My only gripe with this is that it shouldn't be an exclusive, ultra expensive signature model. I think MM should release this as a stripped down student instrument, sort of like the Les Paul Jr. Make it into a Sterling line as well, plenty of new players would want it over a Squier or Sire
Musicman Marketing strategy Step 1- Get the $4600 MusicMan limited out to create buzz and demand. 🕶 Step 2a - Release the Standard Joe Dart Bass at $2400 Step 2b - release very limited Joe Dart Jr. (Test the demand) Step 3 - Release the $1000 Sterling version.
And here it is, the price discussion: „Hey Boss, how about a raise? I‘ve been working so hard?“ -> Boss don‘t answer, busy with setting up budget production line outside the country…
@Richard Moore You’re not paying more for simplicity, though. You’re paying more for nicer wood, finishes, and features, the only thing on it that’s simpler is the electronics. Electronics are negligible in cost for a manufacturer like Ernie Ball Music Man that makes their own.
The story of the design of this bass is that Jack Stratton had a cheap bass from a pawn shop with that single humbucker configuration and natural finish but with with broken active electronics, he fixed it by bypassing the preamp so it ended up with only the volume knob functional. You can see Joe playing this original bass on the Disco Ulysses video. The idea of this signature was to recreate that sound and style but with the craftsmanship of a Musicman.
This Bass is Versatile! You think vlance armstrength is shifting into the active bass boost granny gear in the French Alps? No, this is a 1982 single speed bridgestone; you’re eating four pounds of white flour pasta a night, just put it in the work. Cut from a tree, okay? Stop Whining! No more government subsidies for active basses!
I have been petitioning my government to stop all active bass subsidies, to no avail. I will use your idea and lobby them each with 4 pounds of white flower pasta. We'll see how that goes.
Just so's ya know, an instrument that looks like it has no finish on it actually has a clear matte finish on it. Nobody is foolish enough to send a lovely bass out into the world with no finish; that's incredibly bad for the wood. It would go grey quickly, the moisture level would fluctuate too quickly, any dirt would work its way into the grain, etc.
@@bluebones1778 the point being that the eq is going to be tweaked at the mixer/in post/by the amp anyway so there's no point in having a tone knob that isn't going to get touched. The model they made after this didn't even have a volume knob for the same reason
@@zynthio when I started gigging and rehearsing more instead of just playing by myself and I understood that reality I took out the tone knob of my basses, it help cutting in a mix easier and I never really touched it live at all I honestly think it is strange that there is a lot of bass (and guitar) players that never touch the tone knob but they get mad when someone removes it, all of those people should just try removing it and experiment a little
the thing i just cant get over is the insane price for such a stripped down instrument... all hardware could've been titanium and it still shouldn't cost this... main price driver in electrical basses is the electronics, and this barely has any... and these bridges are pretty damn simplistic as well... so that leaves the tuners, which im sure are hella fine tuners!
Hi Scott, nice video. There's always a finish or nearly always. No finish could damage the wood. It's either filled or satin or mat or shiny but you have to have a finish!
A tone knob and a toggle switch to turn the volume on and off. That way you can set it down to go to the can or get a quick drink without killing the amp.
side note i do adore what these basses sound like, and i absolutely love joe dart, its just that when I was eyeing for this bass and when I first looked at the price it nearly gave me a heart attack because of how goddamn expensive it is. I'm pretty sure that when played, you'll go "wow this really is worth selling my kidneys for", but for all intents and purposes, we can all agree that the price is way too high.
@@kirameki10 they are really high for what they are. But the fact that it's a Joe dart signature is what makes them sell like crazy. I ended up just going with a stingray because I figure I can get a pretty close tone with that.
If it was a standard production model released by Ernie Ball, same specs and everything, just without the Joe Dart backing, you could cut the price in half. Even then I'm not sure it would sell well because the lack of a volume knob is a deal breaker for most. It sold out solely because of the "signature" edition and artificial scarcity of it.
@@Not_Lewis yeah I think MM as a instrument builder they need to explore all possible options to increase the revenue. In the past few years their line up changed a lot I think they are still trying to find the best way to continue.
I have a Old Smoothie Stingray and it is a active bass that sounds like a passive bass. It has a ten pole pieces pick-up instead of eight like all other four string Stingray's so like Fender the strings go between the poles. Hence, a P-Bass with if you want some get up and go! I love it!
Stingrays ship with rounds, if they shipped this one with flats they may not have adjusted the truss rod as far as you’d need for flat wound tension. Maybe…?
You can't really complain about the action...that's something that you set up to your own personal liking when you get the bass. I don't own any guitar where I don't like the action. Because I personally set them up for myself.
I used to have a MM Sterling and the truth is that you couldn't adjust the height too much. Even putting a reinforcement in the neck pocket, the minimum height was still high.
tbh...this bass was based off of a really cheap bass joe played in the early days of Vulfpeck that was difficult to play comfortably..there is no reason to pay several $1000 for this when you can simply do what he did and mod out a cheap instrument...or you mod out a cheap sub ray 4 sterling and get an even better tone with more options
Love those kits! I got myself the P-Bass kit a few years ago and it quickly became my goto bass over my Squier P and my Fender J (Mexico/Player Series). I recently installed some Fender Vintage P-Bass pickups in it and it just took it over the top. Still haven't customized the headstock though ... or given the body any kind of finish. And apparently the pickguard is ever so slightly different from that of a real P-Bass, so that's stock too.
Scott, I just wanted to drop you a "Thank you!" - I haven't played bass in YEARS - long story - but recently I was gifted a BRAND NEW one. Ibanez SR505, so it's definitely not super high end stuff, but it's a bass none the less. Anyway, I'm slowly building up finger strength and dexterity, and your videos have been quite helpful. Right now I'm just running basic fingering up and down the neck as I watch some of your vids. Part of me wants to just get playing, but I'm trying to take it slow, and learn the fundamentals better this time around - theory, scales, arpeggios, physical technique, etc... So yeah. Thank you!
You know Scott, I agree that there should be a tone control on that bass. However, I don't think their needs to be a volume control on it. I play an '82 passive Jazz and just like I did with my '65 Jazz that I had from 1966 to 1976, I run both volumes all the way open as well as the tone knob all the way open. with those passive controls turning them down only cuts the sound. There is no boost on it. Because I have two pickups, I can control a lot of the sound by where I pluck the strings. - closer to the neck for a darker/warmer sound, and over or even behind the bridge pickup for a much brighter sound that I can easily turn into a growl. I would prefer to just have the volume dimed on that bass with no adjustment knob, and have a tone knob (really just cuts more and more of the treble) that is adjustable, since where I pluck the strings is going to have less of an effect on a single pickup bass than in a Neck + Bridge pickup bass. That way you could still have a single control knob and more versatile tone options.
when there is a review of a bass (any kind of), and in the site of constructor specification, I miss few information that I consider as essential : what kind of strings is used : stainless? flat? etc. (Joe Dart's bass has flatwound I guess?) and what gauge? . also, the string spacing on the bridge : 16, 17, 18, 19 , 20 mm ? (I do prefer 18mm or less). The other thing is the weight : what is a light weight? To me a light weight bass is under 3.5Kg (7.7lbs), a superlight weight is under 3Kg (6.6lbs); a heavy bass is up 4Kg (8.8lbs). And of course, to dive or not to dive? that is the neck question... And after rip off the tone knob of all my basses since the last 25 years, I rewired a couple of days ago one on a bass and I began to think it could be useful... :-)
He plays on MM factory flats that have a bit more treble than the average flats, similarly to Rotosound Jazz series. These are a bit more zingy for a short time after I clean them.
I’ll be putting a concentric volume/tone and a mini-toggle for series/parallel in mine when I get one. Just waiting on a decent deal on a used one with pretty grain.
The series/parallel/single-coil switch is the secret weapon of the EBMM Sterling. Creates three very different types of tones, roughly the same degree of difference as a pickup switch. Over time, I found myself going to single coil most of the time.
@@kevgamble It does make them MUCH more versatile than they seem, but I stay parked in parallel 80-90% of the time on my Sterlings. I use single sometimes when I want a real sweet, even, defined kinda thing and series for RAWR! if I’m playing rock with just one guitar and need to get a little more up-front and ballsy to fill in while said guitar takes a solo (or if I take a solo in a rock setting, for that matter). Sterlings are absolutely amazing basses in every way, and I’m continuously flabbergasted at how much everyone fawns over Stingrays but just doesn’t seem to care about Sterlings in the least. They’re like a lighter, faster, better-looking, more comfortable, FAR more versatile Stingray, I just don’t get it.
Imagine one day you're working at the local grocery store. You have been exploring your inner music taste and starved and outlet of passion. As you're nearing the end of a rather quick and easy day, you're winding down with a Spotify generated playlist tailored to your recent interest in groovy bass lines. You hear Dean Town for the first time. Three weeks later you're practicing Joe Dart, Thundercat, and deep in the Scott's channel rabbit hole. You're start your daily practice and Scott video and begin your spider excersie. This video begins and you have never been more excited for a giveaway. Then you look at the date posted 😭 Oh well, thanks Scott. Keep an eye out for the Postmalonalisa bass in a few years.
I still own a random handmade Thumb bass/Ibanez Soundgear blend looklike bass that features a single passive Seymour Duncan pickup like the one on this video - that bass has the volume and tone knobs plus a series/parallel switch which does make a lot of difference, so you are correct on this Scott. The volume tone could have been a stack knob to keep it looking the same.
Slap a bass on the baarbie. Nice life. Great to see the progression in your channel and pretty much peek in to your life over the years. As a fan of your whole gig and playing, it really appears as a. lovely humble looking success story full of great people. The pad and home look truly happy. And the cameraderie genuine. However if you have me fooled. Well done for that too! Passion and hard work deliverring the goods and its always great to watch and learn..
"Two massive knobs"? How about a volume and tone stacked knob? You could even make it a push pull knob (humbucker/single maybe...) makes it look just as simplistic though.
...I’d be interested in a video about the short scale Joe Dart Jr bass, tuned to low-C, and how string tension and string gauge relate to one another when low tunings are involved...
That bass is just marketing from MusicMan. I will never buy a bass like that one. No body finish, one nob, one tone and it is expensive just because it is the JD signature. In my head, that is really silly. I thank Scott he got it so I could see the reality of that bass. Yes, it sounds fantastic, but there are a lot of cheap Fender basses (like the player series that I own) that will sound the same or even better than that one. But this is just a personal opinion that none asked me. But again, thanks to Scott for bringing this type of content. We love you SD
I agree. This bass really needs a price point of around $1700 to be worth it. It costs as much as a Stingray special, but you're not even getting paint at that price.
It has a finish, it’s just a satin finish. It’s expensive because of the premium body wood, more labor intensive finish process, flamed maple neck and fingerboard, stainless frets and one-off CNC program for the body. It should cost more than it does, honestly. If it’s not for you, I get it, it’s a very specialized instrument. To say it’s expensive because of the name, however, is very wrong. When I find a decent deal on a used one, I’ll be putting a concentric volume/tone pot in it and it’ll probably become my go-to instrument, because my style and tone are well-suited to this instrument.
@@cptncanela You can’t get any of the things that make this bass special on a cheaper bass, or any other Music Man instrument at any price. I have a US Sterling 4H, an old US SUB Sterling, and a US Sterling 4 HH, they’re the best production basses money can buy in my opinion, but they won’t quite get this tone. It’s not what they do. This will. Maybe you like it and maybe you don’t, that’s irrelevant. I’ll most certainly be picking one of these up, and it’s absolutely worth it and then some.
They could have stacked the volume and tone knobs onto eachother and have the same looks but add the feel. Well, in its simplicity is versatile. If you want muted tone, just mute.
I'd like to see a bass with one concentric knob. Then volume and tone all on one knob and if possible make it a push pull so you can go active or passive, adjust volume and tone all with one "master" knob...
I want a fuckin' ziggurat of a knob. One so ostentatious, God is forced to invent new languages to spread confusion among the peoples of Earth. Like, 4 concentric knobs. Pup blend on the bottom, master volume next, bass, then treble with a DOUBLE push-pull for coil tapping AND phase switching. One knob. Ziggurat.
Those basses will have finishes on to mitigate against seasonal movement and staining. The ash will have some sort of clear coat and the second bass is oiled, maybe with tung oil
Hey Scott, great video as always! :) To be fair, it looks like Ernie Ball left PLENTY of room to add a tone control. About 10 minutes of work, and $5.00 in parts, save for the extra super-duper MASSIVE knob. You might have to fork over a bit of cash for that little bauble. If it was MY bass, this would happen as soon as I got it home. When all is said and done, it's really essentially the same as a P-Bass, but the pickup type and position on the MM DOES give it a different attitude. It burps and growls a bit more.
If anyone wants a budget version of these, Sterling just released an SB14 that looks just like a diet version of this bass. It's passive, has 1V and 1T, and the white pick up. It has a white pickguard too, but you take it off, and you got yourself a Joe Dart bass. Assuming there's nothing under there and the pickup cavity is routed nice.
@@jekanyika yeah, I got mad for a minute because I got the Sb14 like 3 weeks before Joe announced the Sterling. I'm glad I got the SB14 though. I prefer Alnico pick up and I like the tone knob too. I like the Swamp ash body instead of the soft maple. I like the pickguard too lol. Lastly, I have an opinion on signature instruments. I'd get it to support Joe, but I don't wanna be known for playing someone else's Instrument.
the lack of a tone knob is prolly to show you how important it is to control your tone with just your hands and the instrument. Like a tone knob is a helpful tool but if you cant sound good without it that just means you need to practice more with a clean tone.
I have the Harley Benton MM84A bass which is a clone of the Music Man Stingray and its superb a real deep tone and its well built. As one happy customer said "Its 4 Basses in one pack"
Scott I'm trialling your membership but cannot load the website today (it seems to be down?). Can you please advise what the technical issue is? It was working shakily yesterday (videos slow to load, freezing sometimes) but is not even opening today.
L Fender designed that Bass around Louis Johnson's Style that's why it sounds so thick and heavy no matter who plays it ..it sounds like Louis Johnson.
Hi Scott, can you please tell me what gives the bass sound that aggressive sound in the clip of Joe at the beginning? Is it an overdrive of some kind? Is it the amp breaking up? Or just the bass sound? Thanks.
some resistive volume pots ( the classic ones) got a nice treble drop when you put them at 8/10 whitout lost a lot of volume, you can handle the signal much beter
Awesome bass!! I'd ditch the knob out completely though. What's the use of a volume control anyway?? And that huge black cavity plate!! There's must have been a way to drill the wire hole through to the jack hole. Anyhow, this bass is absolutely magnifique!!
Even though you're playing the joe dart bass, you still sound like yourself! We've heard the 'tone is in the hands' line multiple times, but this is first time I've seen it myself 😂😂!!
I'm a big MusicMan fan (My StingRay 4 is definitely my go-to) and I gotta say that Joe Dart sig looks really cool, I haven't seen many StingRay basses without the pickguard so that definitely looks really damn classy
What about the price? Compare to stingray or sterling? About that tone knob..i agree.. but for simplicity look, put that tone inside electronics cover lol. Flea did this on one of his modulus ( or flea bass?) Cmiiw.
Scott I love your videos but I really wish you'd mic up your amp and only include the audio straight from the mic when you're playing a bass. It's hard to really get an idea of what the tone really sounds like with all the room noise\string fretting noise.
This bass is like the anti Thundercat signiture
But you know Thundecat could still make it sound heavenly.
It’s ironic because joe absolutely loves thundercat too
Look up Phil Lesh's Alembic
@@iblindsamurai2677it's not ironic, it's not about them not liking each other or something. Just a contrast of styles
My only gripe with this is that it shouldn't be an exclusive, ultra expensive signature model. I think MM should release this as a stripped down student instrument, sort of like the Les Paul Jr. Make it into a Sterling line as well, plenty of new players would want it over a Squier or Sire
Musicman Marketing strategy
Step 1- Get the $4600 MusicMan limited out to create buzz and demand. 🕶
Step 2a - Release the Standard Joe Dart Bass at $2400
Step 2b - release very limited Joe Dart Jr. (Test the demand)
Step 3 - Release the $1000 Sterling version.
@@stephenhanson3647 A sterling with less features should cost around 500
@@stephenhanson3647 Exactly that. And it works!
And here it is, the price discussion: „Hey Boss, how about a raise? I‘ve been working so hard?“ -> Boss don‘t answer, busy with setting up budget production line outside the country…
@Richard Moore You’re not paying more for simplicity, though. You’re paying more for nicer wood, finishes, and features, the only thing on it that’s simpler is the electronics. Electronics are negligible in cost for a manufacturer like Ernie Ball Music Man that makes their own.
“We have a hard to miss volume knob”
“wHaT iS iT cONtRolLINg?”
The story of the design of this bass is that Jack Stratton had a cheap bass from a pawn shop with that single humbucker configuration and natural finish but with with broken active electronics, he fixed it by bypassing the preamp so it ended up with only the volume knob functional. You can see Joe playing this original bass on the Disco Ulysses video. The idea of this signature was to recreate that sound and style but with the craftsmanship of a Musicman.
Thereby making a ton of money on minimal craftsmanship?
^what kind of smooth brained response is that lol
@@ifgwelf Read it again
Can see it in the It gets funkier vid too
@@McDoinky ever heard of build quality?
Tone control? Are you versatile?
Do you eat four pounds of white flour pasta a night?
@@kennethcoval4970 just puttin in the work
Cut from a tree.
Yes. Yes it is.
Donkey
This Bass is Versatile! You think vlance armstrength is shifting into the active bass boost granny gear in the French Alps? No, this is a 1982 single speed bridgestone; you’re eating four pounds of white flour pasta a night, just put it in the work. Cut from a tree, okay? Stop Whining! No more government subsidies for active basses!
this needs more likes
I have been petitioning my government to stop all active bass subsidies, to no avail. I will use your idea and lobby them each with 4 pounds of white flower pasta. We'll see how that goes.
A man of culture
cringe
@@mikevenneri3890 it might look like cringing, but really it's just BASS FACE!! That's just what Joe Dart basslines do to you. So much FUNK!
Just so's ya know, an instrument that looks like it has no finish on it actually has a clear matte finish on it. Nobody is foolish enough to send a lovely bass out into the world with no finish; that's incredibly bad for the wood. It would go grey quickly, the moisture level would fluctuate too quickly, any dirt would work its way into the grain, etc.
I think he's confusing no finish for no lacquer
You can absolutely get basses with no finish
In a way, the lack of tone knob is the ultimate incarnation of the Vulfpeck philosophy: EVERYTHING in post-production.
could you unpack this a bit more?
"YOU are not versatile"
@@bluebones1778 the point being that the eq is going to be tweaked at the mixer/in post/by the amp anyway so there's no point in having a tone knob that isn't going to get touched. The model they made after this didn't even have a volume knob for the same reason
@@zynthio when I started gigging and rehearsing more instead of just playing by myself and I understood that reality I took out the tone knob of my basses, it help cutting in a mix easier and I never really touched it live at all
I honestly think it is strange that there is a lot of bass (and guitar) players that never touch the tone knob but they get mad when someone removes it, all of those people should just try removing it and experiment a little
the thing i just cant get over is the insane price for such a stripped down instrument... all hardware could've been titanium and it still shouldn't cost this... main price driver in electrical basses is the electronics, and this barely has any... and these bridges are pretty damn simplistic as well... so that leaves the tuners, which im sure are hella fine tuners!
"The weather is killing here in UK"
- wearing a cotton hat :D
It’s back to rain and overcast as usual
And two layers.
Laughing from TX...
@@zac3392 Went to over 40 two years ago.
It has a finish, it’s just a satin finish on the body, oil and wax on the neck.
Hi Scott, nice video. There's always a finish or nearly always. No finish could damage the wood. It's either filled or satin or mat or shiny but you have to have a finish!
Mostly on Ash which is super grainy.
It should just have one knob , but a tone knob not volume . Perfect
A tone knob and a toggle switch to turn the volume on and off. That way you can set it down to go to the can or get a quick drink without killing the amp.
You could pretty easily wire that up yourself for a couple bucks!
No tone knob? Just dial-in the tone you want using your amp.
its too complex, need to remove pickup and string
Agreed, put a silent jack on it so when you plug it in it’s on and all the way turned up. A tone knob would be far more useful.
Wise of you to avoid using the word versatile in your review. 😁
This bass IS (!) versatile! After all, it sounds different with each possible amp and cabinet! You're not versatile! 🤣
Alright vlance armstrength
His short scale signature didn’t even have a volume knob. I shuddered when I first saw it, but the demo of it sounded awesome, so what do I know?
...that its not worth over $2000?
side note i do adore what these basses sound like, and i absolutely love joe dart, its just that when I was eyeing for this bass and when I first looked at the price it nearly gave me a heart attack because of how goddamn expensive it is. I'm pretty sure that when played, you'll go "wow this really is worth selling my kidneys for", but for all intents and purposes, we can all agree that the price is way too high.
@@kirameki10 they are really high for what they are. But the fact that it's a Joe dart signature is what makes them sell like crazy. I ended up just going with a stingray because I figure I can get a pretty close tone with that.
If it was a standard production model released by Ernie Ball, same specs and everything, just without the Joe Dart backing, you could cut the price in half. Even then I'm not sure it would sell well because the lack of a volume knob is a deal breaker for most. It sold out solely because of the "signature" edition and artificial scarcity of it.
@@Not_Lewis yeah I think MM as a instrument builder they need to explore all possible options to increase the revenue. In the past few years their line up changed a lot I think they are still trying to find the best way to continue.
G&L should have sent Joe Dart one of their Kiloton basses. Passive humbucker in that position. He might have made that model famous.
If you want a tone knob, replace the stock pot and knob with concentric controls.
The Joe Dart sound is much like Bernard Edwards' 70's Sting Ray, flat wound strings with the EQ flat.
I have a Old Smoothie Stingray and it is a active bass that sounds like a passive bass. It has a ten pole pieces pick-up instead of eight like all other four string Stingray's so like Fender the strings go between the poles. Hence, a P-Bass with if you want some get up and go! I love it!
I don't get the criticism about the action. Its a 5 minute fix. I have never seen a well set up bass in a guitar store.
I agree.
I've never seen Scott play or woo over any music man products in any of his videos. I think a stingray may have hurt him as a child.
Stingrays ship with rounds, if they shipped this one with flats they may not have adjusted the truss rod as far as you’d need for flat wound tension. Maybe…?
The action criticism is something a beginner would say. Obviously you adjust it to your liking.
Set up is personal. Get it set up please.
You can't really complain about the action...that's something that you set up to your own personal liking when you get the bass. I don't own any guitar where I don't like the action. Because I personally set them up for myself.
I used to have a MM Sterling and the truth is that you couldn't adjust the height too much. Even putting a reinforcement in the neck pocket, the minimum height was still high.
On a $3000 instrument you expect to receive it from the factory with low action.
one question....that white knob
what is that controlling????
tbh...this bass was based off of a really cheap bass joe played in the early days of Vulfpeck that was difficult to play comfortably..there is no reason to pay several $1000 for this when you can simply do what he did and mod out a cheap instrument...or you mod out a cheap sub ray 4 sterling and get an even better tone with more options
Scott has a nice house. Eames chair, pool. Doing well
and he's worked damn hard to get to this point :)
See those basses behind him... that he is giving away... yeah thats basically more than my whole assets and retirement fun :)
Not gonna lie... Hearing Scott play those little licks... I was ready for 'Life in the Fast Lane' to kick in... Ha ha!
I’d wire in a tone control and swap out the volume for a push-pull pot to control vol and tone
Scott! My Personal opinion: your tone when you play THIS BASS, is the Bast by far! Your playing + this Bass is a really aweaome combination.
You could always replace the massive knob... with a concentric volume/tone. And the action is adjustable, right?
That strikes me as an odd beef. “When I bought the bass it was out of tune and I don’t really like that, maybe that’s just me!”
"two massive knobs, that would have made my day" :D
That's what she said.
@@leegibbs5317 😎
@@leegibbs5317 😎😎
“Two massive knobs!”😂😂
And the occasional coil split switch inbetween them...
The bass looks really cool but the only thing that's stopping me from trying this bass out is its heavy price tag :(
New one out now for only 400$!! Only this month tho
I love it so much, the simplicity is what I crave
Dean Town. Blew my mind first time. One of the greatest bass songs I’ve ever heard.
The reveal trailer for this bass on the Vulfpeck channel was hilarious 🤣
Looks like one of those Thomann DIY kits lmao
Love it!
Love those kits! I got myself the P-Bass kit a few years ago and it quickly became my goto bass over my Squier P and my Fender J (Mexico/Player Series). I recently installed some Fender Vintage P-Bass pickups in it and it just took it over the top. Still haven't customized the headstock though ... or given the body any kind of finish. And apparently the pickguard is ever so slightly different from that of a real P-Bass, so that's stock too.
Scott, I just wanted to drop you a "Thank you!" - I haven't played bass in YEARS - long story - but recently I was gifted a BRAND NEW one. Ibanez SR505, so it's definitely not super high end stuff, but it's a bass none the less. Anyway, I'm slowly building up finger strength and dexterity, and your videos have been quite helpful. Right now I'm just running basic fingering up and down the neck as I watch some of your vids. Part of me wants to just get playing, but I'm trying to take it slow, and learn the fundamentals better this time around - theory, scales, arpeggios, physical technique, etc...
So yeah. Thank you!
the joe dart signature is great, but what we need is a Scott Devine signature p bass
Nah, he's got the Scott Devine Signature F Bass
His Overwater jazz bass always was the one I associate with Scott.
Congratulations on the stunning house Scott,
Well deserved!
You know Scott, I agree that there should be a tone control on that bass. However, I don't think their needs to be a volume control on it. I play an '82 passive Jazz and just like I did with my '65 Jazz that I had from 1966 to 1976, I run both volumes all the way open as well as the tone knob all the way open. with those passive controls turning them down only cuts the sound. There is no boost on it. Because I have two pickups, I can control a lot of the sound by where I pluck the strings. - closer to the neck for a darker/warmer sound, and over or even behind the bridge pickup for a much brighter sound that I can easily turn into a growl. I would prefer to just have the volume dimed on that bass with no adjustment knob, and have a tone knob (really just cuts more and more of the treble) that is adjustable, since where I pluck the strings is going to have less of an effect on a single pickup bass than in a Neck + Bridge pickup bass. That way you could still have a single control knob and more versatile tone options.
when there is a review of a bass (any kind of), and in the site of constructor specification, I miss few information that I consider as essential : what kind of strings is used : stainless? flat? etc. (Joe Dart's bass has flatwound I guess?) and what gauge? .
also, the string spacing on the bridge : 16, 17, 18, 19 , 20 mm ? (I do prefer 18mm or less).
The other thing is the weight : what is a light weight? To me a light weight bass is under 3.5Kg (7.7lbs), a superlight weight is under 3Kg (6.6lbs); a heavy bass is up 4Kg (8.8lbs). And of course, to dive or not to dive? that is the neck question...
And after rip off the tone knob of all my basses since the last 25 years, I rewired a couple of days ago one on a bass and I began to think it could be useful... :-)
Couldnt agree more I need to know the gauges specifically
He plays on MM factory flats that have a bit more treble than the average flats, similarly to Rotosound Jazz series. These are a bit more zingy for a short time after I clean them.
For the strings - you change those
For the weight - go to the gym
@@ileutur6863 that has nothing to do with going to a gym. Your back and arms start to hurt with a heavy bass (i had 5kg jazz)
I wouldn't need a tone knob, but a parallel-series-split switch would be nice. That can't be adjusted at the pedal.
I’ll be putting a concentric volume/tone and a mini-toggle for series/parallel in mine when I get one. Just waiting on a decent deal on a used one with pretty grain.
The series/parallel/single-coil switch is the secret weapon of the EBMM Sterling. Creates three very different types of tones, roughly the same degree of difference as a pickup switch. Over time, I found myself going to single coil most of the time.
@@kevgamble It does make them MUCH more versatile than they seem, but I stay parked in parallel 80-90% of the time on my Sterlings. I use single sometimes when I want a real sweet, even, defined kinda thing and series for RAWR! if I’m playing rock with just one guitar and need to get a little more up-front and ballsy to fill in while said guitar takes a solo (or if I take a solo in a rock setting, for that matter). Sterlings are absolutely amazing basses in every way, and I’m continuously flabbergasted at how much everyone fawns over Stingrays but just doesn’t seem to care about Sterlings in the least. They’re like a lighter, faster, better-looking, more comfortable, FAR more versatile Stingray, I just don’t get it.
John Myung did the same thing with his signature bass but he did add a 5 way rotary pickup selector at least
But Scott, there are no government subsidies for active basses
Imagine one day you're working at the local grocery store. You have been exploring your inner music taste and starved and outlet of passion. As you're nearing the end of a rather quick and easy day, you're winding down with a Spotify generated playlist tailored to your recent interest in groovy bass lines. You hear Dean Town for the first time.
Three weeks later you're practicing Joe Dart, Thundercat, and deep in the Scott's channel rabbit hole.
You're start your daily practice and Scott video and begin your spider excersie. This video begins and you have never been more excited for a giveaway.
Then you look at the date posted 😭
Oh well, thanks Scott. Keep an eye out for the Postmalonalisa bass in a few years.
I still own a random handmade Thumb bass/Ibanez Soundgear blend looklike bass that features a single passive Seymour Duncan pickup like the one on this video - that bass has the volume and tone knobs plus a series/parallel switch which does make a lot of difference, so you are correct on this Scott. The volume tone could have been a stack knob to keep it looking the same.
Slap a bass on the baarbie. Nice life. Great to see the progression in your channel and pretty much peek in to your life over the years.
As a fan of your whole gig and playing, it really appears as a. lovely humble looking success story full of great people. The pad and home look truly happy. And the cameraderie genuine. However if you have me fooled. Well done for that too!
Passion and hard work deliverring the goods and its always great to watch and learn..
"Two massive knobs"?
How about a volume and tone stacked knob?
You could even make it a push pull knob (humbucker/single maybe...)
makes it look just as simplistic though.
Nice pad. 😎 Seems like you're doing really well with the channel. Congratulations on your success
There's just no better tone to groove, I love it
...I’d be interested in a video about the short scale Joe Dart Jr bass, tuned to low-C, and how string tension and string gauge relate to one another when low tunings are involved...
Question: what is prickly heat?
Heat rash. Blocked sweat ducts, sweat trapped under the skin, ending up as blister looking skin.
Must be an English thing
@@nicacrush Indeed...I've never heard of it before.
That bass is just marketing from MusicMan. I will never buy a bass like that one. No body finish, one nob, one tone and it is expensive just because it is the JD signature. In my head, that is really silly. I thank Scott he got it so I could see the reality of that bass. Yes, it sounds fantastic, but there are a lot of cheap Fender basses (like the player series that I own) that will sound the same or even better than that one. But this is just a personal opinion that none asked me. But again, thanks to Scott for bringing this type of content. We love you SD
I agree. This bass really needs a price point of around $1700 to be worth it. It costs as much as a Stingray special, but you're not even getting paint at that price.
@@57precision still too expensive for what you get.
It has a finish, it’s just a satin finish. It’s expensive because of the premium body wood, more labor intensive finish process, flamed maple neck and fingerboard, stainless frets and one-off CNC program for the body. It should cost more than it does, honestly. If it’s not for you, I get it, it’s a very specialized instrument. To say it’s expensive because of the name, however, is very wrong. When I find a decent deal on a used one, I’ll be putting a concentric volume/tone pot in it and it’ll probably become my go-to instrument, because my style and tone are well-suited to this instrument.
@@The_sinner_Jim_Whitney the thing is that I can get the same and more with a cheaper bass.
@@cptncanela You can’t get any of the things that make this bass special on a cheaper bass, or any other Music Man instrument at any price. I have a US Sterling 4H, an old US SUB Sterling, and a US Sterling 4 HH, they’re the best production basses money can buy in my opinion, but they won’t quite get this tone. It’s not what they do. This will. Maybe you like it and maybe you don’t, that’s irrelevant. I’ll most certainly be picking one of these up, and it’s absolutely worth it and then some.
They could have stacked the volume and tone knobs onto eachother and have the same looks but add the feel. Well, in its simplicity is versatile. If you want muted tone, just mute.
Id love that Patitucci bass 😭❤ i cannot find decent 6 string basses anywhere
Good to know I’m not the only one that says “ergonomical”.
Perhaps a dpdt pull switch pot combo, can be retrofitted to add tone without making mayor changes to the body
They could use a concentric knob for volume and tone. It would keep the simplicity in design and add a little bit of versatiliy to the bass.
Thanks for the suggestion dude, will send this over to the team to be considered!
Musicman need to make a standard line passive bass (with a tone control). not everyone needs, or wants an onboard eq.
Naw, it's what makes the MM sound.
Uh, they do - Cutlass and Capris
@@basscoup I presumed they had discontinued them, as I couldn't find them on their website.
@@chriscuthbertson they are not cheap second hand either! I'd love a caprice.
I'd like to see a bass with one concentric knob. Then volume and tone all on one knob and if possible make it a push pull so you can go active or passive, adjust volume and tone all with one "master" knob...
I want a fuckin' ziggurat of a knob. One so ostentatious, God is forced to invent new languages to spread confusion among the peoples of Earth. Like, 4 concentric knobs. Pup blend on the bottom, master volume next, bass, then treble with a DOUBLE push-pull for coil tapping AND phase switching. One knob. Ziggurat.
Those basses will have finishes on to mitigate against seasonal movement and staining. The ash will have some sort of clear coat and the second bass is oiled, maybe with tung oil
Your riffing at 3:02 sounds a bit like Michael League’s opening solo in his trio version of Continuum.
My one and only question is:
Does it sound any different than a stingray with the eq bypassed?
How about the Joe Dart Jr. short scale bass...... a review will be welcome Scott
Hey Scott, great video as always! :)
To be fair, it looks like Ernie Ball left PLENTY of room to add a tone control. About 10 minutes of work, and $5.00 in parts, save for the extra super-duper MASSIVE knob. You might have to fork over a bit of cash for that little bauble. If it was MY bass, this would happen as soon as I got it home.
When all is said and done, it's really essentially the same as a P-Bass, but the pickup type and position on the MM DOES give it a different attitude. It burps and growls a bit more.
Scott Devine playing a Joe Dart signature bass? Fastest I've ever clicked on a title in my life!
If anyone wants a budget version of these, Sterling just released an SB14 that looks just like a diet version of this bass. It's passive, has 1V and 1T, and the white pick up. It has a white pickguard too, but you take it off, and you got yourself a Joe Dart bass. Assuming there's nothing under there and the pickup cavity is routed nice.
Tbf there is now an actual budget Sterling signature Joe Dart bass available until the end of the month
@@jekanyika yeah, I got mad for a minute because I got the Sb14 like 3 weeks before Joe announced the Sterling. I'm glad I got the SB14 though. I prefer Alnico pick up and I like the tone knob too. I like the Swamp ash body instead of the soft maple. I like the pickguard too lol. Lastly, I have an opinion on signature instruments. I'd get it to support Joe, but I don't wanna be known for playing someone else's Instrument.
Basically, this is a Musicman Sterling (hadn't been said in the video). And the cheaper version is the Sterling SB14.
the lack of a tone knob is prolly to show you how important it is to control your tone with just your hands and the instrument. Like a tone knob is a helpful tool but if you cant sound good without it that just means you need to practice more with a clean tone.
I have the Harley Benton MM84A bass which is a clone of the Music Man Stingray and its superb a real deep tone and its well built. As one happy customer said "Its 4 Basses in one pack"
Put in stacked pots and get your tone knob too. That’s what I would do.
5:12 my Stingrays feel short to me as well - that's something I like about them.
Scott I'm trialling your membership but cannot load the website today (it seems to be down?). Can you please advise what the technical issue is? It was working shakily yesterday (videos slow to load, freezing sometimes) but is not even opening today.
Before opening the comments section, I knew that there would be some subsidies for active basses. But no, I am surprised that they are no more.
L Fender designed that Bass around Louis Johnson's Style that's why it sounds so thick and heavy no matter who plays it ..it sounds like Louis Johnson.
Hey. That Dart guy is pretty interesting. Thanks for the heads up. Cool bass playing.
The glove, I have tried this, but I need that glove you are using, where can I get one? Thanks.
Hi Scott, can you please tell me what gives the bass sound that aggressive sound in the clip of Joe at the beginning? Is it an overdrive of some kind? Is it the amp breaking up? Or just the bass sound? Thanks.
some resistive volume pots ( the classic ones) got a nice treble drop when you put them at 8/10 whitout lost a lot of volume, you can handle the signal much beter
Awesome bass!! I'd ditch the knob out completely though. What's the use of a volume control anyway?? And that huge black cavity plate!! There's must have been a way to drill the wire hole through to the jack hole. Anyhow, this bass is absolutely magnifique!!
That’s a beautiful piece of swamp ash. I’ve seen other Joe Darts with blander pieces of wood.
I need that Joe Dart bass stand from the video a lot more.... how about a review on those?
3:16 - 3:19
Sounds like Miki Santamaria's school video intro, Escuela de Bajistas (EDB)
😅
Hey Scott,Got My Entry In...What's Your Take On The Modern Vintage Procission?
Demstration Video On The Modern Vintage? 🤘😉
Thanks for sharing your insights into this bass
Even though you're playing the joe dart bass, you still sound like yourself!
We've heard the 'tone is in the hands' line multiple times, but this is first time I've seen it myself 😂😂!!
random, but as a bass player and cuber, i love that your son is a cuber lol. Nice little 5x5 he has.
it reminds me a lot of the origonal 80s G&L L-1000 very similar sound too.
👍👍👍
2:56 if anyone wants to jump to the sound of the bass
Joe dart is a legend 🤘🏻
Who? 😁
@Marlboro Girl lemme guess...Pete Bartosch is your guy isn't he?
I'm a big MusicMan fan (My StingRay 4 is definitely my go-to) and I gotta say that Joe Dart sig looks really cool, I haven't seen many StingRay basses without the pickguard so that definitely looks really damn classy
Just so you guys know, this is a Music Man Sterling, not a Stingray
SteveTheBassist I know, it still looks really cool though
A stacked concentric pot In the place of the 1 knob could give you a volume and tone without routing
When is this bass available?
YEP ! Scott , please , What' is this PB ?
What about the price? Compare to stingray or sterling? About that tone knob..i agree.. but for simplicity look, put that tone inside electronics cover lol. Flea did this on one of his modulus ( or flea bass?) Cmiiw.
Scott I love your videos but I really wish you'd mic up your amp and only include the audio straight from the mic when you're playing a bass. It's hard to really get an idea of what the tone really sounds like with all the room noise\string fretting noise.
Hey Scott, have you tried Fujigen (FGN) basses?
My Fender Lyte (only 3kg, it plays like a dream) has the same shape AND a micro tilt.
Do you have a video on that Olinto?
I like it but a series- parallel switch would be nice.
when you going to do the music man dark ray bass??