Dingwall Owners Club

[IvanBassist]

Seems I‘m the odd one out… Well, just let the record show "middle pickup solo" is the least used of my D-Bird and D-Roc (I‘m usually in the "MM" setting) and I definitely prefer my Super PJ with both pickups in parallel, as well - though that might be cheating as there’s a P-Tone in the bridge position, so technically it‘s a Super Double P.

Both pickups in parallel (mine has a Bridge FDV) + playing with a pick can sound sort of like a spector. It’s a great sound, but not one that I use all that often:

 

[wavemaker]

Both pickups in parallel (mine has a Bridge FDV) + playing with a pick can sound sort of like a spector. It’s a great sound, but not one that I use all that often

Good point, that might actually be the explanation: I‘m definitely a pick player first and foremost.

 

[groovaholic]

I rarely use the bridge pickup on my Super PJ. The P-Tone on its own sounds way too good

That would have been me also, at least for the first 7 years I owned my bass...the P-Tone just sounded so much better than the other (original Bartolini) pickups that it was the only one I ever used.

But last week I replaced the Bartolinis with a set of Nordstrand "Warm and Wooly" Big Blades in the middle and bridge positions, to join the P-Tone that I added to the bass back in 2016.

One of my bands rehearsed last night - and with those Nordys in the bass, every single pickup option, either soloed or blended, sounded big and fat.

The volume and basic tonality were consistent; the main difference that I noted was the attack envelope of the notes - they develop a bit more gently at the neck pickup and get progressively more "burpy" with the middle and bridge.

The pickup upgrade has revitalized this bass, and made me a believer in well-implemented bridge pickups.

 

[KPopOnBass]

Anyone got an example of the Super P with single pickup’s tone fusion control?

Demos of that are few and far between! I was really jonesing to try the tone fusion control and couldn't find much in the way of demos. Now I have one, so I'll commit to posting a quick video. (My Super-P has flats but at least you can hear what the control does).

 

[J Posega]

I didn't really care for the Tone Fusion pot on my Super P5. Mid-scoop isn't all that useful to me. I understand that it's meant to approximate the sound of a J bass with both pickups dimed, but I didn't care for the perceived volume drop. I replaced it with a standard tone pot before I even had the bass routed for an added bridge pickup. I still have the TF pot in my parts box somewhere.

 

[AB Nate]

Just to follow up on this, centre of a Stingray pickup is about 777mm from the nut, which is also centre of the middle pickup. The bridge pickup is too close to the bridge to be in the Stingray zone. I’m not saying that both together is not the “Stingray setting”, but most of the Stingray tone is coming from the middle pickup due to its position.

this is of course a bit different on a D-Roc, and while I don’t have one to measure I suspect the middle pickup is more into the P position, and more similar to the neck pickup in the other Dingwalls.

Ah but, the MM is a dual humbucker. Pairing both bridge and middle on a Dingwall comes closer to this IMO THEN JUST A singular p configured Pick up.

Both pickups in parallel (mine has a Bridge FDV) + playing with a pick can sound sort of like a spector. It’s a great sound, but not one that I use all that often:

Sounds great Ivan!

 

[Derek Williams]

Ah but, the MM is a dual humbucker. Pairing both bridge and middle on a Dingwall comes closer to this IMO THEN JUST A singular p configured Pick up.

For sure. I was just pointing it out in the context of a P-ish tone versus the neck pickup solo.

 

[AB Nate]

For sure. I was just pointing it out in the context of a P-ish tone versus the neck pickup solo.

Indeed. The thing about these Dingwall pups, perhaps aside from the SF2 is how much they can enter P territory when ran solo but then combine them and they smooth out to get to Jazz or MM territory.

 

[silky smoove]

Indeed. The thing about these Dingwall pups, perhaps aside from the SF2 is how much they can enter P territory when ran solo but then combine them and they smooth out to get to Jazz or MM territory.

"Territory" being the operative term when it comes to Jazz bass sounds. My Super J with 3X FDVs does a great job of various P and MM sounds, but none of the settings sound at all like any of my Jazz basses. As @IvanBassist pointed out it's much more of a Spector'ish sound than an actual Jazz sound. Still a killer and very usable sound, but I do always laugh a little when I play my Super J and realize it can nail so many sounds but can't manage a passable Jazz facsimile.

 

[AB Nate]

"Territory" being the operative term when it comes to Jazz bass sounds. My Super J with 3X FDVs does a great job of various P and MM sounds, but none of the settings sound at all like any of my Jazz basses. As @IvanBassist pointed out it's much more of a Spector'ish sound than an actual Jazz sound. Still a killer and very usable sound, but I do always laugh a little when I play my Super J and realize it can nail so many sounds but can't manage a passable Jazz facsimile.

IMO that’s the FDVs. Of course I cannot speak for your bass but my experiences have found the FD3s and SF2 does a better jazz jobby

 

[IvanBassist]

"Territory" being the operative term when it comes to Jazz bass sounds. My Super J with 3X FDVs does a great job of various P and MM sounds, but none of the settings sound at all like any of my Jazz basses. As @IvanBassist pointed out it's much more of a Spector'ish sound than an actual Jazz sound. Still a killer and very usable sound, but I do always laugh a little when I play my Super J and realize it can nail so many sounds but can't manage a passable Jazz facsimile.

Interesting. Looking forward to checking that out once my new SJ arrives.

 

[silky smoove]

IMO that’s the FDVs. Of course I cannot speak for your bass but my experiences have found the FD3s and SF2 does a better jazz jobby

That's definitely a possibility. When I ordered my Super J I left the pickups as the standard FDVs based on reviews that I've read. They've definitely got a different vibe than two single coils wired in parallel with each other. Likely more usable tones from the 3X FDVs than a pair of singles, but you do have to sacrifice that one distinct tone. It's a compromise I'm happy to make since I have other Jazz basses.

 

[silky smoove]

Interesting. Looking forward to checking that out once my new SJ arrives.

I may have missed it, but do you know how far out you are from taking delivery?

 

[GBassNorth]

I rarely use the bridge pickup on my Super PJ. The P-Tone on its own sounds way too good

Still getting used to my D-Bird, but finding that I’m in Position 1 (bridge) almost never, position 2 (bridge and middle) maybe 10% of the time, position 3 (middle) probably 50% of the time, and position 4 (all on) about 40% of the time. I’d like to be able to switch from position three to four on the fly but it’s such a massive volume change when all three pickups come on it makes it difficult.

 

[AB Nate]

That's definitely a possibility. When I ordered my Super J I left the pickups as the standard FDVs based on reviews that I've read. They've definitely got a different vibe than two single coils wired in parallel with each other. Likely more usable tones from the 3X FDVs than a pair of singles, but you do have to sacrifice that one distinct tone. It's a compromise I'm happy to make since I have other Jazz basses.

Im still crossing fingers for dual humbuckers one day from Dingwall.
I love hearing P pick ups but the reality is the cleaner punch from HBs is more my jam.

 

[ThisYouCanTrust]

Im still crossing fingers for dual humbuckers one day from Dingwall.
I love hearing P pick ups but the reality is the cleaner punch from HBs is more my jam.

Do you have a 3X selector on your emg dingwall ?
Do the different combinations also "work" ? I mean, tonally ..

I also love humbuckers, but don't you lose versatility ?
I remember on my 5lx euro with DCs, full bridge or full neck or somewhere in between didn't make that much of a difference in the end ..
Some of course, but that balance pot definitely didn't allow as much tone-shaping as the dingwall selector.

Oh and yeah that's pretty much the only drawback I could envision from where I sit lol

 

[Katoosie]

So whatever happened to @Kmrumedy and your bass? I saw you post somewhere that you got it but I don't think you've share any pics or anything with us?

Sacrilege!
I'm totally calling you out on this

Show some pics and share your experiences with the rest of the gang!

 

[groovaholic]

it’s such a massive volume change when all three pickups come on it makes it difficult

The big volume jump is why I got rid of series mode when I re-wired my bass last week.

Series made all of the other options sound small, so it became the de facto standard.

Now that all 3 pickups provide roughly the same volume, I was able to raise the P-Tone back to Dingwall factory height specs - which made it sound much fatter and more dynamic.

 

[shade_1313]

Demos of that are few and far between! I was really jonesing to try the tone fusion control and couldn't find much in the way of demos. Now I have one, so I'll commit to posting a quick video. (My Super-P has flats but at least you can hear what the control does).

I’ll be looking forward to that.

 

[IvanBassist]

I may have missed it, but do you know how far out you are from taking delivery?

I’m hoping that it arrives around the end of the year or January 2024, but I need to ask the shop.