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Dingwall Owners Club

#2,443
Here I am with my Combustion that I purchased last weekend. I'm playing with my band Target The Messenger (shameless plug: Invalid Link Removed).

I would like to note that I committed some serious Dingwall blasphemy with this bass but I'm actually quite happy with said blasphemy. I had an EMG 40CS, 40DC and BQC system that I intended to put in a Spector Legend of mine. I knew going in to the Combustion that the FD3-A pickups were not going to work for me. I intended to get the pickup upgrade through Dingwall but won't have the cash for another month and I really wanted to play this at our show on Friday. So knowing that the EMG electronics were going to be easy and reversible because there was no soldering involved I went ahead and put them in the Combustion so that it would be suitable for my band's performance. Well......let me tell you something. The Combustion sounded amazing with the EMGs in it. Like, really amazing. I've played Afterburners before and i will admit that those pickups are better than the EMGs. However, with the current project that I am involved in, I think i will just keep the EMGs in the Combustion. The low end on that thing was killer. Combining the extra long scale with the BQC pre-amp brought out the low end and mid-range like I've never heard. I've never gotten more compliments on my tone and ability to cut through the mix as I did on Friday. I know a lot of Dingwall faithful will say that the heart of Dingwalls are the pickups. I don't disagree with you. At all. But I do think that the EMGs work very well with the multi-scale system of the Dingwall. But now that I am addicted to the Combustion, I plan on saving up for an ABII and I have no intention of modding that. If people want to hear the Combustion with EMGs in it, I'll record some samples and share with you.

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#2,447
Excuse the mess... working on my psychology research paper! Here's my Olympic White Super J4 with the matching headstock. It's a thing of beauty (hard to tell from the Droid camera phone pics) I love mine, strung up with med-light dean markley SR2000s... it's amazing. Perfect J bass on steroids!
 

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#2,448
bassistjoe93 said:
Excuse the mess... working on my psychology research paper! Here's my Olympic White Super J4 with the matching headstock. It's a thing of beauty (hard to tell from the Droid camera phone pics) I love mine, strung up with med-light dean markley SR2000s... it's amazing. Perfect J bass on steroids!
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Nice one! I'm surprised we don't see more of these...you'd think more people would be catching on that this is the perfect balance of 'traditional' and 'cutting edge'. :)
 
#2,449
BurningSkies said:
Nice one! I'm surprised we don't see more of these...you'd think more people would be catching on that this is the perfect balance of 'traditional' and 'cutting edge'. :)
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Could not agree more! People come up and tell me what a cool bass it is, how great it sounds, etc. They ask me what kind of fender it is... I tell them it's a dingwall- a fender j bass on steroids, and they're opinion of me drops instantly! Or they write me off as weird for my bass having fanned frets, which I love, and makes perfect sense. Good to see there's a thread here that appreciates Mr. Sheldon Dingwall! :D
 
#2,455
BuffaloBob4343 said:
Let me know how those work for ya. I tend to like the slightly larger set because I occasionally have to tune a half or fulll step down.
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Well, it's official. I'm a Circle K convert. Just amazing strings.
In comparison to the standard Dingwall Voodoo Stainless strings, the Circle Ks seem to have more of an authoritative punch in the low end, just the right amount of mids for attack & less "zinginess" in the high end. And keep in mind, I like the bright sounds of Geddy Lee, Chris Squire & Justin Chancellor. These strings give me all the high end I want, but without being overbearing like stainless strings can tend to be. Even though the Circle Ks are slightly bigger than the Dingwall strings, they still have plenty of spring for expressive bends. And it is amazing how low you can detune the Circle Ks & still have a strong fundamental. Overall, I'm very impressed with the tone, feel & design. Plus, Skip & the guys at Circle K were top-notch in customer service. One perk to living in Seattle is I put in my order & got the strings the next day.

For those wondering about these, try them now.
Grab a "traditional" 5-string set w/ a 130 low B. With the fanned frets of the Dingwall, it turns a traditional set into a very balanced set. Very even string tension. You won't be sorry.
 
#2,457
I have a question (in the form of a story) for you Dingwall owners regarding how the Combustion stacks up to the Canadian models.

I owned a Combustion for about 36 hours once. Practicing at home it sounded good enough to my ears, maybe a bit thin but pretty good and everything sounded fairly well-represented across the fretboard. Fit and finish were solid other than a badly installed jack that I had to rotate 180 degrees to make the thing work. But I was convinced this bass would be good so I took it to rehearsal in place of my normal Rickenbacker. It was rare for me to bring something besides the Ric, but it happened occasionally so my band members weren't upset. But by the end of practice they were practically threatening violence if I didn't bring the Ric back, and I could hear what they were saying--it just sounded better, warmer and deeper, compared to the Combustion. I played with it for a few hours after rehearsal and just couldn't change the inherent tone to something warmer, and the EQ wasn't what I wanted it to be either. I had to return it, as much as I wanted to love it.

I still think the whole idea is great and I get along with fanned frets just fine (except for the upper register). Did I just have my hopes set way too high for the Combustion? Is there a better model to aim for?

EDIT: Sorry, I also meant to ask what kind of gig bag these are sold with? It was the nicest gig bag I've ever seen.
 
#2,458
I would say that the sound of a Rick, is nothing like a combustion. And as you probably took years to find your tone with your Rick and your rig, it was just too new and different to the sound of the band.
I rewired my combustion to series in the neck for a bit more power, but it will never have the very distinctive sound of a Rick! :bassist:
 
#2,460
IntrepidCellist said:
Yeah, I have a Ric and an Afterburner. Even though the afterburner is passive, it's still a very different sound from the Ric. A little less "character" and more balance.
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So I'm not crazy then...

I would love to have a good Dingwall some day, that could channel some of that warmth, but maybe that model doesn't exist right now. I was thinking if the pickups were closer to the neck I might like the sound better.
 

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