Joe Dart Question

[stewblack]

Friend of mine recently picked up the bass having toiled away for decades on that funny toy with the thin strings. I of course am steering him as he takes these first steps on the road to righteousness. Today he asked me a penetrating question and I mumbled something about Markbass and fingers but thought I'd ask if anyone here has anything more penetrating to say on the subject. He asked me "How does he get that sound?".

The he in question is Joe Dart. The sound is that of a master technician at work and while I know we all have our own distinct sound as much to do with how we strike the strings as anything else, can I at least throw the guy a bone? Anyone know if Joe uses any effects? What strings he prefers etc. It was this video by the way.

Edited December 28, 2018 by stewblack
typo

[TheGreek]

Knowing how to get that sound and actually being able to get that sound are two completely different things.

I don't see why your friend should be able to get a short-cut into "The Joe Dart World" while the rest of us struggle...😁😁

 

 

[PatrickJ]

I'm sure some one will have a more authoritative response but from what I recall reading his Jazz bass is strung with old Rotosound steels, his P Basses with La Bella Flats and his new MM signature has Ernie Ball cobalt flatwounds.

Amp wise I believe he uses a Markbass Little Mark Tube 800 through a 4x10 cabinet, though in some of the Vulfpeck YouTube videos he seems to play through an Ampeg Combo. 

I think the majority of his tone comes from his technique and EQ.  I have a Markbass LMT, a 4x10 cabinet and a P Bass with Labella flats and I sound nothing like Joe, even when playing his lines.

 

Edited December 28, 2018 by PJ-Bassist

[BreadBin]

To me it sounds like a slightly clipping DI, and not that pleasant. 

[stewblack]

Thanks guys. My friend gets a little excited by the 'sounds' of instruments, enjoys delving into various effects and settings to achieve similar sounds. With bass as PJ mentions above, so much is in our fingertips...

[PatrickJ]

10 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

To me it sounds like a slightly clipping DI, and not that pleasant. 

I love Joe's playing but I've never been in love with his tone.

To me he sounds much better on the latest Vulfpeck album, Hill Climber. Less nasally and harsh to my ears.

[Kiwi]

Mark Bass speakers have a very distinctive sound which contributes significantly to the burpy tone he gets.

[wateroftyne]

He says here that he records direct. That said, the post is 3 years old, so he might have changed his approach since then.

[HazBeen]

50% gear, 50% fingers...... I sound like me on any bass, any amp (love or hate it.... I have come to accept and appreciate it over the years). It really is futile to want to sound like any bassist.

I do 2nd comments about Joe Dart’s tone, it does not do much for me.

[MoonBassAlpha]

By the time we get to hear their tunes, they've had a massive dose of the Vulf Compressor applied. Probably. 

[scalpy]

7 minutes ago, MoonBassAlpha said:

By the time we get to hear their tunes, they've had a massive dose of the Vulf Compressor applied. Probably. 

Exactly, sounds much natural on live clips.

[ped]

Never think there’s any point in talking about who used what strings, I always think they are more to give the player a certain feel as opposed to a certain sound.

[PatrickJ]

5 minutes ago, ped said:

Never think there’s any point in talking about who used what strings, I always think they are more to give the player a certain feel as opposed to a certain sound.

Agree to the extent of debating Ernie Ball vs. D'Addario vs. Elixir round wounds. 

But I do think discussing whether a  player uses flats vs roundwounds Vs steels is valid, especially for a newbie like @stewblack 's 'friend' as they do have different tonal properties

[Sibob]

It’s unlikely that Joe records using his amp rig, nor the same bass each time, so attributing it to those things is a little pointless. Even with his bass, I think he sounds very similar with his Jazz as with his MusicMan. Much of his sound on record will come from the production process (or lack thereof....it’s all really lo-fi) I reckon, and his live sound will be processed to match that.

You recognise Joe for the way he plays, so it’s all characteristics I reckon, we just attribute it to ‘tone’.

Si

[SpondonBassed]

Joe's secret is that he had a pioneering operation during his youth to swap the the skin from each of his fingertips with the skin from each toe.

Initially, he did this to help with his early career as a cat burgler.  Having found that there was little money to be earned by just stealing cats, he tried selling them as well.  While waiting for responses to his classified ads for affordable pedigree moggies, he took up bass and realised that he had something that no-one else had.

He's not looked back since and cat theft has been at a record low since records began.

Edited December 28, 2018 by SpondonBassed

[mingsta]

I suspect that he also compresses the hell out of it. 

13 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

Joe's secret is that he had a pioneering operation during his youth to swap the the skin from each of his fingertips with the skin from each toe.

Initially, he did this to help with his early career as a cat burgler.  Having found that there was little money to be earned by just stealing cats, he tried selling them as well.  While waiting for responses to his classified ads for affordable pedigree moggies, he took up bass and realised that he had something that no-one else had.

He's not looked back since and cat theft has been at a record low since records began.

Might as well close the thread now, as that's the final word right there. 

[chris_b]

On 28/12/2018 at 11:03, stewblack said:

. . . . He asked me "How does he get that sound?"

Tell your friend to try to copy what Joe Dart plays. His own sound will emerge.

[mike257]

It's really never going to be the kit. It's all in the players own technique and touch, how hard/soft they play, the angle they attack from - spent two weeks teching for a great session player who stood in on a tour I was looking after, I knew the lines as well as he did having worked with the band for ages, but when I line checked his bass, I sounded almost exactly like I sound playing through my own kit. He sounded completely different. 

I was lucky enough to work for Victor Wooten for a couple of shows. I can 100% confirm that having his actual bass in your hands and pedals at your feet in no way makes you sound or play anything like him 🤣

[krispn]

Joe has a very funky style but you whack that Vulf compressor on a (bass) track and you immediately get that distinct sound they’ve been doing for years. 

There’s more going on that flats v rounds. This is 50% playing 50% production imho and I’d recommend the vulf compressor demo’s on you tube to hear what it brings to the party.

[AndyTravis]

I’m sure on a lot of earlier Vulfpeck videos he’s playing through a Roland Bass Cube.

Doesn’t explain huge amounts - but noteworthy as that has a setting called bass360 which sonically seems to fit the bill - and a one size fits all button compression.

In saying all of this, Ive just done a set of demos with my CS Jazz, an 80’s Yamaha BB and an 00’s Yamaha BB. All sounds like me.

He has a very particular attack...on faster passages it’s almost as if he wanted to sound like Jaco so much he missed Pastorious and found his own sound via Rocco Prestia.

 

[interpol52]

The way that the strings are attacked and also where there plucking hand strikes the strings plays a big part in this type of sound. The Jazz Bass helps, but I thinks that a lot of basses with a bridge pickup could achieve this tone.

To my ears the bass sound is also interpreted slightly differently depending on what is going on with other instruments in the mix. Good examples of this in action are the Angel Dust Music bass demo videos. The the sound of the bass in the mix sounds quite different to when it is isolated.

For music like Vulfpeck I think that getting the feel for the songs, note selection and the ghost notes will help to get that tone too.

Right, I'm off to listen to the new album!

[pocketplay]

On 28/12/2018 at 04:21, TheGreek said:

Knowing how to get that sound and actually being able to get that sound are two completely different things.

I don't see why your friend should be able to get a short-cut into "The Joe Dart World" while the rest of us struggle...😁😁

Imagine such a flipin womble that you can't just offer another musician ideas 🤣🤣

Edited February 2, 2021 by pocketplay

[Mokl]

I'm fairly convinced that large amounts of compression, combined with strong attack from the right hand,  are a significant part of his recorded sound.

[krispn]

Do a you tube search for Vulf compressor 😀

[Elfrasho]

I'd roll off the super lows and boost the mids a touch.