Musicman Joe Dart Jr

[bloke_zero]

Whats not to like? Love the video. The bass itself is clearly not meant for me, or anyone I know, but the marketing! It's the only advert I've watched in it's entirity for probably a year! I didn't even make it all the way through the Cliff Williams one for his stingray and I *love* ACDC.

[drTStingray]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

And I noticed that the full size JD model is still using the older and heavier tuners, whereas the ray specials etc have the new lightweight ones. Wonder why.

It pains me to say it but I suspect the target demographic may not be the tilted slightly towards geriatric one of bass guitar fora..... I know the weight of an instrument was the least of my worries when I was sub 30 yrs old!!! 

I just watched the video again - that sound is great (has some reverb on the whole mix at times though). If it hadn’t sold out (in 3 hrs 😳) I would be tempted. They’re right as well - I remember people moaning about the knob on the standard version - so what better than removing it - priceless 😂

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by drTStingray

[Owen]

3 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

that sound is great

The sound is great, but there is a lot of tweakage going on in the background. Two radically different sounds happening there.

[Eldon Tyrell]

I like Joe Dart and I like the minimalistic concept. It only makes sense to get rid of the gigantic volume knob that a lot of people (me included) did not like anyway. Some time ago, someone sold here a "Plank" bass by a German bass builder named Fritz Roessel. I remember saying that Joe Dart should buy it as the bass does not have any knobs at all. Maybe Joe is checking BC? 😉

The Plank bass could actually further inspire the next version of the Joe Dart bass: Get rid of the pickup next!  What looks like a soapbar pickup in the Plank bass is actually a microphone, according to the builder. So, Joe, check it out 😎

[fretmeister]

12 minutes ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

I like Joe Dart and I like the minimalistic concept. It only makes sense to get rid of the gigantic volume knob that a lot of people (me included) did not like anyway. Some time ago, someone sold here a "Plank" bass by a German bass builder named Fritz Roessel. I remember saying that Joe Dart should buy it as the bass does not have any knobs at all. Maybe Joe is checking BC? 😉

The Plank bass could actually further inspire the next version of the Joe Dart bass: Get rid of the pickup next!  What looks like a soapbar pickup in the Plank bass is actually a microphone, according to the builder. So, Joe, check it out 😎

I've heard some European builders use the word "mic" in place of pickup. So I doubt it's actually a microphone in the traditional sense.

[Doddy]

I still don't get why Ernie Ball are pushing various Joe Dart models, when I think it would have made more sense for them to do something like a Flea model (their refusal to do that was why he went to Modulus), or a Pino fretless. Although, it looks like the Vulfpeck fans are eating it up.

The video just highlights that Jack Stratton's forced personality annoys me, although the bass sounds pretty good.

[Eldon Tyrell]

8 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

I've heard some European builders use the word "mic" in place of pickup. So I doubt it's actually a microphone in the traditional sense.

Yes, it sounded odd but that's why I found on this forum:

"Plank" von Fritz Rössel auf der Messe gehört | Musiker-Board

Google translate gave me this:

It's called "Plank" and it looks a bit like it - like a wooden plank. And that is probably quite intentional.
He looks totally slimmed down. One-piece body, one-piece neck (screwed), no height aperture, no volume potentiometer. No pickup. ? Not a pickup in the usual sense. What looks like a soap bar pickup in bridge position is actually a microphone, as Fritz says.

[Sibob]

I think it looks ace, sounds ace, and Jack S is a clever guy! Totally exploiting JD's selling power haha.

"Come at me!"

Si

[Guest]

Ironically MM didn’t “do” endorsee models a while back and was proud of the fact. Tony Levin, one of the biggest proponents of the MM basses and particularly adoption of the SR5, only got a cheap OLP as a signature instrument (although to be fair they did make him a 3-string bass that was destroyed in a fire IIRC). 

[krispn]

50 people are gonna think they're getting a great bass until they realise they aren't Joe Dart and they're not playing via the Vulf compressor at all times. Not a bass demo but you can hear that signature VP compressed dirty lo-fi crunch. Love it!

 

[fretmeister]

1 hour ago, owen said:

The sound is great, but there is a lot of tweakage going on in the background. Two radically different sounds happening there.

Agreed. I can get a very similar tone with my Markbass head, flats and the back pickup on my Sandberg J but then it also needs all the compression in the world.

And I'm sure there's a HPF going on as well as there isn't actually that much bass. 

I really want to try that sound with my big band. I usually play my J and adjust the pickup balance depending on the tune, but I have a hunch the JD sound might work quite well.

 

[Eldon Tyrell]

13 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

Ironically MM didn’t “do” endorsee models a while back and was proud of the fact. Tony Levin, one of the biggest proponents of the MM basses and particularly adoption of the SR5, only got a cheap OLP as a signature instrument (although to be fair they did make him a 3-string bass that was destroyed in a fire IIRC). 

Maybe this change of strategy has something to do with Sterling's son Brian being the CEO of EBMM now? Could be.

[fretmeister]

11 minutes ago, krispn said:

50 people are gonna think they're getting a great bass until they realise they aren't Joe Dart and they're not playing via the Vulf compressor at all times. Not a bass demo but you can hear that signature VP compressed dirty lo-fi crunch. Love it!

 

It's a shame the link is broken for the download.

 

Also - sticking that in a pedal would be ace.

[Owen]

3 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

It's a shame the link is broken for the download.

 

Also - sticking that in a pedal would be ace.

https://goodhertz.co/vulf-comp/

[bloke_zero]

You could always get a Boss SP-303!

[RaNoFuNkY]

Apparently the bass comes with Ernie Ball Short Scale Flatwounds.

I don't believe any such short scale string actually exists? Is this to become a new product? I don't trust buying the long scale flats and trimming them...

Edited May 12, 2021 by RaNoFuNkY

[Kev]

14 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

That was his first signature bass 

 

That was a real bass release?  I thought the big knob was a joke!

[Doctor J]

51 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

Ironically MM didn’t “do” endorsee models a while back and was proud of the fact. Tony Levin, one of the biggest proponents of the MM basses and particularly adoption of the SR5, only got a cheap OLP as a signature instrument (although to be fair they did make him a 3-string bass that was destroyed in a fire IIRC). 

They've had Steve Lukather and Steve Morse models since the mid-90's at least, definitely before 95, and the Albert Lee model even pre-dates those, I think. As I recall, I read Flea wanted the Stingray renamed after him and got the PFO. At least, I read that somewhere shortly after he started his relationship with Modulus. 
 

Only recently have they adopted the more scattergun signature model approach though, to be fair, their signature models usually are something quite different from standard stock. Certainly, they tend to go further than stock-with-a-particular-colour-of-paint you see elsewhere offered as "signature" models.

[fretmeister]

13 minutes ago, Kev said:

That was a real bass release?  I thought the big knob was a joke!

Limited first run of a hundred or so sold out in about 5 mins so they made it into a production instrument. Now they've added another colour.

[Doctor J]

8 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

They've had Steve Lukather and Steve Morse models since the mid-90's at least, definitely before 95, and the Albert Lee model even pre-dates those, I think. As I recall, I read Flea wanted the Stingray renamed after him and got the PFO. At least, I read that somewhere shortly after he started his relationship with Modulus. 
 

Only recently have they adopted the more scattergun signature model approach though, to be fair, their signature models usually are something quite different from standard stock. Certainly, they tend to go further than stock-with-a-particular-colour-of-paint you see elsewhere offered as "signature" models.

Of course, I forgot the EVH guitars which came out in 90 or 91 - now called the Axis after his defection to Peavey, I believe.

Edited May 12, 2021 by Doctor J

[Guest]

I think I meant bass endorsers. I don’t pay attention to the guitar side of their business, mainly because a lot of them are IMHO hideous 

[OllyW]

3 hours ago, fretmeister said:

I quite like it. I wonder if EBMM are going to make short scale strings available for sale now.

They already sell short scale roundwounds but not the flatwound strings fitted on this bass..

[Kev]

21 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Limited first run of a hundred or so sold out in about 5 mins so they made it into a production instrument. Now they've added another colour.

Mad.  This new short scale one without the knob looks a hell of a lot better.  Just a shame about the price, but I guess if you are a Musicman/Joe Dart addict, small price to pay!

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, krispn said:

50 people are gonna think they're getting a great bass until they realise they aren't Joe Dart and they're not playing via the Vulf compressor at all times. Not a bass demo but you can hear that signature VP compressed dirty lo-fi crunch. Love it!

 

Why do a demo supposedly of a compressor, only to drench it reverb?

I also find Jack S annoying.*

 

 

 

*I believe he speaks highly of me, though. 😉

[Doddy]

16 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

They've had Steve Lukather and Steve Morse models since the mid-90's at least, definitely before 95, and the Albert Lee model even pre-dates those, I think. As I recall, I read Flea wanted the Stingray renamed after him and got the PFO. At least, I read that somewhere shortly after he started his relationship with Modulus. 
 

I think it's interesting (strange) that they have been making signature guitars since the late 80s/early 90s, but refused to make signature basses. I can understand them not wanting to rename the Stingray for Flea ( which is basically what Modulus did with the Sonic Hammer), but if they had made a tweaked model for him I think they would have sold very well.