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Dingwall Owners Club

#52,841
IvanBassist said:
Listening through my iPhone speakers, it seems the FDVs have a more open top end.

Would be interesting to compare those samples by loudness-matching them
Click to expand...
Yes, that is what I found too. More open top, and less mids. At the moment I'm still waiting for a FD3 neck pickup to arrive, so I have an FDV in the neck, and FD3 in middle and bridge. I'm still trying to convince myself to leave the FDV there for more variety, but it's just not what I'm in the mood for right now. I'll probably switch things around again in another 6 months :D Maybe get a P-Tone and combine it with the SF2s, since they seem to have similar output level.

My collection will be 3 FD3Ns, 3 FD3s, 3 FDVs, and 2 SF2s. Collecting pickups is getting as bad as collecting pedals.
 
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#52,845
DavidJamesNHBass said:
The good news from all this is that you now know who John Fox Bass is.
He's the only Dingwall dealer who actually plays the basses, demos them for YouTube, does all the setup himself. And he's just a nice guy trying to make our lives better through the instruments he offers.
@johnfoxbass
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'll one up that for John.
Who else offers demos like that to help make decisions before a purchase.
A stand up guy
 
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#52,846
DavidJamesNHBass said:
The good news from all this is that you now know who John Fox Bass is.
He's the only Dingwall dealer who actually plays the basses, demos them for YouTube, does all the setup himself. And he's just a nice guy trying to make our lives better through the instruments he offers.
@johnfoxbass
Click to expand...
Lol. Just about everyone in this club has received a bass from JFB at one point or another.

Or sold him one… ;)
 
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#52,847
anton72 said:
Thanks for sharing! I wonder if FD3 and FD3N are the same pickups or not? Always been confused with it. I know that N stays for neodymium, if so what are the magnets in FD3 ?
Click to expand...

I have the FD3's in two of my NG's. I agree with @AB Nate that the FD3's are more "articulate" than the FD3N's. Definitely have similarities though. Another way I like to describe it would be that the FD3's are "tighter" in the low end and on top. Not so big and wide - if that makes sense? lolol. To my ears I think the initial attack is more emphasized through the FD3's - the FD3N's are just bigger and boomier to me.

I really wanna try the FDV's.
 
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#52,848
Personally, I believe the FDVs to be more “voiced”. The speak openly and articulately but I found less presence.
They have a lot of mid content/emphasis IME. I like the FD3s for their tightness. They seem more focussed to me. I can get a tighter low mid attack from them but still have a very articulate definition and growl throughout the spectrum.

of course all signal chain factors and revisions aside. I do try to change only one component within a respectable time span to focus on its traits specifically.
If I was to characterize them as some cabs some folks here are familiar with I’d say:

FDV = subway 115
FD3 = subway 210
 
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#52,849
I wanted to weigh in on the pickup comparison with my limited experience. I have A/Bd two 2015 NG-2s, one with FD3n and one with FD3s.

I find the FD3n has that kind of cold and sterile thing going on, the stereotypical negative things you hear about EMGs. Hotter, more compressed and lifeless to my ear but definitely works for certain genres.

FD3s seem to be more balanced, the growl and modern sound is still there but they are more versatile for all styles I would say.

No experience with FDV, the P tone or Super Fatties all of which would be awesome to try I’m sure.
 
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#52,850
gustobassman said:
I have the FD3's in two of my NG's. I agree with @AB Nate that the FD3's are more "articulate" than the FD3N's. Definitely have similarities though. Another way I like to describe it would be that the FD3's are "tighter" in the low end and on top. Not so big and wide - if that makes sense? lolol. To my ears I think the initial attack is more emphasized through the FD3's - the FD3N's are just bigger and boomier to me.

I really wanna try the FDV's.
Click to expand...
I like the FDV over the FD3n. The sound was much more full and seemed aggressive. I like them more but hearing that the FD3s are less boomy maybe I'll try those.

@DingwallDingus agree to the EMG similarities.
 
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#52,851
DingwallDingus said:
I find the FD3n has that kind of cold and sterile thing going on, the stereotypical negative things you hear about EMGs
Click to expand...

In regards to the EMGs, much like the Dingwall line there is a fair amount of variety and I don’t think that statement really applies to the line up. Perhaps the standard traditional DC(dual coils) but the X models are quite a bit to the contrary of that statement. They really open up and very dynamic.

same for the P and even more so (obviously) the PX.

for a stand alone pick up the PX is truly an amazing pick up.

I love the FD3s that were in my AB… but the DCXs I put in it took it to a whole new level.
It honestly blows my mind they put the fishmann pups in the Spector dimension.
The DCXs paired with a tone capsule and a 37” B….. baaaaaahhh.
Amazing!
 
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#52,853
robl said:
Just bought a Combustion 4 and like other active basses will leaving the input jack plugged in drain the battery or will putting the passive/active switch in passive mode solve the draining.
Click to expand...
If yours has active/passive switch (mine - a 5-er - does) - leaving it in passive with input plugged in might not actually drain the battery.
I experimented: took batteries out; the bass still sounds in passive mode => onboard electronics not engaged => should be no drain.
It could be, though, that “passive” means “electronics out of the circuit, but still being fed => some drain”.

But I habitually unplug mine anyway :)
 
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#52,854
tomilchik said:
If yours has active/passive switch (mine - a 5-er - does) - leaving it in passive with input plugged in might not actually drain the battery.
I experimented: took batteries out; the bass still sounds in passive mode => onboard electronics not engaged => should be no drain.
But I habitually unplug mine anyway :)
Click to expand...
The active/passive switch has no effect on power. It's just a simple switch like the bypass switch on a pedal: It doesn't stop the pedal from using power.
 
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#52,857
shade_1313 said:
I quickly realized that the F#0 is a string that needs to be carefully used, but has real potential to add some interesting color and feel to the right bass line. Like, everyone’s probably played a line where you ride the open E on everything from straight eighths to various rhythms, and I don’t think that sort of use is going to be the right one for the F# string. A couple of hard, low punches at the beginning of a riff, or dropped into place in the middle of one, and it could be just right.
Click to expand...

That's definitely how that tuning is best used. In my band Indistinct we tune all the way down to D#0 on bass (D#1 on guitars) but those low notes are only used as an effect and that's more or less what they are on any instrument. A good example of this can be found on our song "Sulphur" where in the more melodic intro the guitar and bass both play in the same octave, but when the breakdown hits at 1:32 I go down to the low D#0 for the first time in the song. The low string can also be very powerful on accented hits but faster and more sustained stuff at those octaves can easily get muddy.

With great gauges comes great responsibility!

 
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