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Dingwall Owners Club

#33,221
So I went to The Bass Shop today after hearing the rumblings that there was a 5 string Afterburner there. Oh my gosh! What an amazing bass. This thing was everything I would order in a custom Dingwall. Visually beautiful, ergonomically perfect, and sounded amazing. I was seriously tempted to pull the trigger. I ended up not going for it for two main reasons. 1) I have a NG-3 already and it is a killer bass. While the Afterburner is more silky smooth, the NG-3 is really cool in its own right. 2) This bass need to go to a player that will make it their "forever bass". It really is that special and I don't know if i could do it justice.

If you ever considered a 5 string Afterburner, contact The Bass Shop in Seattle. You won't be disappointed.

Bones
 
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#33,222
alembicbones said:
So I went to The Bass Shop today after hearing the rumblings that there was a 5 string Afterburner there. Oh my gosh! What an amazing bass. This thing was everything I would order in a custom Dingwall. Visually beautiful, ergonomically perfect, and sounded amazing. I was seriously tempted to pull the trigger. I ended up not going for it for two main reasons. 1) I have a NG-3 already and it is a killer bass. While the Afterburner is more silky smooth, the NG-3 is really cool in its own right. 2) This bass need to go to a player that will make it their "forever bass". It really is that special and I don't know if i could do it justice.

If you ever considered a 5 string Afterburner, contact The Bass Shop in Seattle. You won't be disappointed.

Bones
Click to expand...
Doesn't seem to be up on their website.
 
#33,225
This here's one, sexy rack o' basses...

thumbnail-49.jpeg


That ABZ made my entire week worthwhile! My NG-3 is pretty easy to play, my ABZ is easier. My NG-3 sounds killer, my ABZ sounds better. It's a different feel, and it feels better. The S/P switches are just ridiculously useful. I may actually end up not running this beauty all in series. It's gonna be fun playing around with this. And yes, it's insanely light!

The most interesting part of my night was my ABZ made my NG-3 sound better! Time to go pass out...
 
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#33,226
NaH said:
If it was a Super PJ, then they already have a P, and don't need a P-tone. So I assume you mean a 2 or 3 rounded pickup Super J. :rolleyes:

I did put a P-tone in the bridge position on a newer combustion. I like it, though I haven't messed with it a lot and need to get the pickups back in proper position to be super sure. I put it in series.

View attachment 3615072
Click to expand...

I know it seems whacky but I mean exactly what I said. I have a Super PJ and am considering a P Tone pickup to replace the existing J pup at the bridge - so I keep the excellent P pup in the neck position and gain a bridge pickup I’d actually use solo. Basically giving me a Super Double P.

This is my bass:

055D9223-9475-4795-A3BF-05CC038FA300.jpeg
 
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#33,227
CameronJohnson said:
I know it seems whacky but I mean exactly what I said. I have a Super PJ and am considering a P Tone pickup to replace the existing J pup at the bridge - so I keep the excellent P pup in the neck position and gain a bridge pickup I’d actually use solo. Basically giving me a Super Double P.

This is my bass:

View attachment 3615206
Click to expand...

Just try it in series before swapping it out.
Do you know what pickup you have in the bridge now? It might be closer to a p than you think.
 
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#33,228
Waltsdog said:
Just try it in series before swapping it out.
Do you know what pickup you have in the bridge now? It might be closer to a p than you think.
Click to expand...

It’s the stock bridge pup at the moment but I’m not sure exactly what it is. Trying it in series may well be the answer - presumably the factory setup on a Super PJ is for the P pup to be wired in series and the J pup in parallel?
 
#33,230
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#33,231
This thread has me seriously gas’ing for a Dingwall but the thing that stopped me in my tracks is the low frets. Coming from the guitar side of the fence, I’m used to tall frets and even scalloped boards. Should this be a concern for me? You all obviously love these basses so I guess the low frets aren’t an issue but for those of you who preferred taller frets, how do you like the lower ones?
 
#33,232
ACWild said:
This thread has me seriously gas’ing for a Dingwall but the thing that stopped me in my tracks is the low frets. Coming from the guitar side of the fence, I’m used to tall frets and even scalloped boards. Should this be a concern for me? You all obviously love these basses so I guess the low frets aren’t an issue but for those of you who preferred taller frets, how do you like the lower ones?
Click to expand...

I don't know about taller frets, but I have definitely played basses with jumbo frets. I have never noticed frets being a thing, but all my Dingwalls play really well and feel like they require less effort to fret the notes. I don't know if the difference is in the fret size or it's just the overall package and the sum of all the parts, but whenever I play other basses and come back to the Dingwalls, it's like "oh yeah, that's why I love my Dingwalls". Everything just feels right.
 
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#33,233
The need for taller frets was due to doing lots of bends. Fretboards would create drag so less contact with them was my preference. That said, I don’t do bends when playing bass but am in the habit of thinking about taller frets. Then again, some of you play fretless basses, so what’s a little fretboard contact in the scheme of things?
:-)
 
#33,234
CameronJohnson said:
I know it seems whacky but I mean exactly what I said. I have a Super PJ and am considering a P Tone pickup to replace the existing J pup at the bridge - so I keep the excellent P pup in the neck position and gain a bridge pickup I’d actually use solo. Basically giving me a Super Double P.

This is my bass:

View attachment 3615206
Click to expand...

oh man, you have a seriously gorgeous bass!
 
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#33,235
CameronJohnson said:
Hmmm...I’m away from home right now but I think I have the paperwork for my PJ somewhere so I’ll refer to that to be certain.
Click to expand...

The quickest way to tell if it's in series is just to have a look at the wiring, in series the back and green are soldered together and don't go to the selector switch.
On the pickup front, a lot of Dingwall pickups are basically a reverse P layout once you get under the shells (the FD ones certainly are) so a P-tone may not sound wildly different anyway.
 
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#33,236
I’ll probably try my bridge pickup in series on the AB-1 four string at some point. The neck pup is already wired in series.

But I have to say, I’m really liking the bridge in parallel solo’d. It’s focused and punchy. Sure, it doesn’t have the volume, but I’ve compensated with a volume pedal. Once the volume adjustment is dialed, it gets a great sound. Tight, punchy and nice range with the stock tone control.

I suppose I could get in the habit of keeping some room to move in the volume knob.

I always tended to overlook the bridge solo on my other Dingwalls.

I might even try switching the neck back to parallel since I haven’t heard it that way yet. The bass came with the neck already wired in series.

I spend most of my time with the bridge solo’d or next click up with both pups in parallel. The series neck and both in series are certainly louder, but a little too wide and mushy.

Really digging the Payson flats now that I’ve dialed the intonation and action.

I’ll pull out the soldering iron and see what happens next.
 
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