MTD 635

2002 MTD-USA 635. Ash body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. All the standard items Mike puts on all his basses. Nice looking bass.

Sound is less than what I expected. Too transparent, wood combination does play a big role in how they sound however you have to really manage the controls. I experimented with replacing the Barts with EMG's and definitely sounds different in a positive way. I can see why the majority of MTD's are being used in gospel and funk. If you are a soloist then this is a good bass. Good slap/pop bass. Rock, blues, cover music, forget it. Very clunky sounding IMO. Although there are plenty of controls you have to pretty much roll off all the mids and flip the switch up then crank the bass and treble up to get close to clean. If not then you hear way too much fret noise. Be careful, too much bass and your speakers will move excessively. Not much output from the system although there is a gain pot in there. The older MTD's seem to have a different sound than the newer models. Maybe they changed something in the electronics design. This bass is 'new string' dependant. Dont let your set get too old or sound quality suffers.

Egronomically correct to where it is well balanced and fret spacing is comfortable. Good looking design.

Craftsmanship, hardware, and construction is quality.

Couldnt ask for better service. Mike Tobias will take care of you no matter how busy he is. 10+++++

Wonderful design, feels nice, plays comfortably, looks nice, way over priced. Dont buy it blind, find one and play it first. It may 'not' be the sound you're looking for. I had to sell it. I kept my Ken Smith and Spector Euro. MTD is not for everyone.

complaints :::

wish it was gloss laqcquered... i hate natural or satin finish!!! i want that SHINE that also protects the instrument and seals in teh beauty.

frets too tiny.

GOODS:::

nice mtd soft outer, yet hard case thats not a gig bag...
made by tkl.

nice body as usual , mike T make the nicest feeling and looks... for body. . . and neck. . .

nice light weight hipshot tuners.

nice bart pickups.

made in NY / usa !!!!!!!!

weird thing is, the pickups while panned to each one alone, SOUNDs AMAZING, ( from that p bass sound, to a jaco jazz funk tone) but when they are blended at perfect mix of the 2, for some reason , this bass suffers.... ( and im a slapper, so this makes me cry! )

the B string is the worst ever. ive tried 3 different strings... even with this bass as a 35 scale. and the e and a string are bad too. i think i must have possibly the worst mtd made, or defective sometihng... cuz so many people love theirs... i dont understand why mine sux... i have played another one called the 535 with diff woods, and i liked it better. it however was uglier to me, but sounded better... it also was the 21 fret, this is a 24 fret.

setup, fit finish, everything perfect here ...

looks , feel , and building quality ( workmanship ) are MINT.

mr. tobias ( and his helpers) are / is among the best with fit, looks, wood work, and overall aesthetics and design... this is why modulus has hired him ( genesis model ) and so has another famous bass company who i forgot now... but tobias is well respected and sought out for innovation.

no probs ever with this area. . . .

simple tweak of truss rod fixes most buzzes.

mike will write u back 1 2 3 !!!!!!! and he is the master at basses. . .

i just don tliek the sound of mine where i need it most. both p/ups on at same time. . . . )

(panner at center detent )

all i have to say is, ive had 20 basses.

about 15 yrs of playing.

its nice looking, feeling, but mine for some reason: the sound SUX.... mayeb the wenge wenge combo of neck/ board takes too much away from teh sound? i hear it has natural compression properties... ie: kills ure low end. horribly!!! mayeb mine just sux a rotten apple ?? its all show and no go!

get a modulus!!! trust me. it will shake the ground, and raise the roof, yet, have the most pleasing b string ever, and stay true and clear with every note u play! and PUNCHY .. will not be hidden or drowned out in mix, or live.


again, i just want to state, i might have the rotten apple of a bunch of mtds, cuz mine is just not sounding good at all... for my slap style. . . im very upset. . . for this price.... sad sounds... good feel and looks and workmanship...

so u pick which is more important, vanity? or tone!!!

modulus fretteds and carvin fretlesses are the best in my opinion. also most f basses, and fender jazzes are great. . .
smiths sound too duck quacky to me. and foderas are total rip off.

2005 American MTD 635-24 Lined Fretless. Flamed Redwood top on a mahogany body, bolt-on maple neck, macassar ebony fingerboard. 35" scale, with hardshell Zero-G case.

2 - 18v active Bartolini Humbuckers - Volume-Balance-treble-mid-bass; midrange selector switch.

Satin epoxy finish; looks like natural oiled wood, but hard as a rock and slippery, even if you sweat heavily.

Mr. Tobias said to me that this was the most versatile bass he has ever built, and it was no exaggeration: without touching a knob. you can go from a deep fretless string-bass growl, to the punchiest Fender-jazz sound ever, to an attack so bright and crisp you would swear it was slap (with frets). It is nothing short of revolutionary. Every note on the neck is perfect and even, and somehow he has managed to achieve clarity on the 'B' string on the 17th fret (where every other bass I have ever played goes 'Hooooooooommmmmm' - on the MTD, the 'E' on the 'B' string is a clear articulated note like every other.
Rich, full, deep. bright, warm, punchy, and organic; this bass is simply extraordinary. I have owned about 20 bases in my 35 years of bass playing, including the highly overrated 'old Fenders'; this instrument is like the best old Fender you could ever imagine, only with dead silent electronics, and with perfect even action on every position and on every string, something you'll never get on an old Fender - they were so inconsistent - some good notes, and a lot of bad ones.

The action was absolutely flawless right out of the box. When I first put it on, it felt like I have played it all my life. It needed no breaking in, although now, 3 months in, it is getting better and better by the day. This instrument is so comfortable, it is lighter than my students' 4 string Jazz basses, even though it is a long scale 6 string, wide spacing, with 24 frets. It weighs less in the case than my Pedulla Hexabuzz does outside of the case. The ergonomics are impeccable, balance is perfect, it is so comfortable and light you could do the vacuuming in it. I have honestly tried to find something I would change on this bass, and could not think of a thing, except perhaps the price; if a Pedulla Hexabuzz is worth $5,000.00, then this thing should be about $20,000.00 (hope Mr. T ain't listening).

I did have a faulty front (neck) pickup, which went after about a month. An extreme rareity from Bartolini - I have used their stuff almost exclusively for over 25 years, and this is the first piece that has ever caused me trouble - most of the time if there was a problem, it was from faulty installation, which was not the case here. Anyway, it was replaced under warranty immediately - Mr. Tobias sent me out the new pickup BEFORE I had even sent him back the faulty one. And I use bridge pickup almost exclusively anyway, so it was not a big deal to me.

Extremely dependable, finish is extremely rugged (epoxy - some of the hardest stuff on earth), neck stays slippery under the hottest stage playing conditions. I use it on gigs without backups all the time, even though I own three other really fine basses, including two six strings; the only problem with the MTD is that every other bass you try sounds and feels like junk.

It's kind of like driving around in an '85 Corvette, thinking you're really cool, and fast, and suddenly you're at the wheel of a 2006 Ferrari Enzo, handbuilt and signed by Enzo himself. The MTD is just extraordinary, and my other basses are all for sale so I can get another one. After going to his booth at the NAMM show, I know that ultimately I would like three of them; a fretless (which I've got), a fretted for fingerstyle playing (which I've ordered - his new chambered bass), and one of his specialized slap-funk basses, which sound absolutely amazing.

Pickup problem was dealt with within an hour of Mr. Tobias hearing about it. Replacement was sent the fastest courier possible, AND he apologized profusely for it, even though it was a Bartolini problem, and the bass was fine when I got it - the problem took a month to happen, so obviously he had no way of knowing it was going to happen.

First class service.

Been playing 35+ years.
Own a mountain of gear - amps, cabs, effects, etc., and am constantly wheeling and deeling on new stuff.

If the MTD were lost or stolen, I would cry like a baby - really, I would. And I would order another one instantly.

I have played pretty much every type of bass on the planet, including all the high end 'boutique' stuff - Foderas ($15,000.00, and awkward as hell to play), and everything from Alembics (a $25,000.00 five string NAMM show showpiece), to Jerzy Drozds, Ritters and Zons, and everything in between, and IMHO nothing comes close to the MTD. An extraordinary, revolutionary instrument, and no I don't work for the company. Mr. Tobias simply builds the best basses on earth.

Buckeye Burl Top & headstock
Ash Body
Tobacco sunburst satin finish
2 octave maple neck (24-fret)
Maple Fingerboard
Buzz Feiten tuning system
Bartolini pickups
Bass, trebble and 3 way adjustable mid, volume and pickup pan.
Soft-hard case that fits it like a glove. It is a very nice case. It has a hard-style inside with a soft outside. I did take it on an airplane once the bass and case didn't get damaged, however I wouldn't resommend it as your main shipping case.

What else can you ask for. I know some of the Alembics have more
gadgets than the MTD...but the MTD has everything you need.

Yes another 10.
The key is to know your woods. I know my woods. I like ash bodies with all maple necks. But really you should do lots of reaserch on woods before you buy it. Email Micheal Tobias he can explain a lot.

I happened to be at Disneyworld so I finally got the chance to go to Bass Central (In Fern Park, 20 minute drive). I must have played 8 MTDs (535s and 635s). I settled on this one out of the bunch on sound alone, even though I like the looks of the Buckeye burl top.

The EQ allows for a great range of tones. It must be used sparingly, because of you crank the EQ knobs up too much it can wash out the natural sound of the wood. However if you are playing in a large room with the volume cranked you may want to pump up parts of the eq to fill the room up. At those volumes and behind an entire band you can never hear the subtlties of the bass anyways. I have found with this MTD, my MTD 535 fretless and others I have played, that no matter where you put the pick up pan it sounds great and different for each setting...lots of possibilities.

Everything is perfect about this bass, the ease of playability, the looks the finish etc. But the bottom line is that I bought it because it sounds the best. While in Bass Central I played it side by side with Alembics, Foderas, Dingwalls...you name it and this bass was still my favorite.

I play this bass with clean and dirty sounds. It has an increadable clean sound. I also play hard rock covers so I like to dirty my sound by playing through a second (dirty) amp. It sounds fantastic.
Yes you can play rock on an MTD.

Flawless. The action is a 10 on all 6 strings. The craftsmanship is a 10, after all it is a Michael Tobias instrument.

I am a major tinkerer with my action and I still haven't touched the setup.

Also I would like to say I usually hate Buckeye-burl, to me most of it looks like a dirty ashtray. However the top on this bass is amazing. Half of the body is very light in color with rich large knotted burgandies and browns while the other side is the traditional mottled black-grey. This is the only buckeye burl I have ever liked.

The neck oooh the assymetrical neck plays smaller than most 5 strings yet has full size string spacing so slapping is a breeze. The neck is probably the single best part of the bass.

So far so good I have only had it for a few weeks. My other MTD is about a year old and is still running fine.

Mister Tobias is very quick to respond to emails.

Sounds fantastic.
Plays Fantasticly.
Looks Amazing.

Completed early 2/02 has the following features:

Maple Burl Top & headstock
Mahogany Body
Tobacco sunburst satin finish
2 octave wenge neck
Buzz Feiten tuning system
18v Bartolini electronics

This bass sounds very "organic", It has a lot of warm and woody tonal qualities yet it can be really punchy with a huge bottom(probably from the wenge neck). I think Mikes strings are the brightest I've ever played. The electronics have tons of headroom and are quiet. I can basically get whatever sound I want from this bass, even if I turn the EQ off my head.

It's definitely suitable for any playing style however, an MTD probably isn't for everyone. It has that hi-fi sort of sound that some people don't care for..but personally, I don't think it gets much better than this. Every note rings out crystal clearly and it's incredibly hard to hide it in a band mix.

The fret job on this bass is excellent and the action was set really low...playing is pretty much effortless. The B string is tight - took a little time getting used to its 35" scale. Mikes necks are REALLY comfortable but different from what's out there, they're thin compared to others I've tried plus it's asymmetrical. Adjusting may be awkward for some people who play multiple basses. When I tried my friends Ibanez bass I felt the neck was thick! And Ibanez are known for their slim necks. Personally, I don't find baseball bat size necks very comfortable.

This bass looks like it's resistant to minor scratches but it'd probably dent easily since it's a thin coating. The hipshot hardware looks like it'll last. The wenge neck is really strong so constant truss rod tweaking isn't necessary.

Yup, the rumors are true...Mike is a great guy to work with and is extremely patient. I believe the warranty is 2 years but I wouldn't hesitate to call or e-mail him if I have any questions or problems.

I've been playing for around 7 years, I also own a Carvin fretless which is a decent bass but in a completely different class. I think I spoiled myself because all the basses I play after mine honestly don't compare, which is why I'm not crazy about my Carvin anymore (even with a new Bartolini preamp)...I'm saving up for an MTD fretless!

Unlike the Carvin, the MTD will be with me forever. I'm not really the type of person that owns 10 different basses a year...if my MTD were stolen, I wouldn't think twice to replace it. I think for the price it's well worth it, more so than other high end manfacturers.

Aesthetically, I find this bass to be perfect. The maple burl top is BEAUTIFUL and I've always wanted a classy sunburst type of color. Even the wenge neck is nicely figured. I'm grateful to own such an instrument, thanks Mike!

Feel free to contact me with questions or pictures.