Bass Comparison: Spector, Dingwall, Warwick & Fender

[Fysix]

Here's a little comparison within my bass stable:



The line-up is:

- Spector Euro 5LX
- Dingwall Combustion 3 6 (pickups in bridge-middle in series setting)
- '00 Warwick Corvette std
- '97 Fender Jazz Bass deluxe

Recorded direct with my HX Stomp using the same rather clean preset for all basses (Rochester Comp, SVT-4 amp sim, Ampeg SVT 8x10 IR), just minor adjustments for output and volume

Which one is your favorite?

Also, I'm always interested in constructive feedback to audio and video!

 

[Chad Michael]

- the Spector: my pick for the way the mids are voiced
- the Dingwall: my pick for the way the mids are more prominent

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

I preferred the Dingwall, the Spector, the Warwick...and then the Fender. The latter sounded just a little too 'scooped' for my taste.

I think an EBMM Bongo HH would have sounded very good in the mix as well. Have you tried one? I know the looks don't appeal to everyone, but boy do they sound good !

P.S. nice job

 

[Fysix]

- the Spector: my pick for the way the mids are voiced
- the Dingwall: my pick for the way the mids are more prominent

Makes sense! Might be worth while to tweak around with the Spector to get it more prominent in the mids. With the boost-only 2-band EQ, it's easy to drift into a "bathtub" scoop; need to reverse the thinking to sculpt out the mids...

The Dingwall is just so tight and direct, plus its preamp seems to push out a "bump" around 1000Hz

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Fysix]

I preferred the Dingwall, the Spector, the Warwick...and then the Fender. The latter sounded just a little too 'scooped' for my taste.

I think an EBMM Bongo HH would have sounded very good in the mix as well. Have you tried one? I know the looks don't appeal to everyone, but boy do they sound good !

P.S. nice job

Thanks for the input! Yeah, I did check out a Bongo HH a while ago - fantastic bass! Especially the playability really made an impression on me. It just so perfectly balanced, great feel in the neck. However, at that time I had to make a decision between keeping the Bongo or getting the Dingwall, at a time when there were almost no 6-string Dingwall Combustions / NGs available in all of Europe. So I ended up keeping the Combustion. Tough choice!

I did end up making a comparison video with the Bongo though, alongside a 6-string Spector Euro and a much lower-priced Ibanez SR:

 

[India_Sierra]

The Spector sounded best to me with the Corvette not far behind. The piece felt a little busy though and mix could have let the basses have a little more 'body'. I think a better comparison could be had from playing a short run of all the riffs you have there with each bass in sequence rather than swapping throughout the piece.

 

[Fysix]

The Spector sounded best to me with the Corvette not far behind. The piece felt a little busy though and mix could have let the basses have a little more 'body'. I think a better comparison could be had from playing a short run of all the riffs you have there with each bass in sequence rather than swapping throughout the piece.

Thanks! I can see that being a better arrangement for a 1-to-1 comparison

 

[3bc]

I’d rather not hear an amp sim personally. Nice job tho.

 

[LL-Toolbox]

Here's a little comparison within my bass stable:



The line-up is:

- Spector Euro 5LX
- Dingwall Combustion 3 6 (pickups in bridge-middle in series setting)
- '00 Warwick Corvette std
- '97 Fender Jazz Bass deluxe

Recorded direct with my HX Stomp using the same rather clean preset for all basses (Rochester Comp, SVT-4 amp sim, Ampeg SVT 8x10 IR), just minor adjustments for output and volume

Which one is your favorite?

Also, I'm always interested in constructive feedback to audio and video!

The Dingwall cuts through the best.

 

[Blankandson]

I played only Fenders back in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Then switched to Gretch, Hofner, and a pile of assorted no-names. Finally was handed a 1994 Warwick Fortress One back around 2008 and it was love at first play. I traded up to a 2008 Corvette $$ about 10 years ago, put all gold hardware on it, experimented with strings, and finally settled on two sets of strings: Low B is a low guage S/S round, all the other strings are high-guage

half-wound Nickles. I play that bass daily around an hour or two, plus twice a week in a regular gig. I do get love from some in the crowd over how good it sounds in our decent system.