Man, that red ABZ looks nice. I wish I got along better with my old ABZ. However, I’m pretty happy with my D-bird
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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
Man, that red ABZ looks nice. I wish I got along better with my old ABZ. However, I’m pretty happy with my D-bird
- Sep 3, 2006
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- Authorized dealer for Dingwall, Genzler, Phil Jones Bass, Cort, Traynor, Yorkville Sound
I also love the D-Bird. But having that upper range can be really useful. One of each is needed, haha. This bass is speced with the Darkglass pre and switches, and the neck profile is easily the best I have had the pleasure to experience, and being wenge...it has that fast-feel - this is the first 4-string ABZ I have seen up close. I was so pleasantly surprised at how slim the neck is. And the 7.5 lbs....one comment J made (the player in the pic) is that he was amazed at such a light bass giving such a beefy sound. I want to buy it SO bad. Not sure it is in the cards but I keep re-dealing to deck to see. But even if I can’t, at some point I will own one speced exactly like this as it is my nirvana in a bass.Man, that red ABZ looks nice. I wish I got along better with my old ABZ. However, I’m pretty happy with my D-bird
D-BIRD CLUBMan, that red ABZ looks nice. I wish I got along better with my old ABZ. However, I’m pretty happy with my D-bird
I need to rekindle my relationship with my NG-2 though. I've been having such a blast with my D-Bird that it's been neglected.
Cool thanks. What made you do this rout instead of X7 or Line 6 HX Stomp route ?
I love the tones you can get with software but I’m always sketchy about trying it live. Has been reliable ?
I agree with your request comment about heavy music & dinwalls the more I play mine the more that’s all I want to use !
Whew! I kinda felt like the odd man out. I dig my D-Bird Standard, and I'd definitely consider a "modified" 4-string D-Bird, but I'm fairly certain that I won't play my D-Bird after my ABZ 4/3 shows up. I'll probably end up selling it to recoup some funds. I've never been a Thunderbird guy until Sheldon put his spin on it, and even then it's only gone from Nah to Meh. Don't get me wrong, it's a great bass! I think my issue is the same issue I have with most Darkglass stuff, it sounds fantastic, and it looks awesome...when other people are playing it. When I see Rob Van Der Loo, @MDBass, or @rulefuzz with their D-Birds I think "Holy crap! That sounds and looks AMAZING!" When I see pics of me playing my D-Bird, I think "Just not feelin' it." I think the "modified" D-Bird shape might be different enough to give serious consideration.
My original order had a DB Standard, but after staring at the ABZ 4 on the ABZ landing page on the site, I knew that's where my head was. @bebass, you should just make that ABZ 4/3 happen! It'll look really good on ya'...
Got the email to confirm details for my fretless 6, apparently they’re about to build it.
Nice.
Nice.
IvanBassist
Commercial User
- Jun 8, 2008
- 3,744
- 11,129
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- Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
How long did it take after placing the order?Well, things just got real...
Got the email today that two of my three basses are now officially in production, no mo' changes to be made...
WOOHOO!
Third one should be starting in the next month or so...
Yep... that's me playing this beauty! I'm so fortunate to find @bebass and have the opportunity to try out such killer gear with me living in small town/middle of nowhere driving to even smaller town/middle of nowhere
I had initially planned on getting a SuperJ built.... still might. Playing this one complicated things greatly.
4 string guys that have played both a SuperJ and ABZ... please weigh in. After playing both, I think I still prefer the SuperJ neck profile. It might just be in my head as I have learned over the years that I always prefer a Jazz width neck to a P width neck. Through much trial and error and years of trying out different basses, the 1.5" at the nut (jazz) neck always plays better (for me) compared to a "P" style neck. I know Dingwalls are a different animal, but this is still in the back of my mind. Hindsight, I should have brought my SuperJ with me for a direct comparison.
This bass is everything @bebass says and then some. I came mainly wanting to check out the Dbird and I barely touched it after playing the ABZ. No contest.
I still am not sure if the neck and the (visual) style of the ABZ is for me compared to a SuperJ. My metal band days are way past me and the look and feel of a SuperJ may better fit for a dude in his late 40s playing with horn section.
We are a bit schizo though and play a lot of different styles and have some heavy moments. Not saying an AB can't fit any style of music (there are plenty of guys here proving that). Maybe it's red blocks... the Darkglass pre... It just begs to be playing in a Hard Rock/ Metal setting. Coincidentally, we just started writing one of our heaviest songs yet last night...... Hmmmm
I really like the four string AB-1 because it has the same string spacing (19mm) as my Super P.
When I was switching between a Super 5 and AB 5 the string spacing was the thing that I noticed more than the scale length.
It feels like the Super P has a bit slimmer neck, but it might just be the different headstock look messing with my eyes.
The Super P is definitely a more compact package.
Both weigh in under 7.5 lb.
When I was switching between a Super 5 and AB 5 the string spacing was the thing that I noticed more than the scale length.
It feels like the Super P has a bit slimmer neck, but it might just be the different headstock look messing with my eyes.
The Super P is definitely a more compact package.
Both weigh in under 7.5 lb.
MDBass
Supporting Member
- Nov 7, 2012
- 8,590
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- Endorsing Artist: Dingwall-Fender-Bergantino-Dunlop-Tech 21-Darkglass-Nordstrand
Honestly, for super heavy tones Parallax makes the X7 sound like a toy, and I LOVE the X7.
Same with the Stomp: there might be a way for the Stomp to get closer to this level of tone, but it would require a LOT more tweaking.
Dialing in this sound on Parallax took just a few minutes.
The Stomp is also a computer, and I trust my MacBook and it’s multi core processor to remain stable even more than I’d trust the smaller processor in the Stomp: essentially I’m now running an Axe FX rack system onstage with the added benefit of a big screen and better UI.
This conversion really started with needing to upgrade my wireless to a rack unit: my GLXD has been great, but it had some dropout issues on the last arena run I did due to operating in the Bluetooth frequency band.
Once my wireless and pedals were living in a rack case, this next step only seemed logical given the tonal advantages: I was already bringing my laptop and Arrow on the road with me for work anyway.
Sorry, the Parallax is not even close to the Axe-Fx system (unless Parallax has drastically changed in the past 3 months or so, since I gave up on it in favor of going back to Fractal). I've owned multiple Axe-Fx setups (currently waiting on my III), and have used Parallax a ton as well.
Lol - 3.2 GHz is the everything consumer band. Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee ... there is too much going on in that band for a reliable instrument connection, IMO. In most cases the GLXDs are fine, but that's why I haven't gone wireless yet.
The Parallax does sound interesting, but I'm happy keeping things simple with analog.
I truly don't think anyone else makes an instrument that can touch Dingwall for insanely heavy, modern tones: should be a fun tour
Definitely sounds KILLER!
I tried to replicate that with a Z3 into an X7, recorded on a cellphone.
I think it's not too terribly far off, all things considered.
MDBass
Supporting Member
- Nov 7, 2012
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Yep. Never had any issues with the GLXD on club or theater stages, but an arena stage with a bunch of wireless lights was sketchy at best.
I’ll still be using my mini analog board, usually with the YYZ or DP-3X, for local stuff that I’m not on IEMs for though.
MDBass
Supporting Member
- Nov 7, 2012
- 8,590
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- Endorsing Artist: Dingwall-Fender-Bergantino-Dunlop-Tech 21-Darkglass-Nordstrand
Nice!
It’s definitely in the ballpark, were you using the bridge/middle setting as well?
No, I assumed that's what you were using, so I tried that first, but it was a little too harsh, so I went to position 3 and liked it a little better. Maybe I'll try it on 2 again but with the upper mids back off a wee bit.
Of course, the recording quality on a cell phone compared to direct is no comparison.
The other thing is that I only dropped the E string a whole step, the A string is still on A, so therefore the tonality is different of the second half of the riff because I had to use the fatter string.
MDBass
Supporting Member
- Nov 7, 2012
- 8,590
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- Endorsing Artist: Dingwall-Fender-Bergantino-Dunlop-Tech 21-Darkglass-Nordstrand
I meant conceptually, for those among us not used to using a processor on stage.
No need for a pissing contest about what the “better” thing is: if it sounds good, it is good
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