About one and a half years ago, I bought a very cheap Spector Legend 6 just to try out how a six-string would fit me. One concrete reason was the work I did with Diversity Praiz! – a lot of urban gospel bassists use six-strings, and the do make use of the full range. But I also had wanted to play at least a five-string for a long time anyway.

Rather soon, I noticed two things. First, I really like playing six-strings. I just feel very comfortable. Second, the Spector leaves a lot to be desired. It just doesnt offer the sounds I'd like to have, doesn't offer enough presence and is susceptible to picking up stage lighting. EMG pickups are just not my cup of tea…

I haven't gotten around blogging about it, but I have been looking for a six-string to replace the Spector for a few months already. As part of this search, I visited Günter Eyb, went to try out basses at Station Music and of course at the near-by Soundland (where I saw this Ibanez BTB 1006e - not a bad deal) and pursued a few other avenues.

One of these avenues was MTD. I might adda bit more about this later, but for now, let me say that I was very content with my (four-string) Tobias Growler. So naturally, even years ago I already went to see who designed the Growler and what other instruments he did.

Michael Tobias had sold his bass label Tobias to Gibson, and after a seemingly not so fruitful cooperation with them decided to build up his own bass company again, under the name MTD. Today, he is one of the best-known bass builders. What got me very, very curious about his instruments is the music I heard from other bassists that play MTDs. People like Norm Stockton and Andrew Gouche (who is playing the song you can hear on the MTD homepage).

The most affordable MTDs are the Kingston series. The Artist and the Heir can sometimes be found in Germany. For example, at Station Music I found two in not such a good state. However, due to the selection of woods and the passive electronics, I'm not interested in these at all. TheKingston Z6 however sounds like an interesting instrument.

The best instruments MTD builds are the MTD USA instruments. There are comparatively few of them, and they almost can't be found in Germany. Currently, there's no official distributor for Germany even for the Kingston instruments.

Therefore, when a MTD 535 (five string) appeared on eBay about two weeks ago, and in Heideberg, it was clear that I must have a look at it. Even though it is not a six-string, and even though I would have preferred a different finish, I liked it so much that I knew I had to get it. It doesn't end the search for a six-string, but it is something I can work with now. :-)

Now, I just need to get it. And that's what I'll do now!