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Battle of the mid-priced 5 strings!

#43
Re Dingwall... I had a chance to hold on to one for a week or so. Was it easy to adjust to? Sort of.

I found that the fret angle started to feel natural after a few minutes of playing but when it came to moving the hand up and down the fretboard it was harder to accurately pinpoint a particular note... I got a bit lost .... often. I'm sure this would get easier after a while.
 
#44
Archaeobass said:
I'm psyching myself up to buy a new mid-price five string and I'm looking for some input. For argument's sake, I'm calling the $999 to $1999 (out the door)) range 'mid-priced'. I'm looking for versatility, but that doesn't necessarily mean it needs to do "p-bass", "j-bass" and "mm" sounds - I'm more interested in a bass that sits in the mix well, and wouldn't sound out of place in rock, jazz, blues or r&b, even if it has a tone of its own. I should also note, I have a personal preference for bolt-on necks.

My top two contenders at this point are:
1) Lakland Skyline 55-02 - I've owned one, and its the only bass I ever regret letting go. Super versatile - mine had Barts, but I'm very interested in the newer electronics. This is a known quantity.

2) Dingwall Combustion - The unknown! I've never played an instrument with fanned frets, but I hear almost nothing but good things about Dingwall's basses. These definitely sound great, but I won't be able to play one until its delivered, unless I travel some distance to a dealer.

Now to the point: I want your input! Share your mid-priced five successes and failures. I'm very interested to hear from owners of the aforementioned basses, but I'm also interested to hear from people who think their bass blows those two out of the water. Also, share whatever mods you've made to make those mid-priced basses perfect. And pictures never hurt!

Thanks for your time!
Click to expand...

Hey what's cracking! It was two days after Xmas and I needed to get a 5 string bass. I had my Tobias Stolen(Never thought I'd find a bass I loved as much as my Tobias) at a Concert for Breast Cancer. I went to a Bass Shop in San Diego to get a Lakland. I walked in and saw a Dingwall, played it for 45-1:30 with out stopping. I always wanted to play a dingwall, they are cool right? I put it down went to the lakland and played it for less than 2 min. put it back. Played a Shadowski, Elrick, Zon, and couple others.

I play multi genre's of music, from Bluegrass- Hip hop -reggae -pop -prog Rock- Electronica - all kinds, mostly classified as psychedelic Rock.

I have owned a Dingwall for less than a month. I think I like it more than my Old Classic Tobias 5. It has a great low action, and smooth even fret board. This was what I found the lakland didn't have.

If you have already had a Lakland then maybe you will not object to the 35" scale as I did, and the difference from 55-02 to 55-02. Two basses the same model play totally different. I only played one Dingwall, but the research I did told me that the bass from the factory would be setup and someone at Dingwall would care enough to put time and attention into it's playability. I believe that each bass that comes from Dingwall is a representation of their lively hood, their product, what they do. And Dingwall takes pride in themselves, the idea, and their basses.

Hey that's my 2 cents. Rock on and I hope you get a fantastic bass!
If you find something you really love, keep an eye on ebay and CL. What you want is out there. The Dingwall was the first bass I ever owned new. I love it!

Rob
 
#48
$999-1999 gives you a lot of options. It's almost worth taking a day trip to a boutique bass store (there have to be a good many in Southern California if that's where you are). I'd have some fun with it and try every bass in that price range I could and then go with the one that feels the best.
I do endorse Carvin, and I know you can get a lot of bass in that price range (or just a 2 SB 5000s-fretted and fretless) from them.
I have an ash/maple SB5000 and it's a wonderful Fender-y bass, but I really like the Claro Walnut and Anniversary Neck throughs and the LB76 as well. Again, they have stores all over Southern California so taking a "bass day" and checking them and a boutique dealer out sounds like a good day.
Sounds like a fun dilemna :)
 
#52
Another vote for Dingwall here.
I purchased a used Afterburner I from a fellow TB'er last year after reading nothing but positive feedback all round. I had been looking for a new 5 string for some time and have actually sold my Lakland 55-01, 55-02 and an Ibanez Prestige since! I currently have a Bongo 5 which I still like but I will be purchasing another Dingwall as soon as I can afford one. Easily the best bass I have owned in 20+ years.
The fanned frets were not an issue for me at all and even with the 37" B string (WOW!)it felt much more comfortable than the Laklands 35", go figure?
I was a bit concerned about using passive after playing active for years but the Dingwall pickups sound fantastic and I prefer the slightly tighter string spacing on the Dingwall as well.
Good Luck!
 
#53
I love your definition of mid-range! But I get what you mean - it's mid-range as far as what's available.

I am on the lower end of the spectrum with my first suggestion - but it makes me happy so far so... MTD Kingston Heir. For a stock bass, I find it covers a lot of ground for me, and the B is tight.

For suggestion #2 - if I could spend that on a bass right about now, there would be no question where I would go: Tom Clement:[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
The man makes some truly beautiful instruments, has well-thought out design choices, an excellent reputation among those who have heard of him, and picks out some of the finest woods I've seen. And in your price range he's totally accessible.

Anyway - good luck - and let us know what you end up doing.

-Gus
 
#54
So... any updates? Did you buy anything?
I'm in the same boat, looking for a 5-string more in the lower half of that range. I was thinking of a 55-02, but a friend has strongly recommended I check out MTD Kingston's when I get to the U.S. in June...
 
#56
For what it's worth, if you take a look at the Dingwall forum you'll see that most regulars have bought a Dingwall sight-unseen at least once. And you have seen how people love them. I've bought a fretless Dingwall sight-unseen, internationally, without playing a fanned fret ever before.. and I still believe that was the best bass-shopping decision I could have made. I'm still to see a bass I like more, in every way, fretless or otherwise.
 
#57
Okay, I hadn't realised the Combustion was a new model and the prices were so low. Wow, definitely a contender.

What is the next Dingwall model in terms of price?
 
#58
lemonchili said:
Okay, I hadn't realised the Combustion was a new model and the prices were so low. Wow, definitely a contender.

What is the next Dingwall model in terms of price?
Click to expand...
The ABZ, which is a hand-made all-Canadian model, entirely like an AB-I except:

~$1700 USD new
Maple fretboard
Ash body
Satin finish (looks much better IMO)
Not available fretless. 4-6 strings as usual.

There are pics online, here and Link Removed, for example. Every color possible on an AB-I is possible on an ABZ, except it's satin, not glossy.

Sorry to de-rail.
 
#59
bamba22 said:
W-a-r-w-i-r-k
Click to expand...
I'd definitely second this. I've owned a Corvette Standard 5 for a few years now and absolutely love it - the tone, the feel, pretty much everything besides the weight. ;)


lemonchili said:
I was thinking of a 55-02, but a friend has strongly recommended I check out MTD Kingston's when I get to the U.S. in June...
Click to expand...
My girlfriend owns a 4 string MTD and when she (we) were bass shopping I tried a bunch of the 5-string Kingstons... they were fantastic. I prefer my Warwick, but those MTD's were awful nice.
 
#60
If $1,999 is the upper limit, you can get everything short of a Ritter or Fodera. Frankly, you can get great quality for well under the $999 bottom limit. I am currently using 1990s Yamaha TRB5 basses. Both were under $600. Here is the 1994 model which is very close to mint!:cool:
 

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