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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
I like to experiment with different strings from time to time, since I can't afford to have 5 or 6 different Dingwalls sitting around, I have to change them up every so often.
Purchased a set of Payson Nickels and got them last night. Strung up the Prima Artist with them and used it for worship this morning.
Awesome warm nickel sound, with round wound punch and sustain! I had to raise my B and E string slightly (had TI flats on prior), but if I had stock Voodoos on, I don't think I would have had to touch anything due to the thoughtful taper Payson adds to the B and E strings.
I'm used to cutting a lot of highs out of my Dingwalls, with the Payson Nickels I found I needed to nudge my highs up a little for some soft upper register solo stuff. These nickles provide a darker sound to my ears, perfect if you find yourself normally cutting your upper mids and highs when running SS strings.
Very pleased with them, thanks Payson!
Purchased a set of Payson Nickels and got them last night. Strung up the Prima Artist with them and used it for worship this morning.
Awesome warm nickel sound, with round wound punch and sustain! I had to raise my B and E string slightly (had TI flats on prior), but if I had stock Voodoos on, I don't think I would have had to touch anything due to the thoughtful taper Payson adds to the B and E strings.
I'm used to cutting a lot of highs out of my Dingwalls, with the Payson Nickels I found I needed to nudge my highs up a little for some soft upper register solo stuff. These nickles provide a darker sound to my ears, perfect if you find yourself normally cutting your upper mids and highs when running SS strings.
Very pleased with them, thanks Payson!
Payson is really dialing it in. The medium light nickels are going great for me on the sixer. Same tone but lighter feel. I'm still rolling back the tone for most playing, but opening it up and going to the blueqube makes for tons of sizzle.
I can't deal with stainless strings, I really like the slick feel of these nickel rounds.
I'm really just starting to appreciate the huge range of tone and texture the AB-1 six string can get. Since I've started using more distortions and the Red Ripper for fuzz, the tone knob has been getting a workout.
Lowest setup yet with the Paysons, with no rattle or buzz.
I can't deal with stainless strings, I really like the slick feel of these nickel rounds.
I'm really just starting to appreciate the huge range of tone and texture the AB-1 six string can get. Since I've started using more distortions and the Red Ripper for fuzz, the tone knob has been getting a workout.
Lowest setup yet with the Paysons, with no rattle or buzz.
I'm also running through my first set of Payson's med-light nickels on the old Voodoo. The tension is very, very close to the DW SS strings. I tune down a half-step and like my action on the higher side compaired to most DW players I would think, that being said there was no saddle or truss-rod adjustment needed. The tone is exactly what you would expect from nickels, a bit more "mid-air" with a slightly subdued fundamental and top-end...classic nickel round-wound tone. The fit in terms of winding and string length was perfect which hasn't always been the case with aftermarket strings "designed" for Dingwalls, IME.
I want in ! I've been enjoying this fabulous bass for a while now and actually thought about trading or selling it to go for a more modern sound. I'm glad the trade deal I was trying to work didn't go through because I would have regretted parting with the build quality and the "serial killer" B string ! This is my Dingwall Afterburner 1.5 (#2 of 12 ) made exclusively for Jive Sound in Virginia. For those that may not know, it is basically an AB I with AB II Electronics. Alder body; flame maple top; 18v ; 5pc maple neck with a wenge fingerboard.
If you look closely you will see the Delano HE/S driver sized soapbar pickups I installed coupled with an Aguilar OBP3 preamp with an active/passive switch as well as a midrange frequency switch. I wanted different versatility than the 2 band Aguilar could give me so I now have Vol/Blend/Bass-Treble stack and Midrange. This creature sounds ridiculously nice ! Smooth and punchy with better bass response and crisp non-brittle highs. The new electronics remain dead silent and each pickup soloed sounds amazing in their own right. I couldn't be happier with how this swap turned out (thanks to the guys at Best Bass Gear for the gear and encouragement to do this myself) I did have to enlarge 2 of the pot holes. I play in an agency band and this bass can switch genres with the best of them.
If you look closely you will see the Delano HE/S driver sized soapbar pickups I installed coupled with an Aguilar OBP3 preamp with an active/passive switch as well as a midrange frequency switch. I wanted different versatility than the 2 band Aguilar could give me so I now have Vol/Blend/Bass-Treble stack and Midrange. This creature sounds ridiculously nice ! Smooth and punchy with better bass response and crisp non-brittle highs. The new electronics remain dead silent and each pickup soloed sounds amazing in their own right. I couldn't be happier with how this swap turned out (thanks to the guys at Best Bass Gear for the gear and encouragement to do this myself) I did have to enlarge 2 of the pot holes. I play in an agency band and this bass can switch genres with the best of them.
Oh, you are definitely in, my low-end friend.
I'm glad that you are happy with your modifications. I've never used Aguilar electronics, but I've used Delano pickups - they're great. The only mod I've ever done to a Dingwall was to add a Redeemer Circuit preamp to my AB-1, which was a much less ambitious undertaking than yours!
Oh, you are definitely in, my low-end friend.
Thanks ! What type of sound change did you get from the Redeemer ?
Maybe a tad more highs from overcoming cable capacitance. The intent was to retain the full-body & booty signal when lowering the volume and it accomplished that mission well.
Thanks ! You just made me spend more money ! 😄
I just researched the redeemer and it looks very interesting . I appreciate the tip.
Hey y'all.
I have a question from outside of the Dingwall circle. I've played a Dingwall Combustion 5 in a local guitar store and I could not get past the fact that it felt really 'plastic' to me. It was a really light bass, but to a point where it was quite odd and felt cheap. Was it just me, or was that one in particular a lemon? How do you guys like the feel on your Combustions? I really want to like these, as I am heavily GAS'ing for a ABZ5 to be my main player (and those ABZs are as light or lighter than the Combustions)
I have a question from outside of the Dingwall circle. I've played a Dingwall Combustion 5 in a local guitar store and I could not get past the fact that it felt really 'plastic' to me. It was a really light bass, but to a point where it was quite odd and felt cheap. Was it just me, or was that one in particular a lemon? How do you guys like the feel on your Combustions? I really want to like these, as I am heavily GAS'ing for a ABZ5 to be my main player (and those ABZs are as light or lighter than the Combustions)
Not sure what to say but I can tell you I've never felt that way about my Combustion. Nicest playing and lightest bass I've had. I'm wondering if the fact that it is lighter than many basses on the market may give the impression of "plastic".
That being said the ABZ is definetly lighter but has that exposed grain finish that you immediately know is wood.
I hated the combustion the minute I picked it up; the neck had an unpleasant finish, for my taste. I can see how the light weight with that finish would create that impression. However, they are well made. Plug one in and listen with your ears, not your hands; that will tell you what you need to know.
Many of the other Canadian made Dingwall models are also light weight, even more so than the Combustion. It may just be that your preference is for heavier instruments.
In my earlier years, I liked the overall feel of a bit of heft. Now, light weight is of the upmost importance to me. I personally don't think weight is indicative of quality. You can have crappy light basses and crappy heavy basses and visa versa.
I like the feel of my Combustion, but I like the feel of my AB's better.
Thanks for the replies guys. I guess it is my fault for not plugging it in. It's just instinct for me to judge by feel. I'm hoping that an ABZ would come into the store. I have a feeling it'll be lighter - yes, but still feel great. I REALLY want to like them. Everything about the bass that I've heard/researched so far is right up my alley 
Still having fun experimenting with a pair of late-model FD3-5a's in my conventional 5-string.
The B string is way hefty with both pickups wired for series coils. Height adjustment is tricky, as too low thins out the A string. Maybe the extra magnet for the B string is overkill on a parallel-fret 35" bass?
As a result, I'm still hemming and hawing over having the pickup coils wired in series or parallel. Half the time, I think parallel is too bright and modern. The other half, I think series coils is to thick. Might have to add a switch or two!
Still, I really like the midrange detail with these pickups. I'm pretty much drooling full time at this point, waiting for my Honey Amberburst ABZ 5 to arrive in September.
The B string is way hefty with both pickups wired for series coils. Height adjustment is tricky, as too low thins out the A string. Maybe the extra magnet for the B string is overkill on a parallel-fret 35" bass?
As a result, I'm still hemming and hawing over having the pickup coils wired in series or parallel. Half the time, I think parallel is too bright and modern. The other half, I think series coils is to thick. Might have to add a switch or two!
Still, I really like the midrange detail with these pickups. I'm pretty much drooling full time at this point, waiting for my Honey Amberburst ABZ 5 to arrive in September.
Well, old reliable has let me down. I mistakenly posted that it's an '07 Super J/P, but I checked my records and it's actually an '09. Time speeds up when you get older, so it seemed like I'd been playing it longer. 
I picked it up to do some noodling the other night and when I pulled up the volume control knob to go into passive mode, it was muffle city. When in passive mode, the bass tone control should act as a passive tone control, but it has no effect at all. The volume control also tapers off more rapidly than normal in active and passive mode. Jeff @ Dingwall responded very promptly with his tentative diagnosis that the volume control and or its integrated switch has failed. It's looking like I'll be the surgeon, because there aren't any techs around that I'm willing to entrust to perform the operation. 
That's okay, I have always enjoyed the smell of hot solder...
I picked it up to do some noodling the other night and when I pulled up the volume control knob to go into passive mode, it was muffle city. When in passive mode, the bass tone control should act as a passive tone control, but it has no effect at all. The volume control also tapers off more rapidly than normal in active and passive mode. Jeff @ Dingwall responded very promptly with his tentative diagnosis that the volume control and or its integrated switch has failed. It's looking like I'll be the surgeon, because there aren't any techs around that I'm willing to entrust to perform the operation. That's okay, I have always enjoyed the smell of hot solder...
Hey Ken,
How's your battery? If it's an OBP-1 with a hybrid treble, the battery level will affect the passive functioning.
How's your battery? If it's an OBP-1 with a hybrid treble, the battery level will affect the passive functioning.
