Dingwall Owners Club

[AB Nate]

Congrats...couldn't have found a better seller than John. I've sent several Dingwalls to Mo. He is world-class. I had him mod one of my NG3s with a 6 way selector switch. You are smart to go with a middle only selection. Best position for a P bass vibe IMO. As for the other selection, I'd go N-M parallel because I like a Music Man option.

Don’t you mean B/M?

 

[Bassheart365]

Don’t you mean B/M?

Haha, yes B-M

 

[Jerry Ziarko]

I've owned a few Music Man’s over the years. To my ears, at least on my 2 pick up Sklar which is B/M, series gets closest to that tone. It's been a while since I've owned one, so the memory may be off a bit.

 

[Ryno1330]

Thanks for suggestions so far - very helpful. I spend most of my time on positions 3 and 4 on my NG3 currently and almost never use the bridge pickup alone. I'm thinking about ditching it and trying this currently.

1) Bridge - Middle (series)
2) Bridge - Middle (parallel)
3) Bridge - Neck (parallel)
4) Middle - Neck (unsure parallel or series yet)
5) Middle
6) Neck

 

[AB Nate]

Thanks for suggestions so far - very helpful. I spend most of my time on positions 3 and 4 on my NG3 currently and almost never use the bridge pickup alone. I'm thinking about ditching it and trying this currently.

1) Bridge - Middle (series)
2) Bridge - Middle (parallel)
3) Bridge - Neck (parallel)
4) Middle - Neck (unsure parallel or series yet)
5) Middle
6) Neck

no all on?

 

[xnewyorka]

no all on?

Yeah, I would want to hear from some people who tried Middle+Neck to see if they thought it was worth it, because the D-Bird/D-Roc all on setting is pretty compelling.

 

[AB Nate]

Yeah, I would want to hear from some people who tried Middle+Neck to see if they thought it was worth it, because the D-Bird/D-Roc all on setting is pretty compelling.

Yup. I know the discussion has been circled around a few times and often it’s under appreciated on the production basses
But it’s a massively useful setting, especially when combined with the 3x switches on the Canadian made basses.

 

[Ryno1330]

no all on?

Not sure. Should I? I've honestly never heard it? Parallel or series or a combo? Any clips you know of?

 

[AB Nate]

Not sure. Should I? I've honestly never heard it? Parallel or series or a combo? Any clips you know of?

The Dingwall option is B/M in series with neck in Parallel IIRC. I’m not really sure on any media on it though.

 

[Ryno1330]

The Dingwall option is B/M in series with neck in Parallel IIRC. I’m not really sure on any media on it though.

If you recommend trying it then it sounds good to me. I think I'll do that in leiu of mid-neck.

 

[EMoneySC2]

If you recommend trying it then it sounds good to me. I think I'll do that in leiu of mid-neck.

The all on setting is very cool. I don't use it much on my D-Birds, but I dig it.

 

[AB Nate]

If you recommend trying it then it sounds good to me. I think I'll do that in leiu of mid-neck.

I think ideally we would all love an 8 position switch, haha, but the reality is they are all pretty much usable tones. Of course have a couple different basses with different switches in them allows me to explore a few options but the reality is only one or 2 get used as gotos. The rest are fun experimentation.

 

[pbass6811]

If you recommend trying it then it sounds good to me. I think I'll do that in leiu of mid-neck.

Even though it puts me squarely in the minority, the All-On setting is my preferred setting, I use it all the time. I had all of my ABZs built with the D-Roc switch and the S/P switches. It sounds massive, but it's still very controllable. Honestly, I could've had my basses built with just the All-On setting and one S/P switch for the Neck pickup and I'd be just as happy as I am now. I do mess with the other settings, when I'm at home, just to see if something moves me, but invariably, when I'm about to hit the record button, I flip it back to pos. 4 and go. It just works for me.

Congrats on the Z! When I finally get around to ordering a Z3, it'll have the D-Roc switch. I really want to hear three SF-II's at gig volume!

 

[Selta]

Not sure. Should I? I've honestly never heard it? Parallel or series or a combo? Any clips you know of?

Here's one I made forever ago. It's short, kinda disgusting in how poorly it's played, but should inform your decision a little. Note: I also run through the 3x toggles for series/parallel.

 

[Ryno1330]

Even though it puts me squarely in the minority, the All-On setting is my preferred setting, I use it all the time. I had all of my ABZs built with the D-Roc switch and the S/P switches. It sounds massive, but it's still very controllable. Honestly, I could've had my basses built with just the All-On setting and one S/P switch for the Neck pickup and I'd be just as happy as I am now. I do mess with the other settings, when I'm at home, just to see if something moves me, but invariably, when I'm about to hit the record button, I flip it back to pos. 4 and go. It just works for me.

Congrats on the Z! When I finally get around to ordering a Z3, it'll have the D-Roc switch. I really want to hear three SF-II's at gig volume!

Thanks! Sounds like I'll give it a go. You mention a switch - does that have to be installed to do the all 3 setting or is it a rotary dial setting?

 

[pbass6811]

Thanks! Sounds like I'll give it a go. You mention a switch - does that have to be installed to do the all 3 setting or is it a rotary dial setting?

It's the rotary. Your Z3 will, most likely, have the 3X switch, which doesn't include the All-On option. The D-Roc rotary has the All-On option, but leaves out the N/B(J bass) setting. If you have the 6-way put in, you could have both! I'd like that, but I'd still probably just use the All-On setting...

I lucked out with my NG-3. It was built prior to the current run, so it has the D-Bird/D-Roc switch. That was a stroke of luck for me.

 

[invisiman]

I successfully removed the bridge shims from my bass earlier today. Every bridge piece except for the G-string one had at least one shim under it, so it's much more playable now. Unfortunately, I'd like the lower the G-string further, but the saddle is already as low as it can go... Perhaps a neck shim is in my future....

 

[BurningSkies]

Yeah, I would want to hear from some people who tried Middle+Neck to see if they thought it was worth it, because the D-Bird/D-Roc all on setting is pretty compelling.

I've done Middle/Neck series, and it's not great. Bassy, but undefined. I did discuss it with Sheldon, but it wasn't something that was workable in a stage setting for me in the least.

 

[NaH]

The AB's don't seem to keep their value as well unless you have specific options, the wenge neck on mine was a fairly cheap upgrade when I ordered it back in 2013 but it's more than triple the cost now I think (not a complaint, Dingwall pays their employees a living wage and wenge is apparently not much fun to work with).

On that Super J (the one in bruno40gr's post), I personally think it's a pretty good price but then I'm a big fan of the earlier ones with the control plate.
I don't personally care for the new design without the control plate at all on the Super J (the x tops are good but that's a whole new price point) so I'd probably pay more for an older one to get that look.

Interesting. I prefer them without the control plate.

 

[Ryno1330]

Here's one I made forever ago. It's short, kinda disgusting in how poorly it's played, but should inform your decision a little. Note: I also run through the 3x toggles for series/parallel.

Hey no apologies on the playing and that was very helpful! Lots of great tones there. In particular the ones that stood out to me were the 3rd passage played in the beginning, and then the two passages back to back around 2:38-3:00. The latter got a little woofy in the low end but the bass could easily be dropped a little to compensate. Any chance you made notes on what those selections were? Thanks again! Hearing this definitely tells me this is one of the options I will get.