Musicman Joe Dart Jr

[bnt]

Another factor affecting the bass tone in the video: it's tuned down to C standard (C F Bb Eb), and so those short scale flatwounds are slack. EBMM's website says the bass comes tuned that way as standard.

[Doctor J]

22 minutes ago, Doddy said:

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.

I don't think they had an anti-bass agenda, as such, and given the developed the Bongo and Big Al it's not like they were against trying new things in bass world. It's an interesting one, alright. If anyone is brave enough it would be worth seeing if Sterling would open up about it on their forum 🙂

[Eldon Tyrell]

8 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

 If anyone is brave enough it would be worth seeing if Sterling would open up about it on their forum 🙂

Well, I am usually brave, but I am not that brave 😉 

[RaNoFuNkY]

54 minutes ago, bnt said:

Another factor affecting the bass tone in the video: it's tuned down to C standard (C F Bb Eb), and so those short scale flatwounds are slack. EBMM's website says the bass comes tuned that way as standard

Surely that's a typo? Do they mean Concert pitch? No Vulf track needs to be in Low C anyway? And on a 30", with 45-105 gauge?!

Edited May 12, 2021 by RaNoFuNkY

[fretmeister]

57 minutes ago, bnt said:

Another factor affecting the bass tone in the video: it's tuned down to C standard (C F Bb Eb), and so those short scale flatwounds are slack. EBMM's website says the bass comes tuned that way as standard.

I think it's tuned up, not down. More of a baritone range

 

I cannot see 45-105 working at low C.

[OllyW]

21 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

I think it's tuned up, not down. More of a baritone range

 

I cannot see 45-105 working at low C.

It says it's tuned down on the web site...

Quote

Finished in Olympic White, the Dart Jr is nicely outfitted with 22 stainless steel frets, chrome hardware, and comes set up tuned down to C standard with custom .045 - .105 Ernie Ball Short Scale Flatwound Bass Strings.

 

[bnt]

It's definitely tuned down: listen to the video, at the start he's hitting some open low Cs. I was wondering too, but checked against my own bass, and it's an octave below C on the A string.

[Owen]

I thought that Big Al had his own model. 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

This whole thing smacks of some kind of weird practical joke. The tuning, the similarity to the other JD sig model, Stratton claiming to have financed it, all of the promo video in fact, the selling out in a couple of hours - the whole thing has an aura of extracting the P about it. 

[fretmeister]

44 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

This whole thing smacks of some kind of weird practical joke. The tuning, the similarity to the other JD sig model, Stratton claiming to have financed it, all of the promo video in fact, the selling out in a couple of hours - the whole thing has an aura of extracting the P about it. 

You are referring to the people who got a silent album onto Spotify and got paid for it!

[fretmeister]

1 hour ago, OllyW said:

It says it's tuned down on the web site...

 

I missed that bit.

 

I really like those strings, but I'm amazed they work that low!

[Quatschmacher]

33 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

You are referring to the people who got a silent album onto Spotify and got paid for it!

That was no joke though; they took on the system and won. 

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

This whole thing smacks of some kind of weird practical joke. The tuning, the similarity to the other JD sig model, Stratton claiming to have financed it, all of the promo video in fact, the selling out in a couple of hours - the whole thing has an aura of extracting the P about it. 

Yeah, that smacks of BS.

[fretmeister]

1 minute ago, ezbass said:

Yeah, that smacks of BS.

I'd be amazed if EBMM would let him tell that level of financial whopper in an advert from EBMM.

There are rules!

[bnt]

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

This whole thing smacks of some kind of weird practical joke. The tuning, the similarity to the other JD sig model, Stratton claiming to have financed it, all of the promo video in fact, the selling out in a couple of hours - the whole thing has an aura of extracting the P about it. 

Is this the same guy who said, on the launch video for the original model, "no more government subsidies for active basses"? He's a motormouth with a faulty head gasket, he's tossing a word salad in these videos.

[Rich]

File under 'Nope'.

 

[krispn]

Hipsters! More like pranksters! It’s a bunch of hip muso’s having a laugh and EBMM likely don’t care as the 50 extortionate ‘pieces’ likely sold out in about as many minutes. 
What better marketing can you have really for the target market. The collectors will snap it up without a care in the world for the ‘marketing’ and the fanboi’s will lap it up. Win-Win!  EBMM laughs all the way to the bank! It’s when they release the three band eq model that the jig will be up! Or a two volume knob version to control each coil. Crazy hipsters *tut*

Edited May 12, 2021 by krispn

[Doctor J]

I don't get the snarkiness towards them, the hipster jibes. Dart is an exceptional bassist and they're a band who have found success on what appears to be their own terms, without any support from The Biz. It's natural the music is not to everyone's taste and I can understand not being a fan of how they promote themselves but one must surely doff a cap in their direction for showing it's possible for a skilled and creative independent band to make a successful dent in an industry absolutely weighted against them? The guy now has two signature basses with a company who traditionally have not exactly previously warmed to the idea of signature basses. They should not be anywhere as big as they are, by any logic, but here we are. There is a lot more substance to them than being something for hipsters to stroke their beards to before heading to the pop-up gin bar. I think it's gas. Fair play to them.

[BreadBin]

Emperor's new clothes. His tone is garbage, always has been.

The sound of a slightly clipping DI, as heard on many a festival stage since DIs became the norm. You can post produce as much as you like, it's still a farty mess.

I'm not suggesting he can't play mind, he's a beast.

Edited May 12, 2021 by BreadBin

[Beedster]

I was never all that keen on these guys when I first came across them, but it's a funny thing, the more people appear to get angry at their success in threads like this, the more I like them

[Guest]

25 minutes ago, Beedster said:

I was never all that keen on these guys when I first came across them, but it's a funny thing, the more people appear to get angry at their success in threads like this, the more I like them

They always remind me of Ned Ryerson

[krispn]

8 hours ago, Doctor J said:

I don't get the snarkiness towards them, the hipster jibes. Dart is an exceptional bassist and they're a band who have found success on what appears to be their own terms, without any support from The Biz. It's natural the music is not to everyone's taste and I can understand not being a fan of how they promote themselves but one must surely doff a cap in their direction for showing it's possible for a skilled and creative independent band to make a successful dent in an industry absolutely weighted against them? The guy now has two signature basses with a company who traditionally have not exactly previously warmed to the idea of signature basses. They should not be anywhere as big as they are, by any logic, but here we are. There is a lot more substance to them than being something for hipsters to stroke their beards to before heading to the pop-up gin bar. I think it's gas. Fair play to them.

I’ve enjoyed listening to VP since the Vollmilch  album. I’ve enjoyed Joe Dart’s playing  since hearing him on The Olllam album around the same time. I was surprises  it was the same bassist on both albums to be fair! VP deserve their success as they’re not an overnight sensation which many folk maybe think they are. 

Edited May 13, 2021 by krispn

[Musicman20]

It's not even really a style I'd listen to much and I think the whole band sound fantastic. 

He is an absolute beast of a bass player and his tone is spot on. 

Rather this than more Bonamassa (sp?) blues boredom. 

[bnt]

Ugh. So first we had the hype, now we have the inevitable "backlash", do we? Predictable, and neither tell us anything useful.

I can't see myself buying either of those basses, not even if we got affordable Sterling versions, but I don't have any complaints about Joe's sound in its band contexts. I think it works well with guitars and drums, but then I'm not a fan of bass solos at all.

[Beedster]

9 hours ago, BreadBin said:

The sound of a slightly clipping DI, as heard on many a festival stage since DIs became the norm. You can post produce as much as you like, it's still a farty mess.

I think it's not the fact that the clipping DI sound can't be easily achieved even inadvertently, it's how it's used. He uses it well. Many bassists don't