I think my comment is more on the body style/design in general, and less about the D-bird itself. I bet if I played one, I'd love it, but that wouldn't change how I felt about the design.
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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
I think my comment is more on the body style/design in general, and less about the D-bird itself. I bet if I played one, I'd love it, but that wouldn't change how I felt about the design.
I appreciate a lot of the dbird's styling, but when I tried a canadian one it didn't inspire the way that other dingwalls (including an ABZ4) did. I might revisit this at some point.
I loved rocking my '62 series II Tbird back in the day. I don't rock that hard anymore. 
I always appreciated it's unique style and voice, but I'm strictly a praise bassist these days and don't need the 'monster' tones. Also, for me to buy a different Dingwall, I'd have to part with one or two, and I'm too happy with the ones I have at hand. 
I always appreciated it's unique style and voice, but I'm strictly a praise bassist these days and don't need the 'monster' tones. Also, for me to buy a different Dingwall, I'd have to part with one or two, and I'm too happy with the ones I have at hand. 
I played a '76 Tbird and a '66J from 1985 to 1995, the Tbird by far had a better tone, the '66J had better ergonomics, I usually went for tone. Hence my a anticipation of the DBird5, knowing Sheldon and company will deal with the ergonomics issues.
What a difference a day makes. This morning, I was contemplating buying another bass. An expensive one. Rehearsal night tonight. I realise I don't need anything other than what I have. I had a silly smile on my face the entire time. Everything was just perfect. I could hear myself with a clarity and force I'd never experienced before.
Thanks for making the best basses in the world @Sheldon D.
Signal chain is ABHS-Polytune-Super Symmetry-Alpha Omega Ultra-Tone Hammer 350-Epifani UL410.
How does the wallet affect your tone? I guess it depends if it is full or empty.
Also, am I the only one who doesn't like the D-Bird shape and isn't keen on getting one? I kinda think they're fugly...
Not my style either.
I Think they are beautiful. They don’t call to me to play but if I could have a collection of wall hangers it’s top of the list of basses. I feel it’s GOTTA be played low slung with a pick and I don’t even know how to hold one.
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+1. Love the looks, but not for me.
Edit: also realised last night why tube amps and subtle drive pedals make the bass tone so much better (IMO, YMMV etc). It adds layers of harmonic content and richness to the tone, making it more expressive. I use a very subtle drive on the Alpha Omega Ultra (most people use heavy drive), but blend it more toward the the drive sound. It gives it that perfect tubelike grunt and gritty character that I desire in a bass tone.
Couldn't be happier. The Super Symmetry and Alpha Omega Ultra pedals are extremely high quality. I now wonder how I could ever play without them - especially the compressor.
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johnsonabq
Watch out where the huskies go...
I'm curious, does the distortion switch also turn on/off the "bite" and "growl"?
My understanding is that those switches are part of the "push the button" sound... so drive off = grunt off = bite off.
If those were independent, they would be on/off regardless of the foot button i.e. drive, meaning they would alter the dry sound. They don't.
Is my understanding of the question flawed?
If those were independent, they would be on/off regardless of the foot button i.e. drive, meaning they would alter the dry sound. They don't.
Is my understanding of the question flawed?
The EQ is separate from the drive (there are two switches on the unit) so it would seem logical that the grunt and bite which are just EQ filters are part of that side. I could, of course, be way off.
Short story: there's three modes; bypassed, engaged, and engaged with drive. The latter two are affected by Growl/Bite. Bypassed is just off mode. When engaged, EQ is on, and the Growl and Bite Switches are EQ switches.
IvanBassist
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I'll take the other side of this. I think it's one of the best-looking bass models I've ever seen. Background: I tried a couple Dingwalls very briefly years ago, greatly admired the build quality and (like most) found fanned frets surprisingly easy to adapt to. But I have old-school taste for the most part, so I didn't dig the ultra-modern looks, and the tones from the ones I played had a very modern vibe as well.That's one hell of a signal chain
Also, am I the only one who doesn't like the D-Bird shape and isn't keen on getting one? I kinda think they're fugly...
The D-Bird, to me, is a fabulous melding of modern and vintage aesthetics. It has me seriously interested in Dingwalls for the first time. I haven't had a chance to try a Dingwall with this set of electronics yet, so I'm really hoping it'll suit my tonal tastes.
Different strokes and such...
Funny thing? I remember seeing your settings and it actually inspired me to experiment more with the blend. I had it more towards clean, but didn't find the tone I was looking for. Then I saw your post and tried the opposite; blend more to drive but low drive and BOOM - there it was.
In any case, I love my AOU. Especially through amp and cab. While the tone is great through the headphone out, IMO it really comes to life through my Aguilar and Epifani. I think that's where it's at its best, as a preamp driving an amp.
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