought I'd hear you call a 5 string your number one bass. Nice.
I am unsure what can be said that improves upon what we hear and see.
It's what it is and what it is, is, bass in a bass.
All bass, in a bass.
These are the instruments people look for so they don't have to keep 10 others on hand because this one does it all.
Maybe call it the whittler because you'll be neglecting your other basses so much that you'll decide to whittle down the stack.
strings?
oh man you got to try the labella white gold tapes on that
further push the looks and sound, both
;-)
3:40 CAT!
5:30 I mean Ritters are cool but the MTD are pretty and workhorses and also sound fookin 'mazing.
The only other bass up there with Ritter that comes to mind might be the PRS Grainger anniversary model(s) but PRS put themselves off limits to me when they started dealing with Cor-Tek. Everyone knows how I feel about Cort, so I won't go into it again. Vote with wallet, amnesty international, yodda yodda
7:20 it goes far beyond piano tones - this thing does analog pedal tones that breathe, swell and live their own lives in the span of a note.
23:45 what I realized when you're going through all the tones is that this thing literally sounds like it's recorded already when it's actually live in the room. Fits perfectly in a mix, speaks out during solos and comping, this is probably the trippiest bass I've ever witnessed just because of the comfort, ease of use, and broad spectrum of quality timbre coverage, it's hard to find a flaw, I mean, it's super showy without being gaudy like, again, basses like Ritter...the overall roundness and balance of every single aspect of this instrument, super utilitarian and the thing is, GOOD TOOLS COST MONEY.
You got what you paid for and a bit more - besides the fact that it's so hard to find one, even in the same factory/workshop, that does what this one does and hugs like this one hugs (and you know what I mean, sometimes when you wear an instrument it feels like it's hugging you, and every time you pick this one up it practically reaches out to meet you half way, it's pretty obvious).
hug that thing hard like it's gonna come apart, secure in teh confidence that it's gonna do anything BUT come apart.
Lobster, any thoughts about a one-piece neck versus 3-piece neck? I'm surprised a bass costing from $5,000 to $10,000 has only a one-piece neck. Maybe it has a graphite truss rod or two?
MTD makes a lot of one piece necks, I believe Mike thinks the tone is better. All the wood is hand selected so no worries about stability
Most of these high end brands that use one piece necks, they are quarter sawn. Just as strong and usually more expensive then multi piece necks. Fodera just switched to multi piece quarter sawn necks because of issues getting quarter sawn wood blanks big enough to make necks
I was on the edge of my seat praying that cat didn’t knock the bass over!!🫣
Do please make a video on Peavey T-40
I have a video on one coming soon :)
Nice, its a beast
Could you please review the yamaha trbx 604 ? Thx
Its a good one (not special in any "style" but does everything okay) - would try also an Trbx 304. Half the price but more than a half of the tone of the 604. But in this price range, I would go for the Sire M5^^
Great bass for a real bass player SO.
MTD builds a 30 scale, too.
At that price point it better speak!!! Bass sounds good bro. But man the price!!!
Gorgeous instrument! This video should've probably been reserved for your OnlyFans, but I definitely appreciate you posting it here. 😉
I would call it the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup bass.
I don't know why it took me so long but I just realized that the bass has no fret inlays. Honestly doesn't need them.
fedora prices :P
8 grand bass. Wow. Enjoy your new baby
0:34 : Review over .... kkkkk Great
No, must have over 10 strings to be a proper bass.
WHAT IS YOUR FAV 4 string ????