Dingwall Owners Club

[Sheldon D.]

The Hellboy has the compound radius - not the standard.

By the way Dingwall's compound has alway seemed excessive to me (25''/7.5'' = 3.33 so the string spacing should be over 3x wider at the bridge than at the nut, which it isn't).
I asked Sheldon about it during a live Q&A months ago where he confirmed my understanding of the concept was correct, but their stated radii also are, which seems mutually exclusive.
Does someone know what's up? It's not essential for me to understand, but I always prefer to.

The Korean factory has the capability to do compound radius FB's whereas the Chinese factory does not. So both Hellboys and Standard 5's are compound.

I've seen formulas for calculating compound radius variables. They didn't make sense to me, so I used CAD to model the arc at various points on the fretboard while keeping the path under each string perfectly straight. I attribute that to why our radius values are different than the norm.

 

[Naack]

Two quick question:
1. For someone who plays at a church and likes motown/R&B, what Dingwall would be well suited for that?
2. Does anyone have a picture of a Shell Pink bass??

 

[steve_rolfeca]

The Korean factory has the capability to do compound radius FB's whereas the Chinese factory does not. So both Hellboys and Standard 5's are compound.

I've seen formulas for calculating compound radius variables. They didn't make sense to me, so I used CAD to model the arc at various points on the fretboard while keeping the path under each string perfectly straight. I attribute that to why our radius values are different than the norm.

In person and in correspondence, one of the things that always stands out to me about your approach, is that it's so grounded in practical experience and testing.

Too many people in the MI industry (customers and vendors alike) cling to their preconceptions like cult members, regardless of any evidence to the contrary.

 

[mmbongo]

Two quick question:
1. For someone who plays at a church and likes motown/R&B, what Dingwall would be well suited for that?
2. Does anyone have a picture of a Shell Pink bass??

I will have a Shell Pink Dingwall someday!

 

[eloann]

The Korean factory has the capability to do compound radius FB's whereas the Chinese factory does not. So both Hellboys and Standard 5's are compound.

I've seen formulas for calculating compound radius variables. They didn't make sense to me, so I used CAD to model the arc at various points on the fretboard while keeping the path under each string perfectly straight. I attribute that to why our radius values are different than the norm.

Thanks for clarifying. In my defense, my source for stating the Standards aren't compound is your website.
*likeliness to place an order has just increased

 

[DeltaPhoenix]

Two quick question:
1. For someone who plays at a church and likes motown/R&B, what Dingwall would be well suited for that?
2. Does anyone have a picture of a Shell Pink bass??

I would say any of them can do Motown/R&B nicely but I would probably not go for a Darkglass equipped bass if this were my main tonal goal.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Two quick question:
1. For someone who plays at a church and likes motown/R&B, what Dingwall would be well suited for that?
2. Does anyone have a picture of a Shell Pink bass??

If you look over at the Praise and Worship Band Bassists Club thread, you'll find a bunch of guys with long-scale Dingwalls- mostly AB's of various types and Combustions. There are some Super J and P owners as well, IIRC.

I find that my passive ABZ crosses over into Motown/R&B tones more easily than an active with the Glock or Darkglass preamps would, but maybe that's just me.

Speaking of that club, @Alan Ace Cooper plays at a huge church in DC (McLean Bible Church, maybe?) and other places. Ace's family had experiences with breast cancer that lead him to build a bunch of pink Jazz basses. It's become a thing with him, and he carries it well.

I can't see myself sporting a shell pink "pointy shred bass" in church- I'm way too far over in cargo pants/old balding white guy territory to make it stick!

 

[Ryno1330]

Two quick question:
1. For someone who plays at a church and likes motown/R&B, what Dingwall would be well suited for that?
2. Does anyone have a picture of a Shell Pink bass??

I play one at church. Any model can do do but I've used a combustion and Z. For the pbass/motown things use the neck pickup. R&B often is jazz bass, so N/B parallel. For another flavor I also use the B/M in series. I use all 3 depending on what I want.

 

[NKBassman]

I would gravitate towards a passive bass for Motown/R&B for sure. Super P or Super J would suit the sound and aesthetics for sure.
I honestly don't know which of the long scale Dingwalls are passive.

 

[Waltsdog]

Reverb is only 5% now where E-Bay is currently 5.85% (many other things are up over 12-14%). Paypal, etc. adds 2.7-2.9% to that.

That's not accurate, Reverbs fees are up to 15% if you count the full fees to sell on the platform including the fees they take on your payment. My last sale was $4544 and I netted $3886 that was Sept 2021, some quick maths tells you that's net of 85% give or take a couple decimals.

 

[NKBassman]

That's not accurate, Reverbs fees are 15% if you count the full fees to sell on the platform including the fees they take on your payment. My last sale was $4544 and I netted $3886 that was Sept 2021, some quick maths tells you that's net of 85% give or take a couple decimals.

Certainly makes the Supporting Membership at TB seem like a bargain.

 

[Naack]

Having a look at their product range and some of your suggestions, I'm thinking a Super J would be right up my ally as I do love a Fender J bass. With the scale of it being 2" shorter, does that affect the quality of the low B on a 5-string?

I can't see myself sporting a shell pink "pointy shred bass" in church- I'm way too far over in cargo pants/old balding white guy territory to make it stick!

Na man, you could totally rock it, it is all in the attitude.

 

[Waltsdog]

Certainly makes the Supporting Membership at TB seem like a bargain.

Except shipping a bass to the US has recently become a total pain, that one I sold in Sept sat about for 10 days while I had to fill in forms about the specific species of wood and where it was harvested. It was a US made Ric...

 

[AB Nate]

I would gravitate towards a passive bass for Motown/R&B for sure. Super P or Super J would suit the sound and aesthetics for sure.
I honestly don't know which of the long scale Dingwalls are passive.

Any Canadian made bass can be made as a passive option.

 

[NKBassman]

Having a look at their product range and some of your suggestions, I'm thinking a Super J would be right up my ally as I do love a Fender J bass. With the scale of it being 2" shorter, does that affect the quality of the low B on a 5-string?



Na man, you could totally rock it, it is all in the attitude.

The 5-string Supers are 35" scale for the low B string, so yes it does affect the quality of the low B... in a very positive way.

EDIT: OHHHH you mean 2" shorter than the long scale Dingwalls. Not compared to Fender. Duhh. 35" is my personal minimum preference for B string. After getting my Super P, I'm now very curious to try a long scale Dingwall.

 

[AB Nate]

Having a look at their product range and some of your suggestions, I'm thinking a Super J would be right up my ally as I do love a Fender J bass. With the scale of it being 2" shorter, does that affect the quality of the low B on a 5-string?



Na man, you could totally rock it, it is all in the attitude.

it does affect the quality of the B string. It does not deteriorate it, it just changes it’s characteristic. Both are pleasing and I’d suspect a 35” scale be for Motown and such would be on point

 

[NKBassman]

Except shipping a bass to the US has recently become a total pain, that one I sold in Sept sat about for 10 days while I had to fill in forms about the specific species of wood and where it was harvested. It was a US made Ric...

As dumb as (I think) that is (customs issues and hassle trying to ship the bass back to country of origin; end user bearing responsibility for where the wood was harvested, etc), does selling on Reverb or Ebay negate having to do this? I honestly don't know, I've never sold on those platforms. I always try to sell big stuff like basses locally first before I even consider shipping.

 

[AB Nate]

As dumb as (I think) that is (customs issues and hassle trying to ship the bass back to country of origin, end user bearing responsibility for where the wood was harvested, etc), does selling on Reverb or Ebay negate having to do this? I honestly don't know. I always try to sell big stuff like basses locally first before I even consider shipping.

It does not negate it. It truly depends on where it goes through. Officer on duty. Etc etc. I’ve shipped some instruments I thought for sure were gonna cause grief internationally. And then I’ve shipped…. A Yamaha….. and customs sat on it for 2 weeks getting me to ask Japan about the MOP inlays…. They were cultured….

 

[Waltsdog]

As dumb as (I think) that is (customs issues and hassle trying to ship the bass back to country of origin, end user bearing responsibility for where the wood was harvested, etc), does selling on Reverb or Ebay negate having to do this? I honestly don't know. I always try to sell big stuff like basses locally first before I even consider shipping.

No, selling on reverb vs talkbass would make no difference, the forms are required for import so it's gonna be an issue either way.
I'm not sure if I got unlucky with that one as I shipped it UPS on a more expensive service cos it was high value. It was a major headache though.

 

[TTA]

If you look over at the Praise and Worship Band Bassists Club thread, you'll find a bunch of guys with long-scale Dingwalls- mostly AB's of various types and Combustions. There are some Super J and P owners as well, IIRC.

I find that my passive ABZ crosses over into Motown/R&B tones more easily than an active with the Glock or Darkglass preamps would, but maybe that's just me.

Speaking of that club, @Alan Ace Cooper plays at a huge church in DC (McLean Bible Church, maybe?) and other places. Ace's family had experiences with breast cancer that lead him to build a bunch of pink Jazz basses. It's become a thing with him, and he carries it well.

I can't see myself sporting a shell pink "pointy shred bass" in church- I'm way too far over in cargo pants/old balding white guy territory to make it stick!

I never get why people say that a darkglass preamp colours the tone in a specific way. The bass can be set to passive. Am i missing something about the pots or something? I assumed bypass was full bypass of the preamp. Does a preamp colour the passive tone when not active? (Just minus eq control?). I ask as a newb to active bases. My ng2 and now ab1 are my only active bases. To my ear they sound identical active or passive when the eq is in neutral.

short version: is the passive bypass of the dg preamp a true bypass?