Dingwall Owners Club

[J Posega]

Well, I'm getting an unexpectedly large annual bonus this year and it has me daydreaming about procuring another Dingwall. Not sure I have the patience for a custom build again. Gonna keep my eyes peeled for ABZ or AB 5 strings and hope something interesting comes along.

 

[RealJeffJenkins]

Looking at @Andyman001's seemingly pristine ABZ makes me wonder how many of us run our basses exactly the way they were shipped.

Mine has the Sklar switch, and mini switches to put each pickup into series or parallel coils. Very minor mods, but changes from factory spec, regardless...

Series coils saved me from buying a P Tone for the neck position, and also increased my enjoyment of the bridge pickup. In retrospect, I could have simply wired both for series operation and not bothered with the mini switches.

However, after experiencing the simple, intuitive logic of "clockwise is darker, anti-clockwise is brighter", I would never want to go back to trying to remember which pickup combination is under which click. I think it would make more sense for the Sklar switch to ship as the standard rotary switch on every two-pickup Dingwall (except maybe the NG2).

Looking back, this Dingwall, a couple of acoustics and a PRS McCarty are literally the only stringed instruments I've ever left this unmolested.

What is the Sklar Switch?

 

[shade_1313]

What is the Sklar Switch?

The only thing I could figure, looking at the specs on Dingwall’s site, is that the 2 pickup switch positions on the Sklar are in a different order.

 

[AB Nate]

The only thing I could figure, looking at the specs on Dingwall’s site, is that the 2 pickup switch positions on the Sklar are in a different order.

Nice avatar!!!

 

[shade_1313]

Nice avatar!!!

I figured it was about time I had one, and those pics are just so fantastic.

 

[El Spearo]

The only thing I could figure, looking at the specs on Dingwall’s site, is that the 2 pickup switch positions on the Sklar are in a different order.

I thought it was Sklar's "producer switch":

 

[Paradilum]

Here's an interesting one: When passive, everything works as expected, on all pickup options. When Active, I am picking up all kinds of interference from my WiFi router, on all 4 pickup options. The fact that passive has no interference tells me that the pickups are not to blame.

Anyone else see this kind of thing happen?

 

[Hunter34]

I thought it was Sklar's "producer switch":

That's friggin' awesome!

 

[RealJeffJenkins]

I was wondering because the Canadian Z2 I just got which was made around 2013 I believe has a Glockenklang preamp and there’s a switch by the series/parallel switches that changes the mid frequency. I’m pretty sure the lower band is 250 hz like Lees, and the higher band sounds like the 550 hz that is typical on the Glockenklang preamp now. It’s kind of the best of both worlds really and it’s odd to me if you want 250 hz control now you have to buy a Sklar, otherwise you get the 550 hz from the regular Glock preamp. The previous owner did believe this was an older version of the Glock preamp and not what they currently use.

 

[AB Nate]

I was wondering because the Canadian Z2 I just got which was made around 2013 I believe has a Glockenklang preamp and there’s a switch by the series/parallel switches that changes the mid frequency. I’m pretty sure the lower band is 250 hz like Lees, and the higher band sounds like the 550 hz that is typical on the Glockenklang preamp now. It’s kind of the best of both worlds really and it’s odd to me if you want 250 hz control now you have to buy a Sklar, otherwise you get the 550 hz from the regular Glock preamp. The previous owner did believe this was an older version of the Glock preamp and not what they currently use.

Yup. This was a common 3x toggle set up from dingwall on 2 x pick up basses.

 

[cxcxcx]

I was wondering because the Canadian Z2 I just got which was made around 2013 I believe has a Glockenklang preamp and there’s a switch by the series/parallel switches that changes the mid frequency. I’m pretty sure the lower band is 250 hz like Lees, and the higher band sounds like the 550 hz that is typical on the Glockenklang preamp now. It’s kind of the best of both worlds really and it’s odd to me if you want 250 hz control now you have to buy a Sklar, otherwise you get the 550 hz from the regular Glock preamp. The previous owner did believe this was an older version of the Glock preamp and not what they currently use.

You don’t absolutely have to buy a Sklar to get the 250 mid control - the regular Glock preamp can be modded from the standard 550 down to 250. Speaking on the version currently available.

Dingwall will not modify the Sklar platform or borrow features from the Sklar and put them in non-Sklar models, but there are workarounds. My build is essentially a Sklar with larger frets. You can’t order a Sklar with frets larger than their model-standard mandolin frets, but you can order a Z with standard frets in Sklar finish with no Hipshot, different dual-density body woods, and mod the preamp to 250.

 

[RealJeffJenkins]

You don’t absolutely have to buy a Sklar to get the 250 mid control - the regular Glock preamp can be modded from the standard 550 down to 250. Speaking on the version currently available.

Dingwall will not modify the Sklar platform or borrow features from the Sklar and put them in non-Sklar models, but there are workarounds. My build is essentially a Sklar with larger frets. You can’t order a Sklar with frets larger than their model-standard mandolin frets, but you can order a Z with standard frets in Sklar finish with no Hipshot, different dual-density body woods, and mod the preamp to 250.

Yes that was why I jumped on this Eucalyptus top Z2, I wanted a Sklar but didn’t want to wait on a new build, and I actually prefer fancier tops like this bass. I would’ve like Mando frets but I could always have it Plekd and take these down to a smaller size. But I like the Banjo frets too, so I may just stay where it’s at. This bass is way more than I was hoping for, so now I just need to figure out how to make it mine and do my thing since the chances of any one ever having a career like Lee Sklars are pretty much nil. I’ll continue carving my own path while taking note of the things that worked for the ones before me.

 

[Callum Gibson]

They are the ones that said they wouldn't ship to NZ

How about George @ Bass Gear Direct in Sydney?

 

[El Spearo]

How about George @ Bass Gear Direct in Sydney?

Did not know about that one, I'll check it out. Cheers mate

 

[alembicbones]

Well, I'm getting an unexpectedly large annual bonus this year and it has me daydreaming about procuring another Dingwall. Not sure I have the patience for a custom build again. Gonna keep my eyes peeled for ABZ or AB 5 strings and hope something interesting comes along.

If you really have something specific in mind and special to you, I would say order your dream Dingwall and be patient with the wait. I went 19 months on mine and couldn't be happier with the result.

Bones

 

[Paajanenae]

Are there any 5 string non-tapered strings for 37”-34” Dingwalls? Tapered strings just don’t make me happy.

DRs will work, but you'll have to get a Extra Long B-String. They make those in the Hi-Beams series, I've gotten by by ordering single strings but if you fall in love with those you can order custom sets from DR. Those are priced like the standard sets with a minor upcharge, but you'll have to order a minimum of 12 sets. That's still a lot cheaper than paying 23€ for a single B-string

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Yikes! It's -35 deg C in Saskatoon today! Talk about shrinkage (in wood, that is)!

 

[1983L2000]

Made a review of my Super P

Hi Ivan. Quick questions: is your bridge and FDV or a P-tone or an SFii (and how did you make up your mind)? Thanks

 

[IvanBassist]

Hi Ivan. Quick questions: is your bridge and FDV or a P-tone or an SFii (and how did you make up your mind)? Thanks

It’s an FDV I just decided to leave it “stock” and see how I like it. I rarely use both pickups, but the parallel mode has some nice bite to it.
Both pickups in Parallel:


Bridge only:
Iván Carranza on Instagram: "Bridge pickup: or ? . . . . . . #vulfpeck #funk #bassline #dingwall #bassplayersunited #fannedfret"

If i remember correctly, Bill Eppel (can’t remember his username) had a P-Tone installed in the bridge position of his Super P and he really liked the result.

 

[Callum Gibson]

If i remember correctly, Bill Eppel (can’t remember his username) had a P-Tone installed in the bridge position of his Super P and he really liked the result.

That would be Burning Skies.

I have a P-Tone in the bridge of my PJ. It's certainly a whole lotta P. I do wonder what it would have been like with a standard bridge PU though.