# John Myung speaking on camera



## Nonapod (Feb 21, 2020)

Seems like he's doing a sig Bongo that'll basically be a 6 with a 5 string neck for closer string spacing. I'm kinda interested in that since I generally dislike the classic Fender style string spacing but really like the tone of Musicman basses.


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## Veldar (Feb 26, 2020)

What's wild to be is that the Bongo string spacing was too close for me, I ended up with a Ken Smith which has 4 string spacing for a 6 string bass.

Also, I don't get the hype around Myung, seems like he doubles the riff 99% of the time. and when I saw them live he was buried in the mix


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## The Mirror (Feb 27, 2020)

Veldar said:


> Also, I don't get the hype around Myung, seems like he doubles the riff 99% of the time. and when I saw them live he was buried in the mix



He is doubling Petrucci's riffs. 

Also still a metal band. Not many around in which the bass isn't buried.


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## cGoEcYk (Mar 3, 2020)

He's great of course but yeah I dont get excited about him as a metal bassist. Buried in the mix, soft touch. Basically backing guy for Petruch (who always looks like he's rockin a glued-on beard these days). You got to bring the right energy to it. I like Ryan Matrinie.


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## Avedas (Mar 4, 2020)

Even his tone in that video is buried in the mix and he's the only one playing.


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## thedonal (Mar 6, 2020)

He's a fantastic bassist, no doubt and seeing him tap away in Metropolis Pt.1 when I first saw them dropped my jaw for a long time. But he is often buried in the mix and as he is often doubling the rhythm guitar, it's harder to make him out. Now I'm playing bass in a metal band, I understand this completely but I'm in a 3 piece (+vox) so it's much easier to be heard due to more space in the sound.

He does have some amazing moments, asides from Metropolis. The opening to Lifting Shadows Off A Dream comes to mind, and the start of part II of Octavarium is amazing. And his work at the start of The Glass Prison (the harmonics are ace). Loads to learn here! The fact he is matching Petrucci's riffing alone is a feat to me.


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## bostjan (Mar 7, 2020)

At 4:18, I know everything through a camera sounds horrible, but I really don't think that demo is doing anyone any favours.

I demo'd a Bongo a long time ago, and thought it was pretty much everything I don't like about a bass in one package. It's a shame, because I liked his Yamaha basses okay and I typically like EBMM stuff.


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## A-Branger (Mar 7, 2020)

as a big DT fan I love Myung, but man he gets soooo burried in the mix.

yes, he doubles on Petruccis riffs, but thats the nature of the music, and no an eassy task to play those riffs on a bass as opposed on a guitar, I know you guys here are 99% guitar players primarily. But man its harder to play the same riff on a bass than a guitar.

He does play more stuff, but you need to listen to it. Back in the day when I was learnign their songs I had to go trough 5 different online tabs/GP/Powertab files before finding one that was accurate. The little details and fills he does it was hard to hear but it was there and not many people tab those right... yet they can tab out a 1982182730173 note gutiar solo perfectly LOL

The earlier albums have more "creativity" in his playing I must said... And the first being his most wild


Im not exited about his upcoming signature bass I must said. First who knows when that would happen tho. EBMM takes forever to develop a sig (see other artist, and the infamous 8 string JP) but the Bongo is not my favourite shape. Plus chances are theya re gonna release a 6 string bass only, like Yamaha did (which I though they were better looking... love the color on his first, loved the shape on his second but not the color)... and as mentioned he playes on a 6 string bass with the neck of a 5, so a really tight string spacing. But the main thing Im not exited about a sig, is because he just like his basses plain AF. All his basses currently are a gloss black/chrome hardware boring plain looking bass, nothig flashy, nothing "cool", just a "bass". And its been like that for a few years. Almost since he started with EBMM. I have seen him with a silver bass and with a sky blue bass at one point, but now all are "black", and not even black hardware black, but "300$ looking bass black/chrome" black. With all the color options EBMM does and the name he has with the band and JP he for suuuuuuure would have access to anything he wants, yet he sticks to "black" for ALL of his basses. So chances are his sig would be a black bongo bass  ....... IF it ever happens


also I must said, I always got frustrated when I used play his songs and had a DT cover band, because my playing wasnt 100% clean, and some unisons and licks I had to hop/cheat trough playing whatever my fingers decided to do over the notes I supposed to play LOL..... but ooooooh man when I first heard his tracks isolated I had a massive wave of relief. hes pretty rough on his playing. He can play for miles and have such a technical level and speed, but oh boy hes dirty. As you can hear on this interview playing, hes not "clean" at all. And that made me feel soooo much better about myself and my playing hahahaha


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## Dwellingers (Mar 12, 2020)

Neither was Burton.


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## Veldar (Mar 20, 2020)

A-Branger said:


> The earlier albums have more "creativity" in his playing I must said... And the first being his most wild



I'm a full time bassist so maybe I'm just used to the scale length and don't think playing the same riffs on a bigger scale is impressive but this comment is so danm true. He was exploring a lot more in their earlier work and more of a voice on his instrument.


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## auntyethel (Mar 27, 2020)

Wow, deepfakes are getting good these days.

All that aside, it's amazing that it has taken this long for him to get a sig.


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## Chanson (Apr 12, 2020)

Interesting bass, I have the Yamaha RBX JM2 signature, which I think has 16.5 mm string spacing. Great bass! I agree that his tone sounds pretty bad in the video, but that's kind of what he always sounds like these days. He has always had a pretty mediocre tone, even in isolation it sounds pretty uninspiring to me. And in the mix it's usually very lost. I really dont get how he gets such a punchy bass with steels strings to sound so dull. Maybe it's the high action he insists on using. His playing, as demonstrated in the video is definetely not graceful or very clean. He gets all of the notes out, and he is no doubt more talented than I will ever be, but it is definetely disappointing when you realize this bass god is mortal after all lol


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## gunch (Apr 13, 2020)

auntyethel said:


> Wow, deepfakes are getting good these days.
> 
> All that aside, it's amazing that it has taken this long for him to get a sig.



Wait a sec the bongo_ isn't_ Myung's sig?

(Is genuinely ignorant)


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## Chanson (Apr 13, 2020)

gunch said:


> Wait a sec the bongo_ isn't_ Myung's sig?
> 
> (Is genuinely ignorant)



Nope...he definetely helped popularize it back when it was new ish but as far as I know he didnt have any influence on the original design. I've heard Dave Larue helped in some part of the design. 

http://blog.music-man.com/instruments/the-history-of-the-bongo-bass/


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## gunch (Apr 13, 2020)

Chanson said:


> Nope...he definetely helped popularize it back when it was new ish but as far as I know he didnt have any influence on the original design. I've heard Dave Larue helped in some part of the design.
> 
> http://blog.music-man.com/instruments/the-history-of-the-bongo-bass/



That's wild I always assumed it was!


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## Mathemagician (Apr 13, 2020)

A-Branger said:


> as a big DT fan I love Myung, but man he gets soooo burried in the mix.
> 
> yes, he doubles on Petruccis riffs, but thats the nature of the music, and no an eassy task to play those riffs on a bass as opposed on a guitar, I know you guys here are 99% guitar players primarily. But man its harder to play the same riff on a bass than a guitar.
> 
> ...



Remember EBMM won’t let you order whatever you want, but every year when they do their “special” color run(s) most sigs are fair game. So if he gets a sig and it sticks around there will be ways to get options.


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## Lukhas (Apr 13, 2020)

Chanson said:


> Interesting bass, I have the Yamaha RBX JM2 signature, which I think has 16.5 mm string spacing. Great bass! I agree that his tone sounds pretty bad in the video, but that's kind of what he always sounds like these days. He has always had a pretty mediocre tone, even in isolation it sounds pretty uninspiring to me. And in the mix it's usually very lost. I really dont get how he gets such a punchy bass with steels strings to sound so dull. Maybe it's the high action he insists on using. His playing, as demonstrated in the video is definetely not graceful or very clean. He gets all of the notes out, and he is no doubt more talented than I will ever be, but it is definetely disappointing when you realize this bass god is mortal after all lol


I almost have a higher level of appreciation for his bass parts when Felipe Andreoli from Angra plays them.  He's got a few DT covers on his channel, he's the latest one.


But then it's Felipe Andreoli who also lays some of the rhythm guitars on Angra's records, I don't think he understands the meaning of the word "sloppiness".  

John Myung definitively has plenty of good lines and subtleties in his tracks that unfortunately can't be heard, but when you get to listen to the actual isolated parts... On The Back of Angels was rough at points; for example, the gallops easily could be inconsistent in dynamics or rhythmically. Surprised it actually made the cut as is. Some of his earlier stuff doesn't have that though, so I wonder if it was just how he was at that point in time or how he evolved through the years. Of course, being able to follow the guitars without a pick is already great, but John Myung indeed is mortal.


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## Chanson (Apr 13, 2020)

Lukhas said:


> I almost have a higher level of appreciation for his bass parts when Felipe Andreoli from Angra plays them.  He's got a few DT covers on his channel, he's the latest one.
> 
> 
> But then it's Felipe Andreoli who also lays some of the rhythm guitars on Angra's records, I don't think he understands the meaning of the word "sloppiness".
> ...




Yes, Felipe is amazing. He is much more refined in technique and sound. Honestly I've seen a decent amount of YouTube covers from amateurs to professionals covering DT on bass, and a lot of people sound a little more polished playing the songs than Mr Myung himself. Of course, for some of his more creative lines and solos, simply duplicating them is only half the challenge. He deserves credit for coming up with interesting parts, when he shines.


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## A-Branger (Apr 14, 2020)

Mathemagician said:


> Remember EBMM won’t let you order whatever you want, but every year when they do their “special” color run(s) most sigs are fair game. So if he gets a sig and it sticks around there will be ways to get options.



true that!

but I doubt he would get a 5 string sig..... would be a smart move tho, but donno, since "he doesnt use 5 strings" mentallity of brands when doing sigs.

also as much as I would like a new model, chances are hes gonna get a Bongo, or a slight variation of a Bongo, like with less EQ controls, or a different pickup system, or pickguard just like JasonR sig is just a Cutlass/Sabre with 24 frets.

but, theres also the Mariposa, and StVincent... and I was gonna say the Valentine, but that is just an Axis with a double cut

Theres bit of hope..... but seeing what he likes to play(workhorse plain simple), the hope is not much for a new shape non-Bongo


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## Lukhas (Sep 19, 2020)

[Insert predictable yet funny joke about CGI]

He does seem pretty enthusiastic about it. Hardly ever heard him string that many sentences together.


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## Lukhas (Sep 19, 2020)

Whoopsie, post deleted.


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