Far Cry (from my old basses)

Some quick updates before I head off to Jolly Ole':

This is really cool - http://www.fmqbproductions.com/epks/2007/rush/. Check out the clip from Rush's new single, "Far Cry." Sounds pretty excellent to me, but I'm about the most biased opinion you could possibly find. As my friend Chip says, anything from Rush at this point is icing on the tasty prog-rock cake of their amazing career (but an added bonus that it sounds this good and seems to have so much integrity).

I'm happy to report that the new MTD 535 proved its worth and then some at its inaugural SL Band gig. The bass sounds phenomenal and I'm still trying to figure out how Mike did it - this blows away any other bass I've ever even played, let alone owned, including my other MTDs. More on the bass itself: 5-string, 24 fret positions, maple neck, Rose of the Mountain fingerboard, African mahogany body, high-grade flamed Redwood top with matching truss rod cover and headstock. The bridge is solid brass (Mike's idea, he believes these bring out the best in the fretless basses). The controls aren't nearly as complicated as they look.

The only modification I'm likely to make is to replace the MTD strings with a set of coated Elixir bass strings - not that the MTD strings don't sound great (they do - I'm using them on my fretted MTDs), but I want to protect the exotic wood fingerboard from the wear that would otherwise result from using the non-coated roundwounds. Otherwise, it's pure stock MTD magic! Time to start saving up for a fretted 535...

Hope to see you at the next SL Band show. March 24 at Triumph in Princeton, NJ!

Cheers!