OK, you will probably think this excessive, but here's what I did. I'm having a shitty time at work right now, and the MTD bass really isn't settling with me. It's just too heavy, and it doesn't play as good as I hoped, and it sounds "OK," but not spectacular. So I engaged in a little retail therapy and bought this:
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This is a Muckelroy custom hand made bass (#105 apparently). Brady Muckelroy is a builder in Texas, and he is doing some pretty incredible things, particularly with fretless basses. This is a lined fretelss, 33" scale, Texas Pecan body, Rock Maple & Bloodwood neck, Lacewood board, passive Aquilar pickups, and Hipshot tuners. I got the bass Thursday, we had a rehearsal Friday, and we did a gig yesterday and I used it.
Simply put, this is the best bass I've ever owned by a mile. The playability is awesome, I love the 33" inch scale. The bass is just over eight pounds, so not heavy at all. Tonally, it took me about 15 minutes to dial in a usable sound for the gig. I got lots of compliments on the tone, and the band loves it because it it tight and focused, but cuts through the mix. Today I spent a bit more time tone-shaping, and now I've got it really groovin' (800K baby, that's the sweet spot!).
So, all's well that ends well. Obviously this cost a bit more, but selling the MTD plus a couple of other things kicking around will mostly cover the cost. Bottom line is, this is the bass of my (current) dreams, and really will handle just about any situation I'll need a fretless, though I am keeping the Toby Pro because it has five strings and I've written stuff specifically for that with Eccentric Orbit.
Hallelujah, fretless search is ovah!
Bill
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