Dingwall Owners Club

[BrBss]

Well, I might regret it, but I just listed my NG2 in the classifieds because I just picked up a second Combustion. Seems like everyone prefers the Darkglass, but I actually prefer the EMG. Anybody else feel the same? Seems like Darkglass is most people's preference.

 

[AB Nate]

Does it take long to become accustomed to fanned frets? How about chording?

Chording up high is the biggest and maybe only issue. I’ve been working on some of that with an instructor of mine and it’s kinda funny how I struggle compared to him on a few particular chord positions.

Well, I might regret it, but I just listed my NG2 in the classifieds because I just picked up a second Combustion. Seems like everyone prefers the Darkglass, but I actually prefer the EMG. Anybody else feel the same? Seems like Darkglass is most people's preference.

I really thought the Emg is fantastic. I don’t have one anymore but that want to say anything bad about the pre.
Now that I have a couple of glocks and a couple of darkglass in the house I think my favourite taste is the glockenklang(still)

They are all so good. It’s tough to say when you pick one bass up..... and it sounds freakin killer.... then you pick up another with a different pre...... and it sounds freakin killer.

 

[Selta]

Yeah, I'm much more a fan of the Glockenklang over the DG. I also like the EMG better than the DG pre as well.

 

[AB Nate]

I have to know how the DG is gonna sound in my fretless. I just have to. I feel it will be super appropriate but I KNOW the glock would be amazing.

Worst case I’ll do a swap after

 

[Flabzilla]

I have to know how the DG is gonna sound in my fretless. I just have to. I feel it will be super appropriate but I KNOW the glock would be amazing.

Worst case I’ll do a swap after

I chickened out after the (possibly) dodgy tone capsule in my hs. Glockenklang for me.

 

[AB Nate]

I chickened out after the (possibly) dodgy tone capsule in my hs. Glockenklang for me.

What do you mean??
.... actually I do recall. I think there was something fishy about that. Shouldn’t blame the TC though. I think it had more to do with the install then the pre. I’d have put down serious dollars on wager prior to you buying it that it wasn’t factory.

 

[xnewyorka]

Anybody here need a barely used 5-string P-Tone pickup before I post it in the Classifieds?
$120 shipped CONUS. Made in June. Looks new. Works great.
Measures 4 7/16" (11.2 cm) long and 1.25" (3.1 cm) wide.
Fits AB, Z3, possibly others.

 

[xnewyorka]

I have to know how the DG is gonna sound in my fretless. I just have to. I feel it will be super appropriate but I KNOW the glock would be amazing.

Worst case I’ll do a swap after

Caution - the pot shafts are different sizes. I forget which is bigger. You can obviously easy move from smaller holes to bigger holes, but not the other direction.
Edit: Based on info below, the Darkglass pot shafts are bigger, so sleeves are required if switching from DG to Glockenklang. Drilling to enlarge the holes is required if switching from Glock to Darkglass.
There could also be an issue if the number of 9V batteries goes from one to two when switching. I did not mention that earlier.

 

[AB Nate]

Caution - the pot shafts are different sizes. I forget which is bigger. You can obviously easy move from smaller holes to bigger holes, but not the other direction.

There is some easy fixes for that though. Ie. A small plastic sleeve or even a rubber o ring but definitely a good point. Something I did not consider.

 

[AB Nate]

Anybody here need a barely used 5-string P-Tone pickup before I post it in the Classifieds?
$120 shipped CONUS. Made in June. Looks new. Works great.

Very tempting for the SJ. That would be the same size she correct?

 

[Flabzilla]

What do you mean??
.... actually I do recall. I think there was something fishy about that. Shouldn’t blame the TC though. I think it had more to do with the install then the pre. I’d have put down serious dollars on wager prior to you buying it that it wasn’t factory.

Yes, it was aftermarket. The previous owner was happy so who knows. I’ve not blamed the tc as there’s no way to really test it and no one local who sells Dingwalls where I could do a comparison. Next time I’m in Melbourne I guess...

 

[Flabzilla]

There is some easy fixes for that though. Ie. A small plastic sleeve or even a rubber o ring but definitely a good point. Something I did not consider.

Yep, tc pot shafts are bigger. I needed sleeves for mine. I bought the Glockenklang from a dealer here in Aus and when I emailed Glockenklang direct to find out what else I needed they mailed me a set of sleeves for nix.

Can’t fault their customer service!

 

[xnewyorka]

Very tempting for the SJ. That would be the same size she correct?

Not sure about your SJ. It won't fit my SJ, it's too small. The pickup is 4 7/16" (11.2 cm) long and 1.25" (3.1 cm) wide.

 

[AB Nate]

Not sure about your SJ. It won't fit my SJ, it's too small. The pickup is 4 7/16" (11.2 cm) long and 1.25" (3.1 cm) wide.

Interesting.

I just learnt something. The super series pick ups are larger.it makes sense of course because of string spacing.
5 1/4”(did not do any precise measuring but close)length on a 5 string super J. Quite a bit different then a long scale 18mm spacing bass.

That’s said just for reference. I believe they use the same shell as a 6 string long scale.

 

[djaxup]

Does it take long to become accustomed to fanned frets? How about chording?

I memorized a lot of songs as shapes on the fretboard, and in the 1st-3rd fret range the fanned frets mess with my memorized image of the bassline. Interestingly this is not an issue if I don't actually look at the fretboard.

4-12th is just like any other bass. You really don't notice it at all.
above the 12th fret things can get a bit complicated. Some chords are easier, some are nigh impossible with your usual fingering.

 

[EMoneySC2]

Caution - the pot shafts are different sizes. I forget which is bigger. You can obviously easy move from smaller holes to bigger holes, but not the other direction.

The DG pot shatfs are bigger. I just ordered a new tone capsule to put in my Combustion as I prefer the DG to the EMG preamp. The DG pre is much better for the agressive sound I like.

I'm comfortable with the electronics, but very uncomfortable with the woodworking - so this is definitely not a job for me.

 

[johnsonabq]

I have noticed that the higher end basses from Dingwall could have either the Darkglass TC or the Glockenklang preamps (if not passive). Anyone have experience with both, and what were your thoughts? Thanks!

 

[xnewyorka]

I have noticed that the higher end basses from Dingwall could have either the Darkglass TC or the Glockenklang preamps (if not passive). Anyone have experience with both, and what were your thoughts? Thanks!

They are very different! There are two important factors that might drive you to choose one or the other. If you want a tone roll off in passive mode, you need to have the Glock. If you like to play with aggressive, biting distortion, you probably want the Darkglass. They both sound great clean, but the Darkglass sounds a little better with aggressive distortion. For mild distortion or warmth, either is fine. The other difference is that the Glock lets you boost your high highs a lot, if you want to annoy your German Shepherd. The DG with its low mid and high mid knobs puts the EQ centers more where the money is for playing bass. If you are running them dead flat, with all controls at their center detents, both preamps do nothing detectable to your signal, in other words they are both 'transparent", and have no effect. But when you move the controls away from flat, the Glock remains more transparent than the DG. I don't know the technical reason, but I am going to guess that the DG tone controls have higher Q, meaning their bandwidth is slightly narrower, and therefore they create tighter or more focused peaks or valleys in the frequency response curve. Somebody more technical who knows the actual difference could perhaps confirm this.

I will be the first to say that I hate using figurative language to try to describe sound, because it is so vague and open to interpretation. But if I were to describe each in a word, the word for the Glock would be clean or pure or uncolored, and the word for the DG would be slightly colored, whatever that means. But I hate saying that since it could mean different things to different people. Sound is so personal, you really have to listen to it yourself and decide what you like. I have basses with each, and they both sound good! I know I keep saying this and regulars here are sick of reading it, but I'm going to make some recordings as soon as I have the time and skill to do so. There are already some recordings on the Dingwall site, though it has been a while since I listened to them and I don't remember exactly what is there.


One last thing I want to note is that for those with a DG preamp in their bass, if you like to play with heavy distortion, counter-intuitively it actually helps if you turn the low mid control way down. I even often run mine at zero, fully counterclockwise. Then the distortion pedal sounds better, and you can reintroduce those low mid frequencies through through additional downstream tone control after the distortion pedal if you want. By hitting the distortion pedal with heavy low-mids, you end up with a pile of mud.

 

[spiritbass]

I have noticed that the higher end basses from Dingwall could have either the Darkglass TC or the Glockenklang preamps (if not passive). Anyone have experience with both, and what were your thoughts? Thanks!

I play clean with little or no tone adjustment on either pre. Whatever coloration there is to the DG, it works well in my alder body/maple/maple necked NG-2. I sometimes roll back the 80hz knob back a little, leaving the other two controls at their detent positions. I have two-band Glocks in my SJ5 and SJ/P4 which I always run 'flat' (both controls at their detent positions). If there is any coloration, it is very musical and undetectable by me. They deliver a transparent 'more of everything' tone palette; bringing out the inherent character of the instrument. Makes the five-string jazz sound beautiful and the P/J sound like a grizzly bear that resembles a bass guitar...

 

[been_effected]

When I was shopping for a new bass before I pulled the trigger on my ng2 I had the same complaint about most videos of dingwall basses. In my band I do use some Darkglass pedals for dirt but my clean tone is just bass, compressor and my Avalon u5 which imo is a very prestine hi fi type of clean tone that shows off the different characteristics of different basses. I really like the cosmetics of the NG basses so I continued to dig for videos without overdrive/distortion/fuzzand eventually found this one

I was a warwick guy for around 15 years so I’ve seen a ton of Andy’s videos, several of Warwick’s that I have personally owned, so I have some idea listening to his videos how I’ll sound playing the basses.

On the flip side. I do like that my ng2 sounds good with pedals. Lot of active basses don’t. That was one of my main complaints with Warwick’s and several other brands. Dig the clean tones but I just couldn’t get dirty tones I liked out of them.

Yeah, Andy's videos were what converted me too. The guy is such a good player, he could make a $100 Squier sound like a million bucks.