Dingwall Owners Club

[shade_1313]

We each find our own paths, and those paths are informed by our experiences and goals, as well as our surroundings. You can't throw a stone in the hard rock and metal scene and get _that typical_ Dingwall tone. It works wonderfully well - obviously, or else it wouldn't be so used! So in that small slice of music that's being produced and made now (and the past ~10 years), it's always there. So I get the "I'm bored of it" angle.

Overall I feel those scenes (don't get me wrong, I've been playing in those circles, in original bands, for 20+ years now) are due for a big time shake up anyway. Someone like Nolly comes along and tosses a Dingwall shaped grenade in there and everyone takes notice, and work towards emulating it. Then after a few years of that, a high percentage of things start to sound identical, or at least similar enough to be, well, overplayed.

The beauty of things is, even with a DGTC loaded Dingwall, and even a Dingwall amp and cab, there's _so much more_ available right there at your fingertips. Just cos it can easily sound _like that_ (I don't even have to describe it, because everyone here knows what I mean), doesn't mean it has to. So it can appears both the "I want to sound like Nolly did in 2013" and the "I need something different". To each their own, and hopefully everyone is enjoying the journey. Any component in our signal chain - player very much included - can be changed to sound drastically different. We spend a lot of time talking mods, tweaking, and going off into truly esoteric directions in support of all of that.

People change, too. What I chase now is different than what I chased 20 years ago. The options I have now are almost overwhelming...

I play with an NG3, most often. DG is my choice of distortion. My settings most definitely don’t sound like Nolly.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I get the overall fatigue with the Darkglass sound. I remember when I first heard it and thought it sounded amazing. It sounds great with Dingwalls too and it is a logical combo for heavy music.

I got on the Dingwall bandwagon well before this all hit, so I just see them as great basses, period. I don't play much heavy music. A little hard rock, no metal.

 

[wvbass]

I get the overall fatigue with the Darkglass sound. I remember when I first heard it and thought it sounded amazing. It sounds great with Dingwalls too and it is a logical combo for heavy music.

I got on the Dingwall bandwagon well before this all hit, so I just see them as great basses, period. I don't play much heavy music. A little hard rock, no metal.

I've been a Dingwall player since 2006. Having said that, I don't play Dingwall's exclusively.

I also don't live in "that" metal world, but I do enjoy the typical Dingwall/Darkglass sound. I've used my Dingwalls for RnB, dance, disco, country, classic rock, hair metal, you name it. Aside from what online demos would lead you to believe, they aren't just the best bass for metal.

I don't know that I always make the typical Darkglass sounds either. I just started using my Photon to drive my clean tone. I'm also prepping for a possible upcoming country show, and believe it of not, a couple of the sounds I'm looking at are fairly mid-heavy distortion sounds that I don't associate with the usual DG demo I hear online.

 

[TTA]

I've been a Dingwall player since 2006. Having said that, I don't play Dingwall's exclusively.

I also don't live in "that" metal world, but I do enjoy the typical Dingwall/Darkglass sound. I've used my Dingwalls for RnB, dance, disco, country, classic rock, hair metal, you name it. Aside from what online demos would lead you to believe, they aren't just the best bass for metal.

I don't know that I always make the typical Darkglass sounds either. I just started using my Photon to drive my clean tone. I'm also prepping for a possible upcoming country show, and believe it of not, a couple of the sounds I'm looking at are fairly mid-heavy distortion sounds that I don't associate with the usual DG demo I hear online.

I think darkglass got amos keller to do pedal reviews to hi-light the versatility of dg. He does almost everything but metal. They want to break out of the stereotype that helped get them on the map.

and lee sklar does not djent…. Last time i checked. :-D

 

[Nuage420]

I think darkglass got amos keller to do pedal review to hi-light the versatility of dg. He does almost everything but metal.

and lee sklar does not djent…. Last time i checked. :-D

Amos has, Bass Channel has, Most of Nathan Navarros videos use darkglass Ultra pedals and the ADAM and he plays all genres sometimes in the same video using multiple basses. there's endless videos if dingwalls and darkglass being used for pop and r&b. At this point pigeon holing either big D brands is a bit lazy. Especially when all the videos I'm referring to have been posted here in TB. Sometimes by yours truly and I'm sure others who are reading this very post.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I've been a Dingwall player since 2006. Having said that, I don't play Dingwall's exclusively.

I also don't live in "that" metal world, but I do enjoy the typical Dingwall/Darkglass sound. I've used my Dingwalls for RnB, dance, disco, country, classic rock, hair metal, you name it. Aside from what online demos would lead you to believe, they aren't just the best bass for metal.

I don't know that I always make the typical Darkglass sounds either. I just started using my Photon to drive my clean tone. I'm also prepping for a possible upcoming country show, and believe it of not, a couple of the sounds I'm looking at are fairly mid-heavy distortion sounds that I don't associate with the usual DG demo I hear online.

I had to check, but I have been onboard since 2004.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Amos has, Bass Channel has, Most of Nathan Navarros videos use darkglass Ultra pedals and the ADAM and he plays all genres sometimes in the same video using multiple basses. there's endless videos if dingwalls and darkglass being used for pop and r&b. At this point pigeon holing either big D brands is a bit lazy. Especially when all the videos I'm referring to have been posted here in TB. Sometimes by yours truly and I'm sure others who are reading this very post.

It's interesting to see a lot of people using dirt pedals in music that is traditionally clean (or that's what we hear in the full mix).

 

[spiritbass]

I had to check, but I have been onboard since 2004.

It was the Fall of 2007 when the first Dingwall landed in my little valley. When the delivery guy handed the package to me, it was so light, I couldn't believe that there was an instrument inside.

This beauty (Indigoburst over alder) weighed eight pounds even.

 

[Selta]

It's interesting to see a lot of people using dirt pedals in music that is traditionally clean (or that's what we hear in the full mix).

Yeahhhh... when you get to listen to a lot of tracks, especially from hallowed players, there's so much dirt everywhere.

 

[gustobassman]

Just to pile on, the stock NG sounds great for reggae too. However, once I added the passive tone, it now KILLS for reggae.


Had maiden gig voyage with the NG3+FD3 at a metal show last night. Nothing but positive comments from the crowd! Tonight it's Moby+SF2's at my reggae gig. Should be a great show, hopefully I can get some video. Moby sounds awesome with the new pickups!

Fam pic.. left to right - NG3 with stacked vol/passive tone, Moby, NG3 with FD3's in A standard.

 

[Jason Bonilla]

I did the NG-2 and B7K thing for a long while, and I eventually ended up finding my zen with a D-Bird and an X7 with the distortion dialed all the way down. The Sansamp YYZ was a very close 2nd to the X7, but the X7 crushed everything else to my ears once I got used to the sound of the compressed low end.

I have also never got the feeling that the Dingwall and Darkglass pair is as ubiquitous as others see it. I am still a big metal head with a wide range of tastes, and I continue to get stoked whenever I hear a Dingwall on a track because it seems pretty rare to me.

Maybe it’s overdone in the more proggy subgenres? I love Periphery, but most of their peers (in my mind that’s bands like TesseracT, Monuments, Veil of Maya, The Contortionist, and Twelve Foot Ninja) have very different approaches to bass guitar.

I see, to be fair, youtube and social media in general has a way of making certain trends seem much more overblown than they are.

 

[silky smoove]

If I did the Ding 'n Dark, aka Dingglass, aka Darkwall thing on any of my corporate gigs I'd get fired as soon as we launched into some Motown. Fortunately it's not a tone I really dig so I'm happy to use my SJ in a way that defies the stereotype.

 

[AB Nate]

It's interesting to see a lot of people using dirt pedals in music that is traditionally clean (or that's what we hear in the full mix).

Been done for a long time.
Listen to the bass in Do I Do! Killer bass track BTW

 

[AB Nate]

Just to pile on, the stock NG sounds great for reggae too. However, once I added the passive tone, it now KILLS for reggae.


Had maiden gig voyage with the NG3+FD3 at a metal show last night. Nothing but positive comments from the crowd! Tonight it's Moby+SF2's at my reggae gig. Should be a great show, hopefully I can get some video. Moby sounds awesome with the new pickups!

Fam pic.. left to right - NG3 with stacked vol/passive tone, Moby, NG3 with FD3's in A standard.

Man! How do you juggle 3 bands? What happens if multiple gigs line up on the same night!!

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

If I did the Ding 'n Dark, aka Dingglass, aka Darkwall thing on any of my corporate gigs I'd get fired as soon as we launched into some Motown. Fortunately it's not a tone I really dig so I'm happy to use my SJ in a way that defies the stereotype.

Yup, my SJ5 plays a wide range of material which includes a healthy dose of disco. (Some might consider any dose of disco unhealthy! )

 

[gustobassman]

Man! How do you juggle 3 bands? What happens if multiple gigs line up on the same night!!

Ask my lady... LOL.

Try 3 bands, all in different tunings and completely different styles. So far not much conflict - I try to schedule at least a month out if possible, just in case stuff does come up.

 

[MikeBass]

Man! How do you juggle 3 bands? What happens if multiple gigs line up on the same night!!

only 3?
Dems rookie numbers son!!! LoL

I went this past week from CCM, to “bar rock”, to country, to pop/dance/funk. All with my Dingys.

One thing to back up on is the Dingy/DG “sound”.
My NG3 sounds great doing country with just slight SVT low gain grind (from my ADAM pedal). So, not sure that people know that you can actually do other stuff than metal with them.
Although, with my Queensryche tribute band, the NG3 kinda pushed both a Spector and Warwick Streamer right off the gig. It seriously smashed both for competing with two Friedman half stacks and a loud drummer.

My Z2 kills…i mean KILLS through my Noble with a Demeter Compulator. I tuned my B to low A for a song at church this past Sunday- a “mega church” I contract with- so huge ultra nice PA/FOH system, all IEM, and it seriously shook the walls. And was crazy clear.

 

[CoarseBass]

Got this fella from the brown truck today.

Jason @ Fret Nation balled out on some next day air.

View attachment 4548246

Awesome! I was eyeballing that, very similar to a custom I keep putting in my cart... just one string too many.

 

[ThisYouCanTrust]

A big thing about the dingwalls for me is how they Cut!!! Lots of instruments can be adjusted to cut in a mix but none stick out the same way.
Mixing, mastering etc, many basses sound amazing on many recordings but, at least to me,
Playing live for (what’s left) my audible frequency range, nothing cuts into a mix like a Dingwall. Active/Passive/whatever… they just do it.

This is definitely true, nothing cuts like a dingwall.
However there is still the question of why you would not want to make space into the mix for a beautiful bass sound (spector, mtd, whatever).
I blame bad metal guitarists Yes, that's most of them I know.

 

[Tim Skinner]

I'm sorry sir but you've deeply offended me by posting this as its clearly aimed at me though you "weren't calling anyone out" and I WILL be calling the admins, FBI, and your employer you can have no doubts about that!...

All jokes aside, its just like I said, look at me right now, in love with Spector and Tech 21 and all, but I assure you that this was the argument about a decade or two ago; "Spector + the Sansamp bassdriver is overused and getting old" as I know there was a time when Spector was THE bass for metal. I'm sure in a decade I'll be Reminiscing about the days when people were using Dingwalls and Darkglass instead of the Apple iBass and iPreAmp. I only say Ding and Dark are overused simply because its what seems to be true, it's not a bad sound, its just everywhere.

Welcome to the Dingwall club. I'm sure you will find what we have all found...no matter how many sounds you think your Dingwall can make..there's more. Super versatile instruments with a huge range of tone and unbelievable build quality. Since getting my Combustion it's really the only bass I play and I play stuff that calls for as much of the opposite of Nolly's sound as you could imagine.
Keep loving Spector, they're great basses too. But don't think your Dingwall can only do that DG tone.