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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
Sheldon had mentioned not having worked with it and at that time it was not an option. This was in the fall IIRC.
On passive basses turning down the volume also makes the tone mellower. I love that on my P-bass, which I rarely ever play with the volume above 90%.
I'd like my different basses to behave evenly enough to run my pedal board. Right now, the D-Bird needs to be turned down at least to 3/4 for it to not drastically harshen my overdrive sound. I have it set very low, just a bit of breakup on my other basses. The D-Bird sounds like full on distortion with the same setting.
I can't lower the pickups any more, the neck pickup can't get any lower, I guess because of the cables under the pickup. I'd have to check though what it is exactly. I have set the other two pickups to sound right together with the low neck pickup. I'll give that a try again though, as it would be the easiest solution.
The "all three" setting is of course the loudest, but even the other three settings are louder than my Stingway or Wal.
I second that! The Dual Bass Station can be used on one bass to switch between two different volume/EQ settings. For soloing, or for plugging in different basses to the same chain. Or it can used, as I usually do, to switch fast between two different basses. I have a passive, low-volume upright (Ergo) in one channel, boosted heavily, and then the very loud Dingwall (NG-3), turned down a bit, in the other channel. Put one down, pick the other up, click the pedal, and you're into the new song with a different feel at approximately the same volume level.
Hey guys...mind if I ask a question?
My lovely frau fell in love with the finish on a new Dingwall Combustion (5 string, 3 pick-ups) at my local shop and encouraged me to check it out. As I always do, I have the salesman play it initially so I can sit back and take it all in. Each time when he moved the rotary pickup selector there was a bad, loud, pop and distortion through the amp. It shut down my interest immediately and I didn't have a lot of time anyway so we moved along. I called several days later and asked him about that. He said "the battery was bad...someone had left a cable plugged into it." But I heard none of the customary distortion/low output that I usually get on my actives when a battery is low.
So...should the selector make that kind of noise? If not, what was going on?
My lovely frau fell in love with the finish on a new Dingwall Combustion (5 string, 3 pick-ups) at my local shop and encouraged me to check it out. As I always do, I have the salesman play it initially so I can sit back and take it all in. Each time when he moved the rotary pickup selector there was a bad, loud, pop and distortion through the amp. It shut down my interest immediately and I didn't have a lot of time anyway so we moved along. I called several days later and asked him about that. He said "the battery was bad...someone had left a cable plugged into it." But I heard none of the customary distortion/low output that I usually get on my actives when a battery is low.
So...should the selector make that kind of noise? If not, what was going on?
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Great explanation of why longer strings sound better:
"For example, if you were to simply play the A string on the bass, there would be several overtones that usually accompany the sound. The fundamental note is 55Hz. There would also be an overtone at 110Hz, and at 220Hz, and even for a short time some at 440Hz. These are all harmonic overtones. There are other overtones which would be octaves of what is called the fifth. For the note A, the fifth would be the note E. Thus, some of the sound of the note A has some traces, of E at 82Hz, and 164Hz, and 328Hz. Sometimes, the string produces overtones that are not consistent with the fundamental note. These are sometimes called false harmonics. This is usually the result of the string being too short for the note being played. This is why on expensive pianos the sound board is nine feet long for the lower strings, and these notes sound much better because the strings are long enough for the lower frequencies to develop properly. On cheaper pianos with shorter sound boards, the lower notes have noticeable false overtones. The same thing happens on bass guitars. This is why many basses come in 35, 36, and 37 inch long string scales, especially when the bass has a low B string."
"For example, if you were to simply play the A string on the bass, there would be several overtones that usually accompany the sound. The fundamental note is 55Hz. There would also be an overtone at 110Hz, and at 220Hz, and even for a short time some at 440Hz. These are all harmonic overtones. There are other overtones which would be octaves of what is called the fifth. For the note A, the fifth would be the note E. Thus, some of the sound of the note A has some traces, of E at 82Hz, and 164Hz, and 328Hz. Sometimes, the string produces overtones that are not consistent with the fundamental note. These are sometimes called false harmonics. This is usually the result of the string being too short for the note being played. This is why on expensive pianos the sound board is nine feet long for the lower strings, and these notes sound much better because the strings are long enough for the lower frequencies to develop properly. On cheaper pianos with shorter sound boards, the lower notes have noticeable false overtones. The same thing happens on bass guitars. This is why many basses come in 35, 36, and 37 inch long string scales, especially when the bass has a low B string."
If the switch is bad, we will replace it at no charge. It's more likely the salesman wasn't muting the strings before switching. There's a lot of signal going through all of those switch contacts. Muting the strings just long enough to make the switch is the quietest way to switch.
My NG-2 doesn’t make anything like the noise you’re describing when switching. You do hear a tonal shift or slight volume change between some of the settings. And more so if Strings are ringing out / not muted but nothing as dramatic as what you described and nothing that would push any amp into distortion or anything. I wouldn’t let this turn you off from a combustion they’re awesome Basses ! I’d check that one out with your hands on it and make sure it has fresh batteries just to be sure
Thanks for the replies!
I will give it a second chance and of course, I need to put my grubby fingers on those fanned frets to get a feel for it. I also need to have them run it through my amp (Mesa D-800) at the shop instead of the WD-800 which they had used. Gotta compare apples to apples...
How would you guys describe the Combustion sound? What do you think it sounds close to?
(For background, I have a Rick, several, Ibanez, a Warwick, and a Clement.)
My goodness! The Man himself!
Thank you for your reply! I am quite sure he did not mute the strings.
Methinks the salesman (who is quite new) might have been a bit nervous too because I've been a customer at the shop (the best in town) since the late 70's.
Your instruments had their own display there, and as my wife was, I was knocked out by the "Whale Pool Burst" finish. Mighty pretty!
My wife would gladly support the purchase but I want to be sure it sounds as good as it looks.
Again, Thank YOU!
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Well I have an NG-2 which is slightly different pickup spacing than standard combustion and different Preamp I think but basically I’d describe it as kind of a more versatile stingray on steroids. Id also say it nails the “grand piano type “ low end growl and sustain
It's one of those, it is what you make of it basses. It can get close to a Jazz, P or Stingray depending on the pickup config (you can get 3 or move the two around). It's also very much it's own thing and leans to a clear modern tone with a lot of sustain when set flat (IMO).
I personally find the combustion one of the most versatile basses, I play everything form punk rock and heavy stuff through to motown or country on mine so it's hard to pigeonhole it to one sound.
Here are a couple of videos that are not all metal clicky clacky grindy noisy stuff (sorry metal guys):
This second one is an NG but they are pretty damn close soundwise.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
None of the above?
The Combustion is the most traditionally voiced of all the 'long scale' (34-37") Dingwalls as well as being the most 'traditional' looking of them as well. The 4 way switch lets it be a bit of a chameleon without being a cop of any one specific tone. I don't know which switch the standard 3-pickup combustion has these days but generally, if it has pickups together in parallel it'll sound slightly more Jazz-bass-ish. The Bridge/middle is somewhere between a P-bass and a MM in the tonal world. But you're going to get a different level of tonal-clarity and 'speaking authority' out of the bass than the others. The Dingwall pickups tend to sound more like a bass humbucker than a single-coil to my ears. I found the EMG preamp that's in the Combustion was quite likable too.
Also, I've not had a Dingwall switch act in the way you mention, though some settings due to the nature of the differing switching combinations (number of pickups, series/parallel) may have different output levels. If I were you I'd take the 'we changed the battery' at face value and go and try it yourself and spend some time 'playing around' with the controls to see if it happens again or not. I will say that the Dingwall shop in the number of years I've been 'interfacing' with it's staff has always worked hard to support its instruments and its players.
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Thank you, hbabels, BurningSkies, and Waltsdog! (We Dogs have to stick together!)
You all are saying things that have me very interested. I was hoping that it would be a versatile bass. And any mention of a "piano-like" bass has me paying attention.
And indeed, the tone in the Interactive Guitar review (posted above) is absolutely lovely. It was the most interesting of the videos that I looked at over the weekend and my second viewing of it just now had me even more impressed.
I think I will have an "emergency" later today that causes me to leave work early and hit the shop up for a session with it.
You all are saying things that have me very interested. I was hoping that it would be a versatile bass. And any mention of a "piano-like" bass has me paying attention.
And indeed, the tone in the Interactive Guitar review (posted above) is absolutely lovely. It was the most interesting of the videos that I looked at over the weekend and my second viewing of it just now had me even more impressed.
I think I will have an "emergency" later today that causes me to leave work early and hit the shop up for a session with it.
Thank you!
Expect a full report manana.
(By the way, I like the lighter weight of it.)
johnsonabq
Watch out where the huskies go...
The Whalepool Burst is a beautiful finish, but I might be a bit biased! Before I got it, I was really pining for an NG3, but this came along and I'm just smitten.
I've only had mine for a short while, but it's a great instrument and really versatile. I've also only had single pickup instruments for a while. If you combine plucking area with the 4 way you can cover so much ground. It won't dissapoint!
