• 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 Owners Club

#25,561
Funk said:
I have a question and I will try to ask it as best as I can.

Do you think that the "vintage" tone on the Super J/Super P has much to do with the scale length? I have been looking up a lot of demos of the super series and have been wondering what the basses would sound like with an extended scale length like the NG/Afterburner/Z/Prima basses. Or if it wouldn't make any difference at all.

I'm curious if Sheldon and the crew did any experiments on the super series with the extended scale length?

Anyone have experience with the super series and the extended scale length basses like the NG/Z/Prima? How do the B strings compare?
Click to expand...
What makes a P Bass sound like a "P Bass" is the frequency response profile of what you are hearing.
In my non-expert opinion, the #1 factor that determines that is the location of the pickup along the string (i.e. the distance from the bridge, if you wish), and the #2 factor is the construction method, and therefore frequency response curve, of the pickup itself.

The difference between a regular scale bass and a Dingwall Super and a Dingwall Long Scale is exactly the same as the difference between an upright piano and a baby grand piano and a concert grand piano.
You will get exactly the same notes out of all of them. But the concert grand piano will have more clearly discernable fundamental note frequencies, and more rich overtones, especially on the fatter strings, which vibrate a lot more slowly due to their heavy mass, and which therefore have less harmonic content to begin with, and more rapid harmonic overtone die-off. Also, since their fundamental frequency is lower, the overtones are that much more important since there are more of them for you to potentially hear before the frequency gets high enough to not matter.

The Super series is a really great "compromise" length for someone who wants to enjoy all the benefits of a multi-scale instrument without the added reach of a full long scale. (But an extra strap button on the back side of a long scale is a great way to counteract the reach issue! Some very smart guy had that idea.)

The way I see it, the Super is kind of like a 6' to 7' class grand piano, while the Long Scales are like an 8' to 9' class grand piano. A 6' to 7' grand is still pretty darn good. (Which is why I have a Mason & Hamlin BB.) But if you have the room and the budget, you can still get even a little better if you can splurge for the 9 footer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BassikBrad, Akami, steve_rolfeca and 3 others
#25,562
Waltsdog said:
Here you go, all P-Tones in different scales: 1 is an ABZ with fresh nickels, 2 is a Combustion with broken in nickels, 3 is a Super PJ with TI flats. No cab sims or any other processing than the pedal chain and the gain staging is out of whack but you get the idea.
They all sound P-bassy to me, there is a difference in sound but they all have different strings, preamps etc.
If what you're getting at is 'can you get a vintage sound from a long scale and can you get a modern sound from the super series' the answer to both is yes, they lean more the other way naturally but both are very versatile.
Click to expand...

They do indeed all sound quite "P-bassy." It appears the P-tone is aptly named. :laugh:

I'm most surprised at how good the GIO sounds. :roflmao: It certainly lacks some of the trademark Dingwall clarity, but for $200 it's not too shabby!
 
#25,563
Waltsdog said:
Here you go, all P-Tones in different scales: 1 is an ABZ with fresh nickels, 2 is a Combustion with broken in nickels, 3 is a Super PJ with TI flats. No cab sims or any other processing than the pedal chain and the gain staging is out of whack but you get the idea.
They all sound P-bassy to me, there is a difference in sound but they all have different strings, preamps etc.
If what you're getting at is 'can you get a vintage sound from a long scale and can you get a modern sound from the super series' the answer to both is yes, they lean more the other way naturally but both are very versatile.
Click to expand...

Was there an attachment to this?
 
#25,565
IronSpatula said:
They do indeed all sound quite "P-bassy." It appears the P-tone is aptly named. :laugh:

I'm most surprised at how good the GIO sounds. :roflmao: It certainly lacks some of the trademark Dingwall clarity, but for $200 it's not too shabby!
Click to expand...

That Gio was surprisingly good, I picked it up when I had a fly in show that I couldn't take my Dingwall to, played better than every other 5 string in the shop from $3k stingrays on down. Was so impressed with it came home with me.
I did cheat a little with that one and rolled the tone off 50% as it's very obviously not a P sound with the tone wide open.
 
#25,567
JUSt sitting here drinking my coffee this morn and I couldn’t help but appreciate the way the sun was really emphasizing the grain in my Z top.
Random x top shot.

5358B809-AB3E-460C-845C-672C88FE8606.jpeg
AC0F27F7-94AA-4A6F-8B48-FE2A876FDA05.jpeg


And........ the photos don’t do it justice.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brianvw, whirledpeas, BassikBrad and 14 others
#25,570
johnsonabq said:
Can someone (@Sheldon D. ) tell me what year Dingwall (the company) started making bass guitars? It came up in a conversation. I looked on their website and the wikipedia article and found nothing.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

From the wiki: The company was founded in Saskatoon, Invalid Link Removed, by Sheldon Dingwall in 1987, and its headquarters are still located there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TolerancEJ, BassBH and johnsonabq
#25,574
Howdy - does anyone know if Dingwall sells replacement pickguards for the Combustions with EMG 40-sized pickups? Would like to get a white one, or better yet, a MOP. I know I can go the custom route with one of the many pickguard companies, but would prefer to get one straight form Dingwall if possible (and not have to send out my current pickguard to be copied).

Thanks!

J
 
#25,575
IronSpatula said:
I'm curious how one of the full-scale Dingwalls with a P-tone pickup compares to one of the "super" basses. Would that be a more apples-to-apples situation in which the difference in sound would be mainly/only scale related?
Click to expand...

The P-Tone does a pretty good job of aping a single coil P sound, even on a long scale.
 
#25,576
nostatic said:
Getting curious enough to give the fanned fret thing another try. Wondering about NG-2 vs NG-3 5-string thoughts (since that's what mainly seems to be available at the moment). I originally though 3 pickups would give a bit more flexibility but one of the (few) youtube demos with a clean sound had an NG2 sounding like a pissed-off P-bass, which is one of my favorite sounds. It was the previous version though. Mostly I like the pickup switching on the NG-2 (being able to have neck-only) vs the switching for the NG-3.
Click to expand...
I share your pain vis-a-vis all the grind and slap videos.

Here’s my take:
  • Like any MM-style bass, the NG2 config sounds great for “regular” fingerstyle tones, and can cover a lot of ground with EQ.
  • Still, it’s a bit limited. The real happy place is bark and grind. It doesn’t do plummy P-bass tones very easily, and can’t quite pull off some of the 2-pickup tones that you can get from a regular AB or Combustion.
  • XXX (like the NG3) is the ultimate evolution in terms of tonal range. Although the switching combinations are a little different, there isn’t much you can get out of the 2 pickup basses that you can’t get out of an XXX with the coil tap switches.
  • Coil taps are another oft-overlooked option. If you love brighter Jazz Bass tones, you need parallel coils sometimes. But for darker tones, series coil switching almost eliminates the need for a P-tone in the neck.
I will go the the grave with my coil-tapped ABZ-5. But if I had to do it all over again, I would order it in XXX with a P-tone in the neck.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: spiritbass

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back