FS: Dingwall Afterburner I -- bypass the wait list!

[groovaholic]

Up for grabs is a transparent black Afterburner I that I bought new in 2003.

As you'll see in the pictures, the color can go from black to grey to purple depending on the lighting.

Back then, Dingwall used light maple for the bodies of the Afterburners; it makes for a bright bass with a lot of focus on the bottom end.
For me it was a bit TOO bright -- so I swapped its FD-3 pickups for the FD-1s out of my Dingwall Z2.

That suited the voice of the bass really well, but I wanted more flexibility, so I installed a Bartolini NTMB preamp.
The NTMB is a 3-band EQ, and the Afterburner only has holes for 3 controls, so rather than drill a hole in the bass, I elected to stack one control and skip another one entirely.

Going from neck to bridge, the controls are pickup balance, bass, and then the treble/midrange stack.
There is no volume control, but I never use the volume on my basses, preferring volume pedals instead.

I still have the original parts, though, so if you didn't want the active setup, you could change it back (or I could do it for you if you're not comfortable with soldering).

Cosmetically, you'll notice the sticker on the back and that the neck runoff is painted black.

The black neck runoff is standard on the new Afterburners and REALLY dresses up the look of the bass; I saw it here on the Dingwall website and duplicated the look by disassembling the bass, masking the neck off, then spraying it with the same epoxy they use to paint appliances -- tough stuff!

The sticker is just a pinup girl that can be easily removed, but I think she adds a certain charisma!

There is some finish hazing by the pickups from me always resting my thumb there, and some string dings ON the pickups from digging in too hard sometimes, but all-in-all this bass is VERY clean for having been my #1 bass for 7 years (until I got my Afterburner II).

Price wise, I've had a hard time finding other used Dingwalls to compare it to, but Id' like to get $1850 out of it. This is somewhat negotiable, but I need to get enough to pay my mortgage...

Will ship in your choice of either an SKB Freedom hardshell or a Dingwall/AXE Music flight case.

[Jefenator]

Bump for the sickest low B money can buy.

[KingRazor]

Bump for HOLY CRAP A DINGWALL AFTERBURNER FOR UNDER 2K.

If only I had the money

[Infidelity]

Originally Posted by KingRazor

Bump for HOLY CRAP A DINGWALL AFTERBURNER FOR UNDER 2K.

If only I had the money

Afterburners are always in that price range..

Bump for a nice bass and Dingwall B's is not a hype!

[groovaholic]

Bump for:
I REALLY NEED TO SELL THIS SO I CAN PAY MY MORTGAGE ! ! !

[groovaholic]

Seriously, I need the cash, so make me an offer...

[worxforme]

Bump for a bass brother in need, someone help the man out and buy this beautiful bass.

[MarkA]

I take it the original setup was volume, passive tone, balance?

I also gather from your comments that switching the pickups (did the ZD get the FD3s, then?) yielded a less bright tone but, since tonal goals vary widely, could you be a little more specific about the changes you noticed? (Maybe others who've experienced both pups could chime in as well?) Did the output remain about the same?

Do you happen to know the scale length on the B-string vs. the G? I know that the fanned frets are supposed to be more ergonomic overall, but I wonder what playing riffs down around the 1st fret on the B, E, and A string would feel like.

Thanks!

[groovaholic]

First off...PRICE DROP: my bottom dollar figure for this bass is $1650 + shipping.

To MarkA:
The FD-1 pickups have a bit more "bark" and less of a hi-fi tone than the FD-3's; output is identical. The FD-1's have a bit more of the P-Bass vibe.

On a maple-bodied bass, the FD-3s were just TOO bright to me, but I can duplicate that sound with the FD-1's by turning up the treble on the Bartolini.

The FD-1 just seem more punchy to me.

Scale length on Dingwall basses other than the Super J's goes from 37" on the B to 34" on the G -- each string is .75" longer than the next lighter string.

Ergonomically, I think the Dingwalls are EASIER to play down low due to the fact that the fan of the frets follows the natural curvature of your fretting hand as you pivot at the elbow.

In the rare cases where people complain about the fan, it's up on the high end of the fretboard and can be an adjustment for folks doing jazz chords and such.

[groovaholic]

As much as I'd prefer not to, I'm going to have to put this on eBay if I can't sell it here.

SO...last chance!

PM me before it's off to the eVil empire.

[MarkA]

Okay, PM.