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SBMM Joe Dart 2025 just dropped
- Thread starter SLO Surfer
- Start date
To day i got shipping timeline update 
est. late october - late november! 
being probably one of the last to order, this is great news
est. late october - late november! being probably one of the last to order, this is great news
To day i got shipping timeline update
Interesting! I ordered smack dab in the middle of the preorder window, and just got the same exact confirmation email and timeline.
I got the same email todayTo day i got shipping timeline update
Just got my shipment notification! It's coming via FedEx, I would imagine ground. Last time I got a bass (Fender) from Cali that way, it did take a full week. The worst part is that it got to Buffalo in three days, but then went from a FedEx sorting facility in Buffalo, to one in Syracuse. Which meant it passed by my house in Rochester on the way, as I live just a few miles from I-90, and then eventually boomeranged back to me on the scheduled delivery. I understand shipping logistics and how they often don't make sense in the micro, only the macro, it just sucks when you're excited to get a new horn!
Still waiting for my shipping notification but I believe I ordered on the last day. Last email I got said between late October and late November.
On time arrival! This thing slaps. Holy moly the pickups are hot. I've looked it over, can't find a single flaw. I might loosen the truss rod a tiny bit, but it went from SoCal to frosty grey WNY in a week, so first I'll give the wood some time to get used to its new climate.
The matte black is sexy. The satin neck is very smooth and fast, reminds me of my mod shop precision. The chonky shape of the pickups I wasn't sure about, but they actually make a very comfortable anchor for my thumb. The 93 MIJ Jazz next to it has been one of my main horns for 30+ years. To me the JDII plays a lot like a jazz, but beefier. I did the side by side comparison with the noiseless dimarzios on the J, and the pups are definitely a good bit hotter.
Really nice little funk machine for $500. Very glad I got it.
The matte black is sexy. The satin neck is very smooth and fast, reminds me of my mod shop precision. The chonky shape of the pickups I wasn't sure about, but they actually make a very comfortable anchor for my thumb. The 93 MIJ Jazz next to it has been one of my main horns for 30+ years. To me the JDII plays a lot like a jazz, but beefier. I did the side by side comparison with the noiseless dimarzios on the J, and the pups are definitely a good bit hotter.
Really nice little funk machine for $500. Very glad I got it.
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Question for anyone else who got the Joe Dart III: do your strings reek of weed??? Like whoever was setting it up got a little too relaxed on their lunch break or something. The gig bag smells fine, the bass is no problem... literally just the strings. Not a big enough deal to have any complaints, I'm just curious.
Sterling Ball's big new idea: Weedrounds
I don't recall the strings smelling like anything but strings, and I've received two 2025 JD1's.
Just picked mine up - some observations:
The Gig Bag -
the bag and interior padding are decent quality
the exterior storage pocket is cheap unpadded nylon so not putting anything that needs protection in there.
the straps are basic with thin padding
The Bass -
specs:
weighs 8 pounds 4 ounces
suprisingly its about 2" shorter than my Bronco bass overall and fits in a Mono M80 Electric Guitar bag!
play/tone:
feels good, plays great and the tone is wonderful with the flats
nice balance between punchy and bassy - great output and quiet
bigger issues:
the output jack was loose so I removed the back plate to access the nut on the inside and tighten it
at the heel the E string is a little closer than I'd prefer to the fretboard edge visibly closer than the G string
the E and A strings don't line up over the pole pieces - since the D and G ones are perfect it seems the
location of that half of the pickup is a little off rather than the bridge being in the wrong place
the adjusting screw near the G polepiece wont go in any further and pole piece is 1/32 from string so
I had to remove screw, drill the hole a little deeper and reinstall - that "soft maple" is hard to screw into
picky issues:
the protective film on the back plate left a really hard to remove glue residue that took some serious work to remove
the knob is a wobbly crooked fit so I removed it and put one of those brass sleeves over the pot shaft - much better
the black stripe on the knob is poorly finished - a fine point sharpie fixed that
the matte black finish shows fingerprints and oil from your skin
It's a cool bass, looks great, plays and sounds great so it seems like a keeper for sure -
the issues mentioned above might be what you would find on a Squier bass but having nice flats and coming with a gig bag are a bonus over Squier basses.
The Gig Bag -
the bag and interior padding are decent quality
the exterior storage pocket is cheap unpadded nylon so not putting anything that needs protection in there.
the straps are basic with thin padding
The Bass -
specs:
weighs 8 pounds 4 ounces
suprisingly its about 2" shorter than my Bronco bass overall and fits in a Mono M80 Electric Guitar bag!
play/tone:
feels good, plays great and the tone is wonderful with the flats
nice balance between punchy and bassy - great output and quiet
bigger issues:
the output jack was loose so I removed the back plate to access the nut on the inside and tighten it
at the heel the E string is a little closer than I'd prefer to the fretboard edge visibly closer than the G string
the E and A strings don't line up over the pole pieces - since the D and G ones are perfect it seems the
location of that half of the pickup is a little off rather than the bridge being in the wrong place
the adjusting screw near the G polepiece wont go in any further and pole piece is 1/32 from string so
I had to remove screw, drill the hole a little deeper and reinstall - that "soft maple" is hard to screw into
picky issues:
the protective film on the back plate left a really hard to remove glue residue that took some serious work to remove
the knob is a wobbly crooked fit so I removed it and put one of those brass sleeves over the pot shaft - much better
the black stripe on the knob is poorly finished - a fine point sharpie fixed that
the matte black finish shows fingerprints and oil from your skin
It's a cool bass, looks great, plays and sounds great so it seems like a keeper for sure -
the issues mentioned above might be what you would find on a Squier bass but having nice flats and coming with a gig bag are a bonus over Squier basses.
Alright, so after a solid 24 hours to noodle with the JDII, I noticed an issue with bridge-lift.
I'm familiar with it because I have a newer Rickenbacker 4003 with the updated V2 bridge that no longer has the lift issue. But I've hung around the Rickenbacker threads long enough to know what bridge lift on the older models looks like…
So I notice that telltale little gap between the back of the bridge and the body on this new JDII. Loosen the strings, check the bridge screws and voila, almost all of them, they were spinning free in stripped holes.
So I used the old toothpick trick to fill the holes and replace the screws. They're all tight as a button now and no more lift.
I'll keep a close eye out for other issues, but that fix is straightforward and common enough that I don't think I need to consider a return yet.
Love the toothpick trick. I've used it to redeem misplaced pickup anchors and to hold down a hose bib on the outside of my house.
.
