That is its purpose. Death to false Shreddahs, Flight of the Bumble Bee forevvah!!!
And you thought his assless chaps were the silliest thing on him.
Joey was pre-Manowar Geezer Butler's bass tech, where he met Ross the Boss, then already ex Dictators and with French Sabs-opening act Shaking Street (but unhappy there). The idea that a bass with guitar gauge strings and narrowness of neck would enable him to shred must have been born already then though it can have scarcely come from his experiences with Geezer. Initially he just changed the nut and modded the bridge on his Rics and other basses (an Epi EB of his thus modded was on Ebay some years ago) so that four (almost) guitar gauge strings would be very close together (he's a pick player) with much of the original fretboard unused.
That skinnie minnie mock Ric was a development from that. It is a boutique product with no original Ric content. He not only uses it to shred in his bass solo extravaganza but also when playing the regular songs. I'd imagine that - contrary to his manly image - he must be an extremely light player on those basses to have a decent signal which is then heavily processed for his bass sound. Which is probably why he prefers more conventional tools in the (mom's cellar) studio.
And the truss rod of that skinnie minnie mock Ric must be pure titanium even with thin strings.
"Don't worry, your mom will let you crash in her basement as always ..."Nofi, you're mean, but funny!
Joey would make a great Soprano these days if he dumped his warrior wig.
