The MTD KZ

[sac45]

Hey Familyt" I wanted to know what you think about this Bass. The MTD KZ 5 string Bass. I am buyinh this Bass and I wanted your input on it before I buy this one. I kind of owant to go with a 6 for the future cause I dont have funds like that" you know what I mean. and I want to take care of it while I can.

[floaded27]

dude this is what i had my eye on for a while, but i decided to step it up a notch, so im targeting the 6 string version. oooh i wish they had it in GC. i'd never leave. but i love the 5. even when im in GC for some other equipment i just go in and just put my hands on the neck just to encourage me not to spend that money i got saved up so far. lol.

[6stringapprentice]

I played a KZ-6 at a local music store. I would say the build quality is around that of the higher end ibanezes. It has a very light modern feeling body. Probably some the easiest playing bass I've every picked up. Keep in mind a half hour in the store isn't for me to give you an in depth analysis. I noticed the flexibility of the sound was very narrow. I got a modern sound out of it and not too much else. I tried tweaking bass mid treble and blend but just got variations of the same sound. It could have been the swr combo i was playing through but from what I've read it seems that the stock preamp in these basses isn't very great. I also saw someone on youtube who switch the neck pickup for the bridge and said he got a better tone. Having played the KZ a heir and an artist, it is not lacking in feel but IMO it seems the electronics are just not up to par with the artist and heir. The good thing is preamps are a small investment that can yield big results.

[Robear22]

I have the Z6 and have owned it for almost two years. Very good bass if you are looking for a bass with excellent playability and a modern tone. But if you are looking to coax vintage tone out of this bass then you are mistaken. I really liked the original preamp which was a G&B. One of the best overseas premamps you can get. This is the same pre that goes in the KSD proto-j's. But I was curious and wanted to see where I could take this bass because she is such an excellent player. So I upgraded the stock pickups and pre to Bart P4s with an Aguilar OBP-3. Now IMHO this bass can go with some of the high end heavy hitters. I also installed coil tap switches on each pickup so I can go from parallel to single coil to series on each pickup. This bass is now really versatile. Get this bass if you want modern clarity and smooth tone. It is not aggressive sounding at all though that is why Mike has the Heir and the Artist.

[floaded27]

robear, thats the exact one i want, color and all. i just plan on swapping out the bridge and tuners for black ones and the knobs. not sure about exact plans for pickups and preamp, but that doesnt have to happen right away.

[Robear22]

Stock it is a real nice instrument. Just don't go in expecting a ton of versatility sonically. It is what it is. A modern hi-fi tone machine. I believe you will love it even more with the hardware changes. I have been contemplating doing that to mine but I really don't have a problem with the stock hardware.

[Kelz-Da-Basshead]

My Guitar center doesn't even sell MTD's. I have never even touched one before. It really seems like my kinda bass too. Cause if I want vintage I can break out that old fender in my closet.

[b-champ]

Yeah I have KZ 5 and was happy when I first got it it gave me some unbelievable highs, If you love the slap style. Me personally I am a  more finger style individual. So I asked the Mike Tobias what upgrades would be necessary to achieve this and he recommended XXP25C pick-ups and pre-amp bartolini. I bought the pickups and four months later I am still searching. I didn't buy the pre-amp because the picks-ups didn't just move me!       
So I found a cat on talkbass who did a Nordy DC5's each with a coil tap, Audere 4 band with Z-mode and am going to try that.  I hope this was helpful.

overall the bass is cool and better than alot of mid-performance basses. It just aint a ken smith....lol or a MTD 535 but what is???

[sac45]

I Went Yo Guitar Center today" and played it. I was sold on it. I loved it and I want to buy it. The only problem I have is" I am buying it From ZZounds,and they only have one color.And I want the Natural burled finnish. But It sounded great and just the sound I was looking for Right now.

[6stringapprentice]

There's a KZ6 on Ebay right now with a Maple burled top. Its at around $300 right now and it ends around 40 hours. http://cgi.ebay.com/Michael-Tobias-MTD-KZ6-6-String-Bass-Maple-Burl-Top_W0QQitemZ280347376427QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item4146017b2b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A4|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A200