• 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 freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Dingwall Owners Club

Amp Help!!!

Now that I have a shiny new ABZ, what amp to get? I played some Markbass stuff today and it didn't have that nice clear high-end. I played the Trace Elliot Elf through the 2x8 and it didn't have the heft. Any other suggestions? I did play that new Fender 800 watt Studio combo and that was great! But, I was looking for a separate head and cab. What say you talk bass???


This is a really tough question I think for any of us to give advice on with out knowing more as XNewyorka mentioned.... it’s almost as personal as your bass..... I mean aside from the fact that everyone here knows Dingwall is the best..... duh!! ;).

But what kind of sound your looking for with help you narrow down the selection. The music you play. The volume needed. The scenarios..

I love the sound of multi 10s. For a home rig I was even thinking 8s or some pjb but....... oops. Dreaming. I also like piano like tones and punch. I also like the height of 810 as I’m going deaf. I’m not sure why I would be going deaf standing in front of 12-1600 watts of awesome dingwallness coming out of 8 10 inch speakers......

But seriously I like height. I’ve played a few one cab Scenarios where I feel the sound just went right past my nuts.

I’ve been cab and speaker exploring for a couple years.
My fav is still my ampeg SVT4pro
And fridge. I find it has a more organic harmonic sound to it then most of the newer class D stuff. I’m not knocking it but I find most of it very sterilized.... too clean I guess
I’ve owned a few Ds and will continue to explore them.

My home rig is a Genz Benz 12.2
Which I have 2 epifani 410s sitting under and it is a real close rival to the ampeg. The beauty of the GB or other heads that have 2 outputs is you can cut your rig in half if desired. The GB has 2 600w@4ohm outputs so I could just use 1 410 if desired. I tried mixing an Aguilar 212 with 1 of the 410 and I didn’t think it worked at all. They didn’t compliment each other. Instead I think it just added mud where it wasn’t supposed to be. Switched to the second 410 And I’m back in tone town!!

Lots to consider. Buy used gear at a good price and resell it if it doesn’t work for you until you know exactly what you want.... then hit up @bebass for some genzler 410s when you win the lotto!! ;).

So many choices. Have fun with that and keep us posted what you get up to!!
 
Amp Help!!!

Now that I have a shiny new ABZ, what amp to get? I played some Markbass stuff today and it didn't have that nice clear high-end. I played the Trace Elliot Elf through the 2x8 and it didn't have the heft. Any other suggestions? I did play that new Fender 800 watt Studio combo and that was great! But, I was looking for a separate head and cab. What say you talk bass???


Oh and side note. I have a Genz Benz streamliner 900 for sale locally I haven’t listed it here yet as I didn’t want to deal with shipping if I didn’t have to but if your interested pm me.
 
Last edited:
There are only a couple thousand choices. To narrow it down, can you provide some details about where you will be playing, and at what volumes, and any constraints you have around size, weight, cost, features, or any other considerations?
Mostly for home. I am looking for a piano like tone, but not brittle. Something that will be sort of thick at a lower volume. Something that could possibly be used to play with a drummer once in a while. I actually tried that Rumble stage 800 and that sounded pretty good!
 
Mostly for home. I am looking for a piano like tone, but not brittle. Something that will be sort of thick at a lower volume. Something that could possibly be used to play with a drummer once in a while. I actually tried that Rumble stage 800 and that sounded pretty good!
Luckily you already have a bass capable of piano-like tone, so that's a good start!

You still didn't mention some extremely important factors: Any size, weight or cost restrictions on the cabinet and/or on the head?

I have a Trace Elliott Elf which sounds surprisingly good into a Barefaced Super Twin (2x12 cabinet weighing 36 lbs), and also sounds really good into various other cab configurations (a single Bergantino HD210, a pair of Berg HD 210s, a single Berg AE410, a single Berg HD212, the AE410/HD212 together in series at 8 ohms, or an Eden D410XLT. For portable practicing around the house or outside the house, I use that with a single Harry Kolbe 1-12, or two of them to be louder. Easy to carry everything in a single trip from the car. Bass in a gig bag on my back, with the amp in the gig bag, cabinet in one hand, and the other hand free to help the guitar player, carry the second cabinet, or hold the door open for other people! I did a sound pressure check with the Elf and the Barefaced Super Twin and it put out 107 dB(A) at 1 meter, which would have been enough to cause serious hearing damage if I wasn't wearing protection. Plenty loud for practicing with a hard hitting drummer or playing a small club with no FOH support. It also has a good quality headphone out. And it's very cheap.

But if you want more power, or to move up a notch in overall sound quality / richness of tone, there are tons of great options. I think the two most popular heads in the 800W class are probably the Mesa Subway D800 and D800+ and the Genzler Magellan 800, and you absolutely cannot go wrong with either of those. But then you are looking are needing to be careful to have a cabinet that can handle that power level. A step above those in features and programmability is the Bergantino B|Amp. Darkglass is making an amp now which I would guess is probably really good, though I have not researched it and know nothing about it. Like I said, there are LOTS of options. You will probably get as many different recommendations as you will get replies, if not more. We probably don't want this forum to turn into a "which amp should I get" thread, because there's another forum for that. But on this forum, we will hear various answers to the question "which amp sounds particularly good with my Dingwall for piano-like tone that is not brittle?"

Keying in on your words "not brittle" and "sort of thick at a lower volume" says to me:
-Cabinet has no tweeter, or has a tweeter that has a knob to control the tweeter level, or you don't mind using the tone controls on the bass and/or amp to control the highs as necessary.
-Cabinet has a decent amount of speaker surface area, the more the better. 2x10 minimum, 2x12 better, 4x10 or 2 x 2x10 also very good, 2x15 may be good if it's a good design. Speaking of good designs, if budget permits, look into greenboy.us speaker enclosures.

For really high quality clear piano-like tone, some other amps that come to mind if you have a higher budget are Jule, Glockenklang, Sadowsky, Demeter, and the bigger Mesa Boogies.

Since you are semi-local, if you want to try a bunch of different amps and cabs to see how you like them, PM me.

Oh - and if you already found something (Rumble stage 800) that you liked a lot and were totally happy with, and it meets all your needs, you can save a lot of time and trouble by just buying that one, and then spending your time playing instead of researching other options!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AB Nate
Amp Help!!!

Now that I have a shiny new ABZ, what amp to get? I played some Markbass stuff today and it didn't have that nice clear high-end. I played the Trace Elliot Elf through the 2x8 and it didn't have the heft. Any other suggestions? I did play that new Fender 800 watt Studio combo and that was great! But, I was looking for a separate head and cab. What say you talk bass???
I cannot recommend Jule's Monique amp, the Magellan and Array cabs by Genzler enough. I have literally no Rig GAS other than I would love to have a Genzler 410-3 Array cab, well, just because! The 12-3's are awesome and I LOVE them, but I would love to have the 410 because it has to be equally awesome in a slightly different flavor. Kind of like Dingwalls. I am superbly pleased with my AB1's, but who among us could say no to another one, assuming one can afford it?:thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: AB Nate
Luckily you already have a bass capable of piano-like tone, so that's a good start!

You still didn't mention some extremely important factors: Any size, weight or cost restrictions on the cabinet and/or on the head?

I have a Trace Elliott Elf which sounds surprisingly good into a Barefaced Super Twin (2x12 cabinet weighing 36 lbs), and also sounds really good into various other cab configurations (a single Bergantino HD210, a pair of Berg HD 210s, a single Berg AE410, a single Berg HD212, the AE410/HD212 together in series at 8 ohms, or an Eden D410XLT. For portable practicing around the house or outside the house, I use that with a single Harry Kolbe 1-12, or two of them to be louder. Easy to carry everything in a single trip from the car. Bass in a gig bag on my back, with the amp in the gig bag, cabinet in one hand, and the other hand free to help the guitar player, carry the second cabinet, or hold the door open for other people! I did a sound pressure check with the Elf and the Barefaced Super Twin and it put out 107 dB(A) at 1 meter, which would have been enough to cause serious hearing damage if I wasn't wearing protection. Plenty loud for practicing with a hard hitting drummer or playing a small club with no FOH support. It also has a good quality headphone out. And it's very cheap.

But if you want more power, or to move up a notch in overall sound quality / richness of tone, there are tons of great options. I think the two most popular heads in the 800W class are probably the Mesa Subway D800 and D800+ and the Genzler Magellan 800, and you absolutely cannot go wrong with either of those. But then you are looking are needing to be careful to have a cabinet that can handle that power level. A step above those in features and programmability is the Bergantino B|Amp. Darkglass is making an amp now which I would guess is probably really good, though I have not researched it and know nothing about it. Like I said, there are LOTS of options. You will probably get as many different recommendations as you will get replies, if not more. We probably don't want this forum to turn into a "which amp should I get" thread, because there's another forum for that. But on this forum, we will hear various answers to the question "which amp sounds particularly good with my Dingwall for piano-like tone that is not brittle?"

Keying in on your words "not brittle" and "sort of thick at a lower volume" says to me:
-Cabinet has no tweeter, or has a tweeter that has a knob to control the tweeter level, or you don't mind using the tone controls on the bass and/or amp to control the highs as necessary.
-Cabinet has a decent amount of speaker surface area, the more the better. 2x10 minimum, 2x12 better, 4x10 or 2 x 2x10 also very good, 2x15 may be good if it's a good design. Speaking of good designs, if budget permits, look into greenboy.us speaker enclosures.

For really high quality clear piano-like tone, some other amps that come to mind if you have a higher budget are Jule, Glockenklang, Sadowsky, Demeter, and the bigger Mesa Boogies.

Since you are semi-local, if you want to try a bunch of different amps and cabs to see how you like them, PM me.

Oh - and if you already found something (Rumble stage 800) that you liked a lot and were totally happy with, and it meets all your needs, you can save a lot of time and trouble by just buying that one, and then spending your time playing instead of researching other options!
Man, you just crushed it with your response. You clearly put thoughtful time and effort in and I appreciate it! Since I'm not moving this around much, size constraints are an issue. However, a 4x10 may be a bit much for me! I thought the Elf was going to be it for me....then I played it through their 2x8 and it just didn't have a thick enough sound. Possibly, as you stated, the Elf into a different cabinet? Maybe a 1x15? Thanks again!
 
Man, you just crushed it with your response. You clearly put thoughtful time and effort in and I appreciate it! Since I'm not moving this around much, size constraints are an issue. However, a 4x10 may be a bit much for me! I thought the Elf was going to be it for me....then I played it through their 2x8 and it just didn't have a thick enough sound. Possibly, as you stated, the Elf into a different cabinet? Maybe a 1x15? Thanks again!
You're welcome. I would say that if you want piano-like tone from a 115, it is going to have to be a very high quality 115, like a Greenboy or equivalent. Even then, it may be tough. You'll get much faster response from the lower mass of 10" or 12" drivers. 8" is too small unless you have a bunch of them. You may want to check into Phil Jones cabs.
 
Man, you just crushed it with your response. You clearly put thoughtful time and effort in and I appreciate it! Since I'm not moving this around much, size constraints are an issue. However, a 4x10 may be a bit much for me! I thought the Elf was going to be it for me....then I played it through their 2x8 and it just didn't have a thick enough sound. Possibly, as you stated, the Elf into a different cabinet? Maybe a 1x15? Thanks again!
Th efficiency of the cab makes all the difference in the world if you are thinking of going with a low powered amp. About the only generalization as far as cab driver size is that the smaller diameter drivers will be quicker than larger drivers. “Low thick notes” can be had with 5” drivers.
 
I built my first fEarful almost ten years ago and haven’t looked back. If you are into DIY, fEarful is a perfect project. I always suggest the 12/6 cube as a start. Huge bang for the buck, and if you decide to build another fEarful down the road, they play nice as a pair or with a 15/6.

Check out the free plans at Greenboy.com. You’ll find a helpful community of builders.

For ready built cabs based on the fEarful DNA, there is the fEarless line.

Audiokinesis makes an amazing full range cab with the Thunderchild model. These are low frequency drivers paired with a horn and a very refined crossover.

For a very compact, lightweight combo, the Acoustic Image ten2 does a great job. The two channel head is removable and can easily power other larger cabs. You can also run a mike into the second channel.
 
Saying goodbye to this beauty, which sold this afternoon on reverb. But don't feel sorry for me...I got a Ducati white NG3 6 string on order!
15263193832660.jpg
 
Last edited:
I built my first fEarful almost ten years ago and haven’t looked back. If you are into DIY, fEarful is a perfect project. I always suggest the 12/6 cube as a start. Huge bang for the buck, and if you decide to build another fEarful down the road, they play nice as a pair or with a 15/6.

Check out the free plans at Greenboy.com. You’ll find a helpful community of builders.

For ready built cabs based on the fEarful DNA, there is the fEarless line.

Audiokinesis makes an amazing full range cab with the Thunderchild model. These are low frequency drivers paired with a horn and a very refined crossover.

For a very compact, lightweight combo, the Acoustic Image ten2 does a great job. The two channel head is removable and can easily power other larger cabs. You can also run a mike into the second channel.

All top-shelf cabinets. All expensive but worth every penny. I've been playing exclusively with Greenboy Fearless cabs for 3 years and my search for the ultimate bass cabinet is officially over. Currently using an F112 paired with a 15sub. Perfection for what I currently play - bass heavy funk!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Quantized Harmonic
Exciting news at my local shop. Bass Club Chicago announced back at NAMM that it was becoming a dealer, now the basses are coming in. From FB:

522260_418534771504727_1448478602_n.jpg


Bass Club Chicago
June 26 at 10:36 AM ·
Dingwall Guitars delivering next month! If we planned a party to celebrate, would you come? #dingwallbass #dingwallinchicago

Their site indicates they have 5 NG-3s and 2 D Bird Standards on order. Invalid Link Removed

Is it too much to hope that the D Bird Standards will be part of this delivery? I seem to recall hearing they won't be out for a while yet.
 

Latest posts