Collection: MTD Basses

MTD Basses: 35 Inches of American Boutique

Michael Tobias has been building instruments since 1974. He turned Tobias Guitars into one of the most wanted bass brands on the planet, sold it to Gibson in 1990, sat out his non-compete, and started again from nothing in upstate New York in 1994. That second act is MTD, and it is the one that matters.

The shop is in Kingston, New York. It puts out around ten instruments a month, built by Michael, his son Daniel Tobias, and long-time associate Charlie Kniceley. Every USA MTD bass is built to order, to one player's spec. There is no standing inventory, no assembly line, no configurator pretending to be lutherie.

Bass Freaks is an authorised MTD dealer in Europe. Michael Tobias Design, without the import roulette. Ordering an American boutique bass from Belgium instead of upstate New York means no customs surprise, no three-way argument about a damaged flight case, and a shop you can actually phone. We handle the order, the freight and the setup, and the bass arrives playable.

USA Handmade: the 35 inch scale MTDs

Bolt-on 35 inch scale, 21 frets plus a zero fret as standard, 24 frets on request. Maple neck with Indian laurel board by default, ash neck at no extra charge. Bodies in medium-weight ash, domestic tulipwood or alder, almost always under an exotic top. Pickups and preamp are a proprietary Bartolini design, the bridge and tuners are made for MTD by Hipshot, and everything runs the Buzz Feiten Tuning System.

Model	Strings	What it is
MTD 435	4	The four string. Same 35 inch scale, same voice, fewer decisions.
MTD 535	5	The one people mean when they say MTD. The reference point for the whole 35 inch scale five string category.
MTD 635	6	The six. Wide, even, and far less of a handful than its spec sheet suggests.
MTD 735-24	7	Seven strings, 24 frets as standard. Built for people who already know why they want one.
Signature models	4 to 6	Andrew Gouche AG4, AG5 and AG6, Norm Stockton Saratoga, Byron Miller PB4 and PB5, Lynn Keller 4 and 5, Bubby Lewis Super 5 and 6, Justin Raines Saratoga.

Short scale, 32 inch scale and headless builds sit in the same handmade line, with 24 frets as standard. Fretless is a build option, lined or unlined, on an epoxy board.

Kingston Series: the same design language, made reachable

The Kingston Series is MTD's production line, designed in Kingston, New York, and quality-checked and set up by MTD's own technicians before it ships. It carries the parts of an MTD that actually matter to your hands: the asymmetrical neck profile, the compound 10 to 14 inch fingerboard radius, the Buzz Feiten Tuning System, licensed Hipshot Ultralite tuners, and a top-loading quick release bridge. The 2026 line was reworked across the board.

Model	Scale	What it is
Kingston Z (Z5, Z6)	35"	The flagship of the Kingston line and the one that borrows most from the USA models. Alder body, maple burl top, roasted maple neck, MTD split coil pickups, active three band EQ.
Kingston Super (4, 5)	34" / 35"	Two MM style humbuckers, each with its own series, single coil and parallel switch. The most tonally flexible bass in the range, and the loudest.
Kingston Saratoga Deluxe (4, 5)	34"	The J/J. Ash or alder, 21 frets, active and passive with a real passive tone control. The most familiar-feeling MTD.
Kingston NSJ	35"	Norm Stockton Signature Saratoga, five string. Custom Bartolini USA pickups and preamp, mid shift switching at 250Hz and 450Hz, the same frequencies as the USA signature.
Kingston AG (5, 6)	35"	Andrew Gouche Signature. Alder with a figured maple top, purpleheart board, Bartolini split coils, mid shift at 250Hz and 800Hz.
Kingston LK (4, 5)	32"	Lynn Keller Artist Edition. A 32 inch scale P/J with 24 frets, designed around a smaller player and adopted by everyone whose back hurts.

Frequently asked

What actually makes a bass an MTD?
The 35 inch scale, the asymmetrical neck carve, the compound 10 to 14 inch radius, the Buzz Feiten Tuning System and a Bartolini voicing built for that specific instrument. Michael Tobias designs acoustically first: the wood combination has to sound like something before a pickup is anywhere near it.

Is a 35 inch scale hard to play?
Less than you think. The extra inch is what makes a low B behave like a real note instead of a rumour, and MTD offsets it with an asymmetrical neck that is thinner on the treble side. Most players report the opposite of what they expected: it feels smaller, not bigger. If you want to go further down that road, Dingwall takes the same logic to a fanned fret extreme, and we explain how that works in our guide to multiscale basses. If long scale genuinely does not suit you, the Kingston LK at 32 inches exists for exactly that reason.

USA Handmade or Kingston: what is the real difference?
The USA instruments are built by hand in Kingston, New York, to your spec, one at a time, with proprietary Bartolini electronics and Hipshot hardware made for MTD. The Kingston Series is the production line: same design language, same neck geometry, same Buzz Feiten system, checked and set up by MTD's own technicians, at a fraction of the price. Several Kingston models can also be upgraded with USA Bartolini pickups, preamps and Hipshot hardware, which narrows the gap further.

Does MTD make 4, 5 and 6 string basses?
Yes, and seven. The USA line runs 435, 535, 635 and the 735-24. The Kingston line covers four, five and six depending on the model: the Z is a five and a six, the Super, Saratoga Deluxe and LK are fours and fives, the AG is a five and a six.

Is there a fretless or a headless MTD?
On the USA handmade side, yes. Fretless is a build option, lined or unlined, on an epoxy fingerboard, and headless builds are part of the standard handmade programme along with 30 and 32 inch scales. Ask us and we will spec it with the shop.

How much is an MTD bass?
Two very different answers depending on the line. A Kingston sits in normal working-musician territory. A USA handmade MTD is a custom instrument priced like one, and the number moves with the woods, the electronics and the options. Tell us what you are after and we will come back with a real quote rather than a range.

How does MTD compare to the other American boutique builders?
The obvious neighbour is Fodera, and the two share a lot of DNA: Vinnie Fodera and Joey Lauricella both came out of Michael Tobias's orbit in the early eighties. Where Fodera leans neck-through and ornamental, MTD stays bolt-on, ergonomic and function-first. Both are in the room in Belgium, which is the only honest way to settle it.

Can I buy a used MTD?
Not here. Bass Freaks sells new MTD only, ordered direct from Kingston. Pre-owned and consignment is the job of our sister shop, Sarg's Guitars. If a used MTD turns up in the group, that is where it lands.

Do you carry MTD strings?
Ask. We stock a deep range of bass strings and we can order MTD's own sets alongside an instrument.

Who plays MTD?
Jimmy Haslip, Gail Ann Dorsey, Andrew Gouche, Norm Stockton, Bubby Lewis, Byron Miller, Evan Brewer. Not a stadium-rock roster, which is the point: MTD is a players' brand that spread by being handed around backstage rather than by advertising.

MTD builds roughly ten instruments a month. Anything in this collection is either in the room in Belgium or on its way, and once a USA build is spoken for it does not come back. If you want a specific spec, a Kingston in a finish we are not showing, or a full custom order placed with the shop in Kingston, talk to us. Otherwise the rest of the wall is on the high-end basses page.