Dingwall Owners Club

[DeltaPhoenix]

I agree. I use your Payson medium scales on my SJ4 because they are optimized for fanned frets and they sound fantastic.

I use Dingwall strings on my long scale because I bought a few packs at once at still have a pack. I really like them too.

 

[SemiDriven]

Highly recommended upgrade for original D-Birds and single bridge imports: Fretnation has replacement saddles in stock and they fit my D-Bird perfectly.

View attachment 4808170

Aside from the (much!) improved ergonomics, I was pleasantly surprised about the added mass: 18 grams vs. 15 grams of the original bridge saddles - resulting in a perceptibly brighter tone.

At 10$ per piece, I‘m very happy.

Good to know!

Smooth sailing doing the swap?

 

[AmazingMumford]

keep you're eyes peeled for when I get my AB2 in , I don't think I'll be so quick to sell it but you never know with me. I have a love/hate relation ship with the Dingwall tone, this will be my first Canadian one though. its currently stuck in customs though.

Getting close myself, although not in transit as yet. Submitted end of 2020. Looking forward to photos!

 

[gustobassman]

Two gigs since the AB2/NG3 gut swap I did on monday and i couldnt be happier. The AB2 is an amazing bass but im a solid-body, alder/maple guy at heart. The SF2/Nordy 2B preamp combo sounds just wicked at 18V, the originally passive AB2 just didn't have a big enough cavity for 2 batteries. It does sound great with the DGTC at 9V though. No doubt about that.

Big shout out to @Blues Cat and his new flatwounds. They are beyond FANTASTIC. They play so nicely and nothing but smiles from the BL on my tone - full dancefloors don't lie.

 

[wavemaker]

Good to know!

Smooth sailing doing the swap?

Very smooth, hardware-wise: The replacement saddles come with two screws and a spring each - I simply used the ones from the original bridge. Perfect fit.

It was a little bit fiddly at first because one needs to hold the screw in place and push back the spring to then be able to attach the new saddle - which seems like a job for three hands.
After a rather stressful swap of the first saddle, I found small cable ties to be a perfect solution to this, though: Make a small loop, push back the spring, put the cable tie at the front of the spring and tighten it. Then, you can simply use a screwdriver to bring back the cable tie to about halfway along the screw, thereby compacting the spring and getting it out of the way. Attach the saddle, snap the cable tie, adjust for intonation. Done.

Also, have painters’ tape ready: I used copious amounts behind the bridge to protect the finish and a little piece in the front as a reference point for adjusting intonation.

 

[jaco944]

I am kind of intrigued by the Combustion/NGx 6-string because it's one of the few that use an 18mm string spacing, but I have to ask-- what are those things like to play? That neck looks massive!

It is a beast but the learning curve from my 5’s to the 6 was minimal. I actually only noticed the difference when going back to a 5 after playing the 6 for a few weeks. A good setup and then tweaking that setup was the biggest help in the transition phase….the previous owner replaced the nut and it was a trainwreck….sorted out now and a dream to play.

 

[Alex-Thompson]

There are more options than you can shake a stick at. Just buy the damn thing.

Done. It’s en route. Even got an ok trade in on my Stingray!

 

[Nuage420]

Done. It’s en route. Even got an ok trade in on my Stingray!

Congrats!

 

[Alex-Thompson]

I think you’re worked up about nothin’. You should move forward with the bass purchase. It may require you to think just a little farther ahead regarding strings.

Dingwall strings shouldn’t be that hard to get in Canada. Always shoot for a set designed for fanned basses. You’ll notice a difference in tone and balance from string to string.

Really appreciate the replies. I ordered it yesterday. So hopefully two weeks from now I will be in my loft rocking the DROC.

Lara listed several string manufacturers above. I also went into L&M yesterday and saw they had some DAddario Super Long .45-100. But only one choice haha (literally nothing else extra/ super long)

So when you’re saying designed specifically for fanned frets, due to tone band balance, I’m listening…. But looking at FretNation etc nothing is saying “fanned fret”. There’s no specifics mentioned that refers to fanned frets. I’ve looked at the D’Addario, EB, Dunlop so far. All they say are terms like “super long” or “extra long “.

so are you saying they’re not ideal?

 

[AB Nate]

Really appreciate the replies. I ordered it yesterday. So hopefully two weeks from now I will be in my loft rocking the DROC.

Lara listed several string manufacturers above. I also went into L&M yesterday and saw they had some DAddario Super Long .45-100. But only one choice haha (literally nothing else extra/ super long)

So when you’re saying designed specifically for fanned frets, due to tone band balance, I’m listening…. But looking at FretNation etc nothing is saying “fanned fret”. There’s no specifics mentioned that refers to fanned frets. I’ve looked at the D’Addario, EB, Dunlop so far. All they say are terms like “super long” or “extra long “.

so are you saying they’re not ideal?

A safe bet is to just start with the readily available Dingwall strings at L and M (nickel and stainless) and then explore out from there. I have never ever been without strings for a dingwall.

Payson ships his out super quick as well! With in a week I usually haven’t order from US to CAN

 

[Waltsdog]

Really appreciate the replies. I ordered it yesterday. So hopefully two weeks from now I will be in my loft rocking the DROC.

Lara listed several string manufacturers above. I also went into L&M yesterday and saw they had some DAddario Super Long .45-100. But only one choice haha (literally nothing else extra/ super long)

So when you’re saying designed specifically for fanned frets, due to tone band balance, I’m listening…. But looking at FretNation etc nothing is saying “fanned fret”. There’s no specifics mentioned that refers to fanned frets. I’ve looked at the D’Addario, EB, Dunlop so far. All they say are terms like “super long” or “extra long “.

so are you saying they’re not ideal?

As Nate said just try the Dingwall strings, if I remember correctly I’m fairly sure they are made by D’Addario anyway. No need to make it complicated when it’s not even in hand yet.

 

[Derek Williams]

Really appreciate the replies. I ordered it yesterday. So hopefully two weeks from now I will be in my loft rocking the DROC.

Lara listed several string manufacturers above. I also went into L&M yesterday and saw they had some DAddario Super Long .45-100. But only one choice haha (literally nothing else extra/ super long)

So when you’re saying designed specifically for fanned frets, due to tone band balance, I’m listening…. But looking at FretNation etc nothing is saying “fanned fret”. There’s no specifics mentioned that refers to fanned frets. I’ve looked at the D’Addario, EB, Dunlop so far. All they say are terms like “super long” or “extra long “.

so are you saying they’re not ideal?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Blues Cat]

Really appreciate the replies. I ordered it yesterday. So hopefully two weeks from now I will be in my loft rocking the DROC.

Lara listed several string manufacturers above. I also went into L&M yesterday and saw they had some DAddario Super Long .45-100. But only one choice haha (literally nothing else extra/ super long)

So when you’re saying designed specifically for fanned frets, due to tone band balance, I’m listening…. But looking at FretNation etc nothing is saying “fanned fret”. There’s no specifics mentioned that refers to fanned frets. I’ve looked at the D’Addario, EB, Dunlop so far. All they say are terms like “super long” or “extra long “.

so are you saying they’re not ideal?

It’s because they’re NOT designed for fanned fret basses. They will not be the best option. Life’s too short. Use fanned string sets designed for fanned basses to bring out the absolute best tone and balance string to string. Order now so you have them on hand.

 

[Paajanenae]

It’s because they’re NOT designed for fanned fret basses. They will not be the best option. Life’s too short. Use fanned string sets designed for fanned basses to bring out the absolute best tone and balance string to string. Order now so you have them on hand.

When you say they're not designed for fanned fret basses, are you talking about the gauges, the winding or the different string-to-string tensions they're going to sit at when tuned to pitch on a multi-scale?

I'm wondering because the I've seen Sheldon comment on this a lot here, but never really explain what it is that makes those unsuitable for fanned fret instruments. If it's mainly the wrong string gauges, that should be easy to avoid by buying single strings and picking the right gauges?

 

[Paajanenae]

After owning my NG3 for about a month and trying (and failing) hard to make it sound at least remotely similar to my D-Roc Standard my dramatic ass was already spending hours looking up 5-string D-Rocs around Europe. It just was so bright and midrangey compared to the D-Roc and I just figured it was due to the pickups being slightly closer to the bridge. I've had my D-Roc modified to have the same pickup layout so it was easy to compare and be disappointed.

Today however I took the time to carefully measure, setup and compare the two. My D-Roc has its pickups sitting at ~5.3mm from the G-string and 5.5 - 5.8mm from the E-string with the bridge pickup being a bit lower than the rest and it sounds wonderful. Just the right amount of punch, warmth and clarity to dial in sounds for pretty much anything. The NG3 had its pickups at 3mm from the G-string and ~3.5 from the B-string with the bridge pickup being around 0.5mm higher than the rest, so no wonder it was so bright and "wrong". Now the pickups sit at 4.2mm from the G-string and 4.8 - 5mm from the B-string with the bridge pickup a hair lower than others and I'm already liking the sound much better. That's my DAS cured – for now.

 

[Blues Cat]

When you say they're not designed for fanned fret basses, are you talking about the gauges, the winding or the different string-to-string tensions they're going to sit at when tuned to pitch on a multi-scale?



I'm wondering because the I've seen Sheldon comment on this a lot here, but never really explain what it is that makes those unsuitable for fanned fret instruments. If it's mainly the wrong string gauges, that should be easy to avoid by buying single strings and picking the right gauges?

Sets will have a 3 page spread sheet. One of the set design aspects is the winding-at-tension. It’s different on a parallel fret set compared to a fanned set.

 

[AB Nate]

After owning my NG3 for about a month and trying (and failing) hard to make it sound at least remotely similar to my D-Roc Standard my dramatic ass was already spending hours looking up 5-string D-Rocs around Europe. It just was so bright and midrangey compared to the D-Roc and I just figured it was due to the pickups being slightly closer to the bridge. I've had my D-Roc modified to have the same pickup layout so it was easy to compare and be disappointed.

Today however I took the time to carefully measure, setup and compare the two. My D-Roc has its pickups sitting at ~5.3mm from the G-string and 5.5 - 5.8mm from the E-string with the bridge pickup being a bit lower than the rest and it sounds wonderful. Just the right amount of punch, warmth and clarity to dial in sounds for pretty much anything. The NG3 had its pickups at 3mm from the G-string and ~3.5 from the B-string with the bridge pickup being around 0.5mm higher than the rest, so no wonder it was so bright and "wrong". Now the pickups sit at 4.2mm from the G-string and 4.8 - 5mm from the B-string with the bridge pickup a hair lower than others and I'm already liking the sound much better. That's my DAS cured – for now.

View attachment 4810830

100%. Pick up height is critical in tone sculpting

 

[AB Nate]

Dingwall Afterburner Bubinga | Reverb

 

[Nuage420]

Dingwall Afterburner Bubinga | Reverb

Oh my!

 

[DeltaPhoenix]

Dingwall Afterburner Bubinga | Reverb

Agreed, I bet that is awesome