When it comes to finding the right combination of ingredients, Mike Tobias is one of the master chefs. His MTD 535 has a unique blend of wood-meets-wire sound we just didn't hear from any other 5. Acoustically, the bass has a complex brilliance slappers instantly fell for. And those rawsounding MTD strings running across a zero fret add bite, too.

Our test bass was made of lightweight tulip-wood that resonated nicely when you plucked a string. Its distinctive myrtle-burl top was covered in a bright-red oil-and-wax finish that made the bookmatched flame really scream. (These options added $650 to the $3,500 base price.) MTD uses a deeply set, angled neck joint; the treble side of the neck extends 2-7/8" into the body. This not only helps tone but prevents the neck from shifting, and it improves balance, too. The bass side of the neck joint could have been tighter, though; we measured a .014" gap.

A great deal of the 535's percussive sound comes from the wenge neck and fingerboard, because wenge is much stiffer than rock maple. We found 21 jumbo frets, all properly seated against the board. Each one had been well dressed, although there were a few file-chatter marks on the ends. Also, a small amount of super glue had squeezed out onto the fingerboard from the fret slots. Playability couldn't have been better, though, thanks to a great setup and a shallow asymmetric profile to the back of the neck.

For maximum impact, an 18-volt Bartolini NS3TMB-18 preamp is wired to two custom-made Bartolini active humbuckers. The preamp uses a +9/-9-volt design; according to Bartolini, this requires "no capacitors to diminish the low-end punch, clarity, and frequency response to the instrument." It delivers--we hardly had to reach for the 3-band EQ or 3-position midrange switch (250Hz/500Hz/1kHz) to tweak the tone. The 535 is plenty full and cutting, even with the EQ flat. We were impressed by the bold sound of the .135" B, but most of us liked it best with the pickups blended more toward the bridge. The MTD clearly has its own character, but it may not suit everyone. Some cherished its crystal-clear ring, but others found it too unforgiving to less-thanperfect technique. This bass is alive.

Comments:

"Tons of headroom."

"Use those highs sparingly!"

"Tight and defined tone that would record well."

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