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Dingwall Owners Club

#52,281
cxcxcx said:
The remarks I can offer with the same amount of time playing depend on preference as well as practical application. Some bass forum tropes that are based in supposition rather than truth will have to be challenged as well. Not saying you’re presenting any, but they come up an awful lot and should be addressed.

It took me years and an outrageous amount of money to figure out that the sound I truly love at the end of the day is a Precision - from the flatwound sounds of the 60’s, the more present flat/rounds sounds of the 70’s, and the rounds and pick sound of New Wave, Punk, and Pop of the 80’s and on. I like the Marcus sound, the Nathan sound, the Jaco sound, and other modern tones. I pursued that stuff for years, but I finally found where my home is. This is entirely experiential and of absolutely no use to a fan of other types of music, but it’s been my landing point.

Precisions absolutely are lower tech and old school compared to new school offerings, but the omnipresence of the design over the last 75 simply speaks for itself, and is not going away. The common criticism is that Precisions are boring. A Fodera isn’t boring, neither is a Dingwall, an Alembic, a Ritter, a Spector, or anything else. They’re tools. Players that use those tools can produce fascinating material or be totally boring. That’s on the player, not the bass.

Sound reinforcement has gone through a few revolutions in the last few decades, and sound issues that use of a P-Bass presented largely aren’t problems anymore. That said, a P-Bass is not the first choice as a pretty-sounding instrument to play alone with. It’s got a series pickup that can throw out a lot of midrange honk. Plenty of boutique and boutique-style basses do solo-at-home well, as does a Jazz. However, if you take the same P and play it with a band, magic happens. It’s all there and you get an idea of why those basses are gold standards.

Even then, the live experience with a P may not be a revelation. This is because of the old observation that what you hear a few feet from your amp is not what your bandmates or audience hears. It needs to bloom a bit. What you’d need to try next is getting some recordings done with a Precision. Then, you’ll hear something going on. There’s reasons why the P is so popular in studios, and it has little to with standard bass forum claims of engineer or producer laziness or tradition. The precision bass sound just slots in mixes very nicely. It doesn’t step on the top end or low end of the mix. It just fits in its own place.

Anyway, it’s not my intent to try and sell Precisions on a Dingwall thread. Anybody can play anything they want and it’s no skin off my nose. I really enjoy my Dingwalls because I think the extra extended scale of 36” or 37” is best for the B and E on a 5 string, but if you have D and G strings at those longer scales on a parallel fret bass, they get tinny sounding. The Dingwall design solves that.

The Canadian models are expensive, but you do get what you pay for and they are absolutely magnificent in terms of build and execution. Literally a joy to play and a “where have you been all my life” experience. I say the same thing about a good Precision too, but few if any are built to Dingwall standards aside from the P styles Dingwall makes.

This all works out well because I do run into situations where a P would be a more appropriate choice than a Dingwall. Other gigs require a 5 string, and there’s other times nobody cares. Both instruments get you from point A to point B, but I’m happy to play whatever bass it is that serves the music at hand best.
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#52,282
ABHS you say?

Random pic from the other day for some reason.

IMG_0806.jpeg
 
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#52,283
I don't love the Darkglass preamp in my Afterburner and saw Lobster's video where he dropped in a new rotary and an East preamp and tone knob. Really like the end result, so I ordered a rotary (N, M, N/B, MB in parallel, MB in series, D-ROC mode) and ordered a preamp. Already have the tone knob designed for the preamp. I may be one knob away from having the parts I need on order. Minimal soldering required, the only thing I am concerned about is that there will be enough reach for the volume knob with the layout I would like and I think that is on a ribbon.

 
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#52,284
Jerry Ziarko said:
I'll start by saying my Sklar sig is the last bass I will ever buy. It has filled every need I can think of and then some. Truly of all the basses I've owned over this long life, (and there has been a ton) this is by far my favorite. It checks every box on my perfect bass wish list. With that said, I recently hooked up with an accomplished songwriter who has some really great material. The band is in the infant stages, but progressing nicely. Yesterday at rehearsal I got the strangest request. He asked what it would take for me to play a Fender bass. I stood there for a moment not really knowing what the answer should or would be, and said, "This is my bass." The conversation pretty much ended there. It's literally the first time I've ever been asked by a band leader to play a different instrument. It definitely put a damper on my day....???
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Unless the bandleader is paying me more to play a Fender, I am going to play what I want. Stick to your guns!!!!
 
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#52,286
MultiScaleMale said:
I don't love the Darkglass preamp in my Afterburner and saw Lobster's video where he dropped in a new rotary and an East preamp and tone knob. Really like the end result, so I ordered a rotary (N, M, N/B, MB in parallel, MB in series, D-ROC mode) and ordered a preamp. Already have the tone knob designed for the preamp. I may be one knob away from having the parts I need on order. Minimal soldering required, the only thing I am concerned about is that there will be enough reach for the volume knob with the layout I would like and I think that is on a ribbon.
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If you mean “reach” from the pickups, I had plenty of slack wire in my pickups to wire it up the way I wanted. Unless someone has clipped them in the past, you should be ok.

I just did something similar with the Nordstrand 3B and am very happy with the results.

Dingwall Owners Club. <- Link to my post with the details
 
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#52,287
Hunter34 said:
If you mean “reach” from the pickups, I had plenty of slack wire in my pickups to wire it up the way I wanted. Unless someone has clipped them in the past, you should be ok.

I just did something similar with the Nordstrand 3B and am very happy with the results.

Dingwall Owners Club. <- Link to my post with the details
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I was planning the same with my newly acquired NG2 but it sounds so good as is I’m going to leave it. I had an AB1 3x years ago and couldn’t get along with the it’s dark nature. It’s fantastic with two pickups if that makes any sense. I can dial in almost anything.
 
#52,288
madmaskbass said:
Heavy Solid bubinga 6 with wenge neck is my dream Dingwall. I know there is a few around. Think I would settle for something else though but I love the HS world must be because that is my build type lol.
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yea im the same way for a 4 or a 6 bubinga/bubinga old school or bubinga/maple HS, use to own a HS 5 with a wenge neck, sold it cuz it was a 5 with a wenge neck and ive been moving away from both for a few years

where'd you get your pseudo-wal btw, thing looks gorgeous ?
 
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#52,289
Hunter34 said:
If you mean “reach” from the pickups, I had plenty of slack wire in my pickups to wire it up the way I wanted. Unless someone has clipped them in the past, you should be ok.

I just did something similar with the Nordstrand 3B and am very happy with the results.

Dingwall Owners Club. <- Link to my post with the details
Click to expand...

Sorry, I meant the volume to preamp board reach. Extending some wires would be no problem, but extending a ribbon cable is not as easy. I'm not going to overthink it until it gets here and then go with a knob layout that works, maybe not the knob layout I wanted as a first choice.
 
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#52,290
MDH bass said:
where'd you get your pseudo-wal btw, thing looks gorgeous ?
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Cheers mate,
Thats Walwannabe which I built it about 5 years ago when I realised how much they cost lol. Multicoils and ACG filter preamp Its a great bass but all it did was fuel my fire to get the real deal more! I have been waiting just on 3 years now and I will have it this year.

Its the same with the NG3..that just fueled my fire for a Canadian...Think I need some wallet recovery before i try one though!
 
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#52,291
So, pulled the trigger and a new order has been placed through the local dealer. Paid my deposit! Now the waiting game... of probably 2.5 years lol. Eh, all good things come to those who wait, innit.

ABII, 6 string, 3pu, ebony fretboard, fretless w/lines, roasted ash neck, DG electronics, black burst finish.

I wanted the blacked-out maple neck but I was told they don't do them anymore, which is weird but ok. I have a wenge neck on my ABZ 5 which I love, but figured I'd go for something different - anyone have a roasted ash neck on their Dingwall? What's it like?
 
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#52,297
1983L2000 said:
Jason provides a custom set of NYXLs for long scale Dinwalls:

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Has anyone tried them? I'm curious about how they are tension-wise...
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Ooh, I haven't seen those! Hopefully they post heavier gauges (like 145 and 160) for downtuning later, too. Also interested to hear how they are vs the XL super long scale, Payson, and dingwall string options.
 
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#52,300
1983L2000 said:
Jason provides a custom set of NYXLs for long scale Dinwalls:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Has anyone tried them? I'm curious about how they are tension-wise...
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If I'm not mistaken these come on the Ibanez BTB multiscales. I tried my friend's bass and thought they were lower in tension compared to the Dingwall strings. Not really my thing. My buddy opted for Payson in the end.
 
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