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Dingwall Owners Club

#30,081
#30,082
BurningSkies said:
Someone in another thread commented that it wasn't play wear, just dirt and grime...Which it totally isn't. I clean it every few weeks when I trade out strings. Once you get to wood, it darkens because the grain is open.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the finish makes the wood darker or lighter depending on finish, I briefly tried out a old used Lightwave, cool bass not the tone I was looking for, but the fret-board was so worn that it looked heavily soiled even after I took a little steel wool to it.
The nickel and steel also seems to stain the wood.

I will try any treatment I can find, I have never been a fan of the distressed look, even if it's showing that I actually play and don't just hang it on the wall- call me vain whatever.:rolleyes:

40 bucks!?! damn, I bet it's just stretch mark butter for pregnant women.
 
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#30,083
xnewyorka said:
I haven't tried this stuff yet, but I just ordered it:
Zymöl Bridge Fret & Finger Board Protectant - Best Bass Gear
From my experience, Zymol makes really good stuff, so I am expecting it to be more than just snake oil.
Click to expand...

I have some True Oil at home...that's what Sheldon suggested for sealing places where I've gone through neck-finish. I just haven't done anything with it. ;)

Wyvern said:
Yeah, the finish makes the wood darker or lighter depending on finish, I briefly tried out a old used Lightwave, cool bass not the tone I was looking for, but the fret-board was so worn that it looked heavily soiled even after I took a little steel wool to it.
The nickel and steel also seems to stain the wood.

I will try any treatment I can find, I have never been a fan of the distressed look, even if it's showing that I actually play and don't just hang it on the wall- call me vain whatever.:rolleyes:

40 bucks!?! damn, I bet it's just stretch mark butter for pregnant women.
Click to expand...

I'm not terribly worried about the overall look. As long as it doesn't effect the neck in terms of how it reacts to moisture, I'm content to let it be. I didn't buy this bass to be a show-piece but to be a work-horse player rather than taking a much more expensive or rare Dingwall on the road. At the time I ordered it I only had the Rastaburst and a very early 'historic' Voodoo Prima. The purple NG is my 'no worries on the road' bass.
 
#30,085
BurningSkies said:
Someone in another thread commented that it wasn't play wear, just dirt and grime...Which it totally isn't. I clean it every few weeks when I trade out strings. Once you get to wood, it darkens because the grain is open.
Click to expand...

Personally I've always though you should just let a maple neck age as it will. Take care of it, yes; but don't sweat the changes it's going through. Soon it'll be a sweet vintage instrument like this...
1956-fender-stratocaster-5.jpg
 
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#30,086
xnewyorka said:
I haven't tried this stuff yet, but I just ordered it:
Zymöl Bridge Fret & Finger Board Protectant - Best Bass Gear
From my experience, Zymol makes really good stuff, so I am expecting it to be more than just snake oil.
Click to expand...

I use Zymol wax on my basses, highly recommended. I probably wouldn't spend the extra for guitar specific stuff so I will likely never be able to vouch for their guitar stuff. @BurningSkies be sure you wax after you do hit the neck with Tru-Oil, makes a world of difference.

@Wyvern I use 0000 steel wool for getting out grime but the dirt you see on @BurningSkies ' neck will never be coming out. My StingRay looks the same way. That is one of the pains of a maple board.
 
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#30,091
BurningSkies said:
I have some True Oil at home...that's what Sheldon suggested for sealing places where I've gone through neck-finish. I just haven't done anything with it. ;)




I'm not terribly worried about the overall look. As long as it doesn't effect the neck in terms of how it reacts to moisture, I'm content to let it be. I didn't buy this bass to be a show-piece but to be a work-horse player rather than taking a much more expensive or rare Dingwall on the road. At the time I ordered it I only had the Rastaburst and a very early 'historic' Voodoo Prima. The purple NG is my 'no worries on the road' bass.
Click to expand...
If you don't want the dark stain to show on the maple ask Sheldon if Oxalic acid would be okay before the TruOil. Tru Oil requires a few applications and should be hand rubbed after applying. Rub it in for a while.
 
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#30,095
Wyvern said:
But it seems like it has a urethane coat does it not? I'ts a new model.
Click to expand...

It does. And I wouldn't put too much thought into worrying about it. I've never seen another get the kind of wear that mine has. I also recognize that I have some body chemistry that does take a toll on a bass.

Remember we're supposed to be worrying about the fretwear here. ;)

I do like the urethane neck finishes Dingwall uses today over the old wax finish of the past.
 
#30,096
thumbnail_IMG_7458.jpg



So I was not disappointed with my first Dingwall. It really took no time to not think about the fanned frets, the transition - I shouldn't even call it that - felt completely natural. The first fret on my warwick starbass actually feels further away than the Dingwall's due to the straplocks position on that bass. Setup was very good (I'll probably just lower the pickups a tad on the treble side). I never felt as comfortable on a fiver. The B is of course the best I've seen... but it's the E string that wins it for me. Tight and taut, the fundamental rings so well. Awesome.

I love positions 2 and 3 (D-bird switch) - punch and clarity on the B+N parallel, some P-ish meat and potatoes stuff on the middle... very nice. All-3-on sounds big , but I suspect it may but too much live - I can already imagine scared looks from my bandmates at rehearsal in a couple of days. I think I will contact Moe however... I'd love to try neck alone, B+N parallel and B+M series...

It's going to be tough to go back to something else. And so I've started looking for more. There are a few basses that would be easily accessible (for practical reasons, not monetary reasons) for me to purchase locally (I'm in Europe), and I wanted to know if you had an opinion on whether any one of these 4 basses would be a better deal than the other. They're all sold as new (but they're not the most recent models). Many thanks in advance!

Passive ABZ 5
Swamp Ash body (sunburst)
Maple neck
2x FD3-A square pickups
USD 2500

Combustion 4
Alder body (Transparent black, black pickguard)
Maple neck
2x FD3-N square pickups
EMG preamp
USD 1700

Combustion 5
Alder body (glossy black, grey/black pearloid pickguard)
Maple neck
2x FD3-N square pickups
EMG preamp
USD 1800

Combustion 5
Alder body (glossy vintage sunburst, black pickguard)
Maple neck
2x FD3-N round pickups
EMG preamp
USD 1950
 
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#30,097
1983L2000 said:
View attachment 3478456


So I was not disappointed with my first Dingwall. It really took no time to not think about the fanned frets, the transition - I shouldn't even call it that - felt completely natural. The first fret on my warwick starbass actually feels further away than the Dingwall's due to the straplocks position on that bass. Setup was very good (I'll probably just lower the pickups a tad on the treble side). I never felt as comfortable on a fiver. The B is of course the best I've seen... but it's the E string that wins it for me. Tight and taut, the fundamental rings so well. Awesome.

I love positions 2 and 3 (D-bird switch) - punch and clarity on the B+N parallel, some P-ish meat and potatoes stuff on the middle... very nice. All-3-on sounds big , but I suspect it may but too much live - I can already imagine scared looks from my bandmates at rehearsal in a couple of days. I think I will contact Moe however... I'd love to try neck alone, B+N parallel and B+M series...

It's going to be tough to go back to something else. And so I've started looking for more. There are a few basses that would be easily accessible (for practical reasons, not monetary reasons) for me to purchase locally (I'm in Europe), and I wanted to know if you had an opinion on whether any one of these 4 basses would be a better deal than the other. They're all sold as new (but they're not the most recent models). Many thanks in advance!

Passive ABZ 5
Swamp Ash body (sunburst)
Maple neck
2x FD3-A square pickups
USD 2500

Combustion 4
Alder body (Transparent black, black pickguard)
Maple neck
2x FD3-N square pickups
EMG preamp
USD 1700

Combustion 5
Alder body (glossy black, grey/black pearloid pickguard)
Maple neck
2x FD3-N square pickups
EMG preamp
USD 1800

Combustion 5
Alder body (glossy vintage sunburst, black pickguard)
Maple neck
2x FD3-N round pickups
EMG preamp
USD 1950
Click to expand...

They all appear to be solid options and have what I'd expect for pricing. I'd opt over the black C5 unless you've got thing for SB over Black (I personally would pay the upgrade, but I don't do black basses).

The 700$ more for the ABZ is because it's a Canadian build rather than a off-shore build. The over/under on that is that you get a swamp ash body v. alder you get passive instead of active. You get a slightly different neck (compound radius, though the overall back-contour will be the same), the hardware (tuning heads, bridge, knobs, locking jack) are a step up.
 
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#30,098
BurningSkies said:
The 700$ more for the ABZ is because it's a Canadian build rather than a off-shore build. The over/under on that is that you get a swamp ash body v. alder you get passive instead of active. You get a slightly different neck (compound radius, though the overall back-contour will be the same), the hardware (tuning heads, bridge, knobs, locking jack) are a step up.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm actually partial to Swamp Ash vs. Alder, and I more often than not play passive basses - I was thinking - perhaps wrongly - 700 more for a Canadian model was a good bargain (although I understand the ABZs are the cheapest of the lot). Any thoughts on the FD3-A vs. the FDVs that are now standard on ABZs?
 
#30,099
1983L2000 said:
Thanks! I'm actually partial to Swamp Ash vs. Alder, and I more often than not play passive basses - I was thinking - perhaps wrongly - 700 more for a Canadian model was a good bargain (although I understand the ABZs are the cheapest of the lot). Any thoughts on the FD3-A vs. the FDVs that are now standard on ABZs?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call any Dingwall 'cheap'. ;) There may be some that are less expensive than others, though.

I'm not trying to say that it is or isn't a good bargain, but give you the differences so you can make a well-informed decision. The pricing seems reasonable to me in all these cases.

I honestly can't keep track of all the FD3 nomenclature and differences these days. They're all FD-3's to me. ;) I've only had the old parallel variant, the 4L variant and then a P-Tone.
 
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