Pairing with a Dingwall ABZ - light head/cab combo suggestions wanted

[monsterthompson]

I'm just getting back into playing after survivng a broken neck a little over a year ago. My right side has made a quick and strong recovery, but the nerve damage has been more of a problem on my left side. Because of this, I'm rebuilding my rig from the ground up, so I will have something more manageable than my current rig.

I'm currently playing a Warwick Thumb 5 BO. Since my reach to the lower frets is impacted, I'm playing more on the higher frets of my B string. The legendary tone and tension of the Dingwall has attracted my attention, and I'm off to test pilot an ABZ soon. I get the sense that a new bass will be coming home.

Next, I'm looking to go to a more compact amp setup. Probably a 500-1000w micro with a "super" 112 cab. Currently, I have a Mesa M6 Carbine paired with one of two cabs, a PH 115 and a PH 212. I'm very happy with the tone of my Thumb (with Chromes) through this rig. I love the mid-switch options too.

Since I'm pretty well set on the bass I'm looking at, and I'm rebuilding from square one, I thought I'd ask for input on what amp route to go to get the most out of my potential new bass, and the power of that beastly low B. I've been drooling over Ken's demos of the Genz Benz Streamliner with the Acme Low B and Baer cabs. The Thunderchild sounds good, but not as strong as these other two. I'm also interested in the Orange Terror Bass head; the simplicity and grit light my fire, but I have some concerns about the tone range of this amp outside of the fuzzy vintage realm. I am primarily a rock player, but also dip into some more electro/industrial/dance sounds, and see some blues jams in my future.

What else should I be looking at? Barefaced, Aguilar TH, Wizzy?

[singlemalt]

If you are into DIY, the fEarful 12/6 either in tall or cube form, will be a revelation at right around 40lb. I see fEarfuls on the TB classifieds in the LA area, so you might be lucky enough to try one out.

I had a 1-12 Epifani at 32 lb that I thought was pretty cool until I tried a fEarful.

Even if you aren't into DIY there are builders and a few cabs for sale.

fEARful™ enclosures for bass/drums/keys Here's the designs and parts sources.

fEARful for a forum of users and builders.

I tune my Dingwalls down a half step, and the fEarfuls will go there full power, no problem.

4Mal is running a 12/6 with a GK MB2-500. The fEarfuls don't need tons of power, but they will take it if you have it.

I've seen favorable reviews on a bunch of the micro heads from any number of fEarful users. Eyeing the TC rh750 myself. The Acoustic Images stuff is cool, Markbass, A couple guys mentioned the Genz Benz streamliner just today.

I've been slow to get on the small light thing myself, but I now believe that you can do the whole rig under 50lb.

Oh, that Thunderchild from Duke is super cool. I got to try one and it's amazingly clear and defined. Top notch fit and finish as well. The clips on line don't do it justice.

Look for a TB GTG in your area, they can be a high end gear, all you can eat buffet.

You might just be lucky to live in LA. I hear they have music stores. Here in the sticks it's all online gear guessing, so our local GTG's are pretty important.

[monsterthompson]

Thanks man. The DIY thing isn't going to work for me, so I think fEARFUL is out. 40lbs would probably be my limit for this mission too. Bonus points awarded for compact enclosure dimensions, which is probably more important to me than overall weight at this time. Any cabinet I can 1-hand carry is going to get lots of looks from me.

[rpsands]

Nothing I have played has sounded bad with my ABZ.

[greenboy]

Quite a few Dingwall players using fEARfuls, maybe some more will see this thread, though some of them don't do TalkBass. I want to underline that there are authorized builders, and you can get options in durable top grade Baltic Birch or in lightweight Italian Poplar, and for finish, grills, etc:

fEARful™ enclosures Authorized Builders

Specifically in your case Ron Anchak would be well worth getting together with since he has a showroom and is geographically not too crazy far away perhaps (Cathedral City): Home.Anchak Audio Works ... Ron's a great guy who knows his way around MI and sound reinforcement, and he usually has a number of models in stock.

[rpsands]

Originally Posted by monsterthompson

Thanks man. The DIY thing isn't going to work for me, so I think fEARFUL is out. 40lbs would probably be my limit for this mission too. Bonus points awarded for compact enclosure dimensions, which is probably more important to me than overall weight at this time. Any cabinet I can 1-hand carry is going to get lots of looks from me.

Look at the fEarful 12/6 if you're playing a 5-er. Baer and Duke both are good alternates but they sacrifice a bunch of low end.

[BurningSkies]

Yes. I have two Dingwalls and NOTHING works as well as one of Greenboy's cabs. If I were in your situation, I'd be looking at someone building you a 12/6. I don't know your physical limitations nor your budget limitations...but you CAN get a finished fEARful.

If you want to go super-light. I'd be looking at one of the Art-of-Noise's composite build cabs. A 35 pound 15/6 that can take up to 800w and faithfully reproduces the high definition lows and highs that are the Dingwall bread and butter? Sounds wicked to me! I bet Robbie would do a KILLER 12/6, that would be slightly lighter and have the same wide frequency response at slightly less volume.

If you don't mind something in the 40-55lb range, a standard issue wood fEARful in either 12" or 15" version would kill.

For an amp, I'd personally be looking at stuff in the 800-1200w range. Not because you HAVE to feed that much to a fEARful, but because it can happily use it and keep your headroom clean. Imagine that 37" low B with 800w behind it going through a cab that can go lower than any production bass cab you've played. There's a TON of lightweight small heads around. Picking one that's got the 'color' tone you want and you're solid. Or a small rack setup with a 7 pound Peavey IPR and your preamp of choice!

[Bredian]

I would (and am) explore the composite builder and/or smaller 12/6 designs purely for weight advantages. I am spoiled with a 35lb MB115, but I will be expanding.

Regarding your bass choices, I used my kid's bass as a back up Saturday night, noticed that the nut was closer a couple of inches to my body (the whole guitar shifts right) due to a longer upper horn impacting strap placement vs the neck/fretboard. It all adds up.

[dhomer]

A fEARful 12/6/1 built in okoume should be 35lbs or less...

[monsterthompson]

Awesome words all around.

I'm in the process of hunting for fearful sound clips (help appreciated).

Fearful aside, what else is out there that I may be overlooking? I may need to bug Ken to post up a clip of the Streamliner/TC/Nordy-P combo, as I noticed all his clips I viewed with the TC were with his J, and it may be the J I'm not digging (not that I expect any favors from him).

Let's not forget heads. I'm least sure about changing this element, as I think the shape and handle placement may allow me to manage the weight (I can dead-lift quite a bit, but my hand strength on the left won't let me hold for long, nor can I hoist anything too far off the ground above my waist, for now). I've played some of the other offerings from Mesa, and wasn't impressed with the guts in the attack after playing the M6. I like the Streamliner sounds I've heard (including the fuzz), but I'm open to others in the genre. The Markbass hasn't impressed me, as the recordings I hear sound a bit . . . transparent. I'm looking for a bit more punch and oomph, along with the right stuff for handling the low B.

[johnbassdoherty]

I play my Dingwall ABII through a Genz Benz shuttle 6 (at 3.75lbs) and 2 bergantino AE112 ( about 30lbs each) and love the sound i'm getting, i also had an injury last year to my left shoulder (rotary cuff tear) and it restricted my movement of the arm but thanks to a few months of physio (no op needed thank god) i have 98% movement back, so i decided to down size my rig, and now its smaller, light weight, with a great sound and louder with more clarity than i had, and i find that on stage this set up really cuts through the onstage noise (drums/keys/guitars) without being to loud, you will get a good price on a secondhand AE112 as the new HD112 has just come out, as some of the guys are changing for the new model

[monsterthompson]

Well the ABZ is home. I must say I played and liked the EA Wizzy 12M-line. What an awesome combination. I was going through a AG 500, so I tried the SL 112. I must say, the Wizzy was impressive and wall shaking without farting out, and could certainly get to drummer volumes. I've got a chance to try a Baer soon, and if it doesn't rock my world, I could easily go back to the Wizzy.

[monsterthompson]

A bit of a cross-post from the Baer thread. I got my paws on a Baer 112 and it is super easy to lift and carry. I am leaning toward this option as a strong contender for tone to weight ratio. I'd still need to find the right head to pair.

I also checked out the Mesa Walkabout in person. It sounds great, but It was a bit heavy with the head attached to the cab.

I did get to try an EA 10 Wizzy in person too. It was quite a loud little beast. More than one might expect from the small stature. Nice tone too, but that is already a known.

[KJung]

I just saw this thread.

I tell you what, if you are looking for a cab that does 'grit' well, and is lighweight, the Baer ML112 is VERY nice. I would think that Orange micro into the Baer would be absolutely killer (as would be the Streamliner or the Shuttle 9 if you wanted a bit more modern tone).

Of course, a single 112 will only put out so much wump, but the Baer is the most 'grit friendly' cab that I've heard, and the voicing of both the lows and especially the upper mids is the best by far of any 12/6 execution I've played (and I've played a LOT of them!).

The Acme is cool, but it really is a special execution and if grit is your thing, the Baer is almost perfect to me, and is very forgiving of various heads, power ratings, hi passing, etc., etc. If you get the Acme 'right', it is KILLER, but it takes a bit of planning to really make that work as a single cab solution.

IMO and IME!

[monsterthompson]

Thanks Ken!

I'm still considering the Orange. Though, the Ashdown Little Bastard is on the list too. One Bastard and a Baer would be great for the home. I'm thinking a second Baer with it might make the 30w amp wump enough for anything I would consider doing. Time to pilot the Orange. It is lighter, and that is a plus.

[RickenBoogie]

30 watts? Are you talking about the guitar version? The bass terror is 500 watts. I wouldn't think a 30 watt guitar amp would be of much use.

[monsterthompson]

30wfor the Ashdown not the Orange. Sorry, jumped from one to the other then back again.

[mexibass]

Hey guys, hope to be on topic.... Getting an ABZ 6 soon, I'm just a little worried about its total weight coz I've got back problems. I know they're light basses but I haven't found out what the exact weight on this bass is... Any clues?

[rpsands]

My ABZ-5 is around 7 3/4lbs. Expect the 6 to be 8-ish.

[mexibass]

Originally Posted by rpsands

My ABZ-5 is around 7 3/4lbs. Expect the 6 to be 8-ish.

Thanks a lot dude! 8 lbs is music to my back LOL