Dingwall Owners Club

[groovaholic]

Personally I really like having 3-way switches on dual coil pickups to switch between single coil, series and parallel. A few builders do that, I don't know why more don't. The three tones are nothing like each other. Flipping from parallel to series is like an instant mid boost for a solo. But sometimes you really want the jazz bass tone of a single coil.

I had a Lakland 55-01 with Nordstrand DC humbuckers, each of which was attached to a 3-way switch — it was an incredibly flexible bass.

 

[1983L2000]

Personally I really like having 3-way switches on dual coil pickups to switch between single coil, series and parallel. A few builders do that, I don't know why more don't. The three tones are nothing like each other. Flipping from parallel to series is like an instant mid boost for a solo. But sometimes you really want the jazz bass tone of a single coil.

Well described (including BurninSkies comments) and very much seconded. I installed 6 way switches on a C5 and an ABZ5, and curiously (at least I didn’t think that it was a standard setup), the middle pup was setup in parallel instead of series on the ABZ. So I tested a few configs (as well as my soldering skills...) and indeed parallel coils bring clarity and as a result even much more versatility in particular to 2-pickups combinations. Ultimately and for various reasons (Neck and Mid solo in particular) I kept all of them series, but I will for sure have switches installed in the future.

 

[AB Nate]

Personally I really like having 3-way switches on dual coil pickups to switch between single coil, series and parallel. A few builders do that, I don't know why more don't. The three tones are nothing like each other. Flipping from parallel to series is like an instant mid boost for a solo. But sometimes you really want the jazz bass tone of a single coil.

Agreed

 

[Infidelity]

Personally I really like having 3-way switches on dual coil pickups to switch between single coil, series and parallel. A few builders do that, I don't know why more don't. The three tones are nothing like each other. Flipping from parallel to series is like an instant mid boost for a solo. But sometimes you really want the jazz bass tone of a single coil.

This is also an easy mod if the bass has a coil tap switch. Just need a On-On-On DPDT switch, and a soldering iron. I see it the same way. Parallel for scooped mids, single coil for a bit more mids, then series for in your face mid boost.

 

[BurningSkies]

That's the beauty of a custom, you can have your peccadilloes catered to.

The shop always has the final say. Though if you kind of know the rough boundaries you can sometimes work a few places to stretch things, and I never ever want to be a jerk about things. Once I did push back on something and someone up the ladder put a kind word in for me though. In this case, if the volume and tone control are 'stock' pots they're pretty easy to switch out for push/pulls I think.

My Z1 was an exercise in 'let's do most of the options and some that aren't options.' but it was a different day and age at the shop and it was builds like mine that helped put the shop in precarious shape for a while...I understand that and understand why a bunch of the options on that bass no longer exist. To that though, Sheldon also invented some options to try out on my bass. They didn't all work but it was fun to field the ideas of someone who was so creative both artistically and in terms of engineering.

This P is less that. It's the recreation of the bass that my subconscious has latched onto and shown me. That bass was pretty no-frills and I dictated it out of my dreams. Rather than most other 'custom' builds where people labor for hours and weeks and months over details...this was not that, and this bass isn't intended to be that kind of tour-de-force of all-outness. I'd rather have it be a stripped down sledge-hammer of an instrument, how my old P-Bass was (I once took it to a yardie jam in a bad neighborhood based upon the idea that it would be the best bass to hit someone with and still have it and me survive with maximum damage).

...and besides the switching happening today my wife (who's good at keeping her ear to the ground) said "so...I hear you've put a deposit on a new bass...I guess you've got a year or two to save your pennies for the rest of it" so that went fairly well.

 

[AB Nate]

The shop always has the final say. Though if you kind of know the rough boundaries you can sometimes work a few places to stretch things, and I never ever want to be a jerk about things. Once I did push back on something and someone up the ladder put a kind word in for me though. In this case, if the volume and tone control are 'stock' pots they're pretty easy to switch out for push/pulls I think.

My Z1 was an exercise in 'let's do most of the options and some that aren't options.' but it was a different day and age at the shop and it was builds like mine that helped put the shop in precarious shape for a while...I understand that and understand why a bunch of the options on that bass no longer exist. To that though, Sheldon also invented some options to try out on my bass. They didn't all work but it was fun to field the ideas of someone who was so creative both artistically and in terms of engineering.

This P is less that. It's the recreation of the bass that my subconscious has latched onto and shown me. That bass was pretty no-frills and I dictated it out of my dreams. Rather than most other 'custom' builds where people labor for hours and weeks and months over details...this was not that, and this bass isn't intended to be that kind of tour-de-force of all-outness. I'd rather have it be a stripped down sledge-hammer of an instrument, how my old P-Bass was (I once took it to a yardie jam in a bad neighborhood based upon the idea that it would be the best bass to hit someone with and still have it and me survive with maximum damage).

...and besides the switching happening today my wife (who's good at keeping her ear to the ground) said "so...I hear you've put a deposit on a new bass...I guess you've got a year or two to save your pennies for the rest of it" so that went fairly well.

Random thought.

a question for those that know:
I’m under the interpretation the P pup is not worth making coil selectable in most situations as out put is often reduced and the whole charm of a P is diminished.
Not ever really being into P basses in the past I’ve no experience with this.
Anyone shed some light for me?

 

[BurningSkies]

Well described (including BurninSkies comments) and very much seconded. I installed 6 way switches on a C5 and an ABZ5, and curiously (at least I didn’t think that it was a standard setup), the middle pup was setup in parallel instead of series on the ABZ. So I tested a few configs (as well as my soldering skills...) and indeed parallel coils bring clarity and as a result even much more versatility in particular to 2-pickups combinations. Ultimately and for various reasons (Neck and Mid solo in particular) I kept all of them series, but I will for sure have switches installed in the future.

My original AB1 (2005 year/model) had FD3's before they had 4-lead wiring...guys started re-wiring their own pickups to split the coils and do the Series/Parallel switching as an afermarket mod, which I think is what prompted the shop to change, rather than have guys do the dicy surgery that could inadvertently kill the pickups with that super fine gauge wire. But anyway, I always thought it was a fantastic sounding bass with the pickups wired in parallel...though when I got the Z1, I found that I left the pickup switches in 'series' most of the time and went back and forth with the rotary between series and parallel.

I honestly don't know how you'd get 'single coil' out of the Dingwall pickups...They're split coil, so if you only use one, you're not getting even coverage across the strings. Given that actual 'coil tapping' in the guitar world is (erroneously thought of as) using a single coil of a humbucking pickup...and that the Dingwall pickups are split coils, that doesn't do it either... Or if you legit are coil tapping (aka having leads off of part of each coil, reducing the number of windings and/or the resistance)... you'd need to have custom pickups wound because I've never seen or heard of tapped coil Dingwall pickups.

 

[BurningSkies]

Random thought.

a question for those that know:
I’m under the interpretation the P pup is not worth making coil selectable in most situations as out put is often reduced and the whole charm of a P is diminished.
Not ever really being into P basses in the past I’ve no experience with this.
Anyone shed some light for me?

Yeah, that...what I'm sayin'.

 

[bebass]

...P-Bass ... (I once took it to a yardie jam in a bad neighborhood based upon the idea that it would be the best bass to hit someone with and still have it and me survive with maximum damage).
...

Hahahaha I have done that too. Almost had to use it too! But I tool an old Kramer metal neck...

 

[singlemalt]

I’ve got a straight up Super P with the single, P style pup. The hybrid tone control gives it a very cool range of flavors. One side standard tone roll off, detent wide open, and the other side scoops as it rolls off . The simplicity is really nice.

This P pup is a wired in series pickup, just the two leads. No options there.

If it had a FDV bridge pickup, or another four lead pickup, I could see wanting a switch for that. But I’d probably just rewire it to series. Skip any switching.

The rotary control covers the other options. I really liked the P pup (series) combined in parallel with the series wired bridge. Solo’d, the series bridge became a cool option. I felt like the solo bridge wired stock as parallel was a bit weak, it really needed a big volume boost.
Mind you, these were Super Fatties I’m talking about at the bridge. The neck Super fattie also sounded great, and much more P like when rewired to series.

Is the new P getting the split shell P pickup, or a Ptone in a standard Dingwall shell?

I love the muscle car dark candy green.

 

[1983L2000]

My original AB1 (2005 year/model) had FD3's before they had 4-lead wiring...guys started re-wiring their own pickups to split the coils and do the Series/Parallel switching as an afermarket mod, which I think is what prompted the shop to change, rather than have guys do the dicy surgery that could inadvertently kill the pickups with that super fine gauge wire. But anyway, I always thought it was a fantastic sounding bass with the pickups wired in parallel...though when I got the Z1, I found that I left the pickup switches in 'series' most of the time and went back and forth with the rotary between series and parallel.

I honestly don't know how you'd get 'single coil' out of the Dingwall pickups...They're split coil, so if you only use one, you're not getting even coverage across the strings. Given that actual 'coil tapping' in the guitar world is (erroneously thought of as) using a single coil of a humbucking pickup...and that the Dingwall pickups are split coils, that doesn't do it either... Or if you legit are coil tapping (aka having leads off of part of each coil, reducing the number of windings and/or the resistance)... you'd need to have custom pickups wound because I've never seen or heard of tapped coil Dingwall pickups.

Indeed - sorry I was reflecting on series vs. parallel - I don’t believe you can spilt coils on Dingwall pickups. I have done that with one of my GL L2000 (Including ability to choose inner or outer coils) and that also gave me a bass with amazing tone versatility, but no way to do that with FD pups,

 

[BurningSkies]

I’ve got a straight up Super P with the single, P style pup. The hybrid tone control gives it a very cool range of flavors. One side standard tone roll off, detent wide open, and the other side scoops as it rolls off . The simplicity is really nice.

This P pup is a wired in series pickup, just the two leads. No options there.

If it had a FDV bridge pickup, or another four lead pickup, I could see wanting a switch for that. But I’d probably just rewire it to series. Skip any switching.

The rotary control covers the other options. I really liked the P pup (series) combined in parallel with the series wired bridge. Solo’d, the series bridge became a cool option. I felt like the solo bridge wired stock as parallel was a bit weak, it really needed a big volume boost.
Mind you, these were Super Fatties I’m talking about at the bridge. The neck Super fattie also sounded great, and much more P like when rewired to series.

Is the new P getting the split shell P pickup, or a Ptone in a standard Dingwall shell?

I love the muscle car dark candy green.

It gets the split-P pickup and an FD-3. I'll wait and see what they come up with. Traditionally a split coil is yes, in series. but having options all around isn't a bad thing. I sent my 'wishlist' over, two things were 'stretches'. One came back no-go (that was the chrome neck-dot-markers) and we waited a day or two to get a go-ahead on the S/P switching...so it's totally do-able, and there's no loss in having it and not using it. Also, I find the parallel FD-3 is closer to a Jazz tone, which would be a good fit for having it in bridge position. I happen to already have a spare P-Tone pickup on hand (because I'm me, of course ) , so if I decide that I don't love the FD-3 in that setting I can switch it out.

Also, having played a P for a number of years...I might just opt for playing the P pickup.

 

[BurningSkies]

Hahahaha I have done that too. Almost had to use it too! But I tool an old Kramer metal neck...

I didn't need it that night...the only one I did actually get close was a parole party I played...long story...

 

[BurningSkies]

A younger BurningSkies playing my 73 Precision at a renowned local honkytonk corner blues bar.

 

[xnewyorka]

This is also an easy mod if the bass has a coil tap switch. Just need a On-On-On DPDT switch, and a soldering iron. I see it the same way. Parallel for scooped mids, single coil for a bit more mids, then series for in your face mid boost.

You are right Harold. However, I have to make a slight correction or caveat to the implication in my post. this approach with a three position switch will work if you have a standard dual coil pickup where both coils cover all of the strings. Sheldon reminded me today that Dingwall pickups are actually built like P bass pickups, one coil for half the strings, and the other coil for the other half of the strings, therefore you can't actually put them into single coil mode, or you would lose half your strings. I knew that too, I just wasn't thinking. Or else I was thinking about regular dual coil pickups, not Dingwall pickups.
EDIT: Oops, I just went back and read all the intervening posts that came in while I was away and I see that others already have corrected my erroneous post. By the way, some really cool non Dingwall pickups to check out if you have occasion to do so are the EMG TW's. I have them in another bass I just got. They have 4 coils, so you choose between a side-by-side pair or a stacked pair, and they are humbucking either way. Very slick idea and they sound awesome. Henrik Linder's bass has them.

 

[RoketRdr]

They look like they kicked the crap out of the F-Bass and left it crying in the street.

BBWWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahah!!!! That was great!

 

[AB Nate]

It gets the split-P pickup and an FD-3. I'll wait and see what they come up with. Traditionally a split coil is yes, in series. but having options all around isn't a bad thing. I sent my 'wishlist' over, two things were 'stretches'. One came back no-go (that was the chrome neck-dot-markers) and we waited a day or two to get a go-ahead on the S/P switching...so it's totally do-able, and there's no loss in having it and not using it. Also, I find the parallel FD-3 is closer to a Jazz tone, which would be a good fit for having it in bridge position. I happen to already have a spare P-Tone pickup on hand (because I'm me, of course ) , so if I decide that I don't love the FD-3 in that setting I can switch it out.

Also, having played a P for a number of years...I might just opt for playing the P pickup.

Is your P tone for a long scale/ different string spacing?

 

[NaH]

I'm good with two way "Series/Parallel." On active basses it's a bit less of an issue for me, but once you have a passive one, being able to drop the pickups into parallel kind of lessens the mid-bump and lets you slide back in the mix a bit. I used to use the BluEQube on my AB1 that way in a live setting. They stopped BluEQubing sometime around 2005-2006 or so because the Parallel/Series switches became more ubiquitous with the standardization of the 4L pickups and found it was a bit redundant with the pickup coil options.

At the same time, part of what I don't want is a P-Bass with a bunch of switches...the beauty of that beast is that it remains simple both visually and electronically.

Dingwall lure: one can of dark green paint.

 

[NaH]

...and besides the switching happening today my wife (who's good at keeping her ear to the ground) said "so...I hear you've put a deposit on a new bass...I guess you've got a year or two to save your pennies for the rest of it" so that went fairly well.

Do you wonder what her handle is on Talkbass?

 

[ThisYouCanTrust]

By the way, some really cool non Dingwall pickups to check out if you have occasion to do so are the EMG TW's.

Can one get them in the new/round DW pickup shape ?