• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Dingwall ABZ vs. MM Bongo HH

#22
73jbass said:
Bongo. Fanned fret basses seem like a solution for a problem that didnt really exist.
Click to expand...

Go play a 34" or 35" B string and fret every note up the neck, then go do that with a 37"+ neck. The added length allows the notes to ring clean and with sustain all the way up to the 24th fret. I suppose playing over the 5th fret on a B is kind of pointless, but it is a problem that did exist.


WaldoNova said:
Thanks everyone!!! This is the most I've ever considered to spend on a bass. I feel like it's worth it though. The main thing that worries me is that now I would probably have to buy another Dingwall if I wanted to use another bass for any thing else. Going back and forth from the "fanned frets" and standard frets seems like it may be frustrating and counter productive. Does anyone have multiple basses along with a Dingwall? If so did you find this to be an issue?

On a side note. I'm going to have to talk to Jay about his Bongo's. I played one that a buddy of mine has and it was a superb instrument where as the ones in his shop must not have been set up very well(not his fault I'm sure, they were brand new!!!) because I really didn't like them at all(especially the floppy B string!!!).
Click to expand...


I am glad you like the Dingwall OP, honestly your options were apples and oranges from tone to feel. Honestly I switch between my Dingwall and standards all the time without problem, mind you I have a 4 string Dingwall. I honestly do not notice a difference when I am playing a fanned or normal neck unless I am doing chords or harmonics so I cannot offer help in that regard. I only ever gig 1 bass though, more so because my basses are all so different tonally. Going from my ABZ to my Ray is so different as the Wall has such a thick mid range I have to dial in the am differently to maintain a consistent sound.

And yeah, the EBMM B string is mediocre in my opinion, the Dingwall B is world class. I live 5 miuntes from the Dingwall shop though so it is easy for me to get Dingwall strings, I still have not figured out what brands all fit the Dingwall neck.
 
#23
Interesting thread, I just got a Dingwall Combustion but am having a slight uphill adjustment coming from a smaller scale bass. I played a Bongo 5 HH yesterday that really blew me away with its playability and tone, especially for 16th or 32nd notes. I realize they are different price brackets and not exactly directly comparable, but it made me wish for a Dingwall with the easier playability and snappy tone of the Bongo.
 
#24
factorplayer said:
Interesting thread, I just got a Dingwall Combustion but am having a slight uphill adjustment coming from a smaller scale bass. I played a Bongo 5 HH yesterday that really blew me away with its playability and tone, especially for 16th or 32nd notes. I realize they are different price brackets and not exactly directly comparable, but it made me wish for a Dingwall with the easier playability and snappy tone of the Bongo.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a setup issue. Stores frequently set their action too low to make the instrument seem easier to play. There's no reason why a Combustion would pluck any worse than a Bongo, especially because you're talking about rapid plucking and Bongo's 0.5mm narrower string spacing can only make that harder. It's probably a matter of setup, or possibly that they come with different strings. My Combustion plays no worse than my Dingwall AB-II.
 
#26
factorplayer said:
That's certainly reassuring if that's all it is. I've been wanting to upgrade the Combustion too and I think a new preamp and FD3s will really bring it out front.
Click to expand...

I swapped out my pre for an OBP-3 and added push/pull volume pots for series/parallel switching of both pickups; the amount of punch with both pickups in series is almost ridiculous, and the added mid control with the OBP-3 provides host of other tonal options as well.

Enjoy! :bassist:
 
#27
MDBass said:
I swapped out my pre for an OBP-3 and added push/pull volume pots for series/parallel switching of both pickups; the amount of punch with both pickups in series is almost ridiculous, and the added mid control with the OBP-3 provides host of other tonal options as well.

Enjoy! :bassist:
Click to expand...

Yup, my Combustion has two FD-3s hardwired in series and an EBMM preamp by John East... ;)

IMAG0-076.jpg


It's good. But I have to say, after replacing the preamp it has been like night and day. The default preamp is lackluster.

Which has nothing to do with how the strings feel to your right hand when plucking rapidly.
 
#29
Bocete said:
Yup, my Combustion has two FD-3s hardwired in series and an EBMM preamp by John East... ;)

IMAG0-076.jpg


It's good. But I have to say, after replacing the preamp it has been like night and day. The default preamp is lackluster.

Which has nothing to do with how the strings feel to your right hand when plucking rapidly.
Click to expand...

Well there is also that my Combustion has a noticeably weaker output than my other active bass (a Kubicki) so the preamp upgrade is coming too.

I like that pickup configuration, how did you get that spacing?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back