I might have got it wrong way around, but the P Tone is definitely split different than my FD3s and other pickups.
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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
You can just pick low/high meaning pitch or altitude as you're wearing the bass. Heh. I was just curious and had the basses, the ferrous paper and myself in the same room.
I picked up a PTone pickup intending to make my older Combustion into a 3 pickup configuration. When I saw how the pickup was wired with the A sring on the wrong side, I changed my mind. Thought there would be weirdness unless I installed it upside down. And I didn’t know what repercussions that would have?
old post about it.
Dingwall Owners Club
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My Dingwall AB in action at a winery in beautiful Northern California. Patiently waiting for my custom Z.
After playing both factory default and modified configurations of the D-Roc 4-position pickup switch, which one did you prefer?
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Looking good! Dumb question but what does the Z give you over the AB that you feel you're lacking?
I bought the AB second hand. I get to choose all the specs on the Z, including the woods,which I am very particular about. Also has design features I like, such as the sunken bridge piece which adds to the sustain and punch, and a slightly thinner neck.
BUT! That slightly thinner neck feels massively different!!!
Kind of a mixed bag - of the three layout methods (stock, rewire, middle flip) each has its pros and cons.
Stock method pros and cons
Pro - very intuitive switching
Pro - mid pickup solo was a nice option
Con - personally not much use for a bridge solo sound
Con - no option to solo the neck pickup
Con - huge volume jump in position four (all on) even with pickup heights adjusted for output
Rewire method pros and cons
Pro - neck solo option
Pro - middle solo option
Con - counter intuitive switch layout (position 1 for neck solo)
Con - still a big jump in volume in position 4 (all on)
Middle/Neck pickup flip pros and cons
Pro - very intuitive switching
Pro - neck solo option
Pro - bridge+neck switch position is a good option to have
Pro - much more balanced volume output across all switching positions, no volume jump on four
Con - would rather have middle solo than bridge solo
I’m thinking the ideal four position switch layout for my playing would be…
Pos 1 - bridge + neck
Pos 2 - mid solo
Pos 3 - neck solo
Pos 4 - all on
I assume that would have to be a custom built switch.
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Oh lordt, fanned frets, more than 4 strings, sticker on the bass, pedals, and wearing shorts on stage?! This man clearly does not subscribe to TalkBass standards. Burn him at the stake.
/joke
I think your ideal switch would be a custom built. Like you, I don't think I'd use the solo bridge much but think the bridge+neck would be more useful for less edgy music than bridge+middle. The neck solo would have a bit rounder tone than mid solo but does it still have good focus and punch through? I'd think that Pos 4 with bridge/neck parallel in series with middle pickup would be really full and balanced.
I'm waiting to hear back from Dingwall sales or John Fox Bass on the price and wait time for a D-Roc Custom 5 with wenge neck/FB, ellipse markers, and luminlay side dots in burgundy metallic mist. The standards have an attractive price but I'd much prefer the one piece bridge and at least a wenge FB.
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Agree on the one piece bridge, seems like a nicer design. As for a Wenge neck/fretboard, that’s my favorite combo on any bass. So much so that I’m currently building myself a thunderbird bass with a bolt on wenge/Wenge neck…
Parts and pieces…
Fit test and sound check just before sending the body off to the finisher for a Shoreline Gold Metallic paint job…
Yeah -- if you get your custom switch built, please post your impressions.
Your ideal four position switch layout intrigues me.
After having had 5, I would like:
Neck, middle, bridge-middle series, bridge-neck series. I assume this is feasible?
IMO, and most here it appears, bridge solo'd is pointless. And I didn't care for all on.
There is another option I considered - moving beyond the confines of the 4 or 6 position switch (which for similar limiting reasons I’ve never really liked on any of my strats) to a three stacked knob passive layout with each knob being a volume/tone stack. That gives infinite control options and doesn’t require any physical changes to the bass (outside of the current pots and selector switch). I designed and built that type of control circuit for the three pickup bass in my avatar and it works great. Each pickup can even have its own value tone cap and pot value to further maximize the tone shaping options. The only real down side is dialing in a tone change on the fly isn’t as quick as the four position switch.
For now my preference is to try the various Dingwall options to better understand how this bass and its unique sound can fit in the music I like to play.
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I’m kinda on the fence with the “all on” setting. I need to get more experience with it in the mix. It can be a pretty overpowering sound if not EQd carefully.
Dingwall GAS can really be painful….I’m experiencing some right now. 
I have always been kind of used to more “traditional” or more vintage looking basses, especially for when playing on stage. So when I see 5 string Super P, Js, PJs for sale I drool over them!
A few months ago I got my first Dingwall and it’s a L Sklar 3x. It plays and sounds really good…but my question is, especially for those of you who can speak from some experience; would trading (or selling, can’t afford both) “down” to get Super PJ or J potentially be a mistake or have a disadvantage?
Besides looks, will super PJ or Js give me any more true, vintagy tones than what i can get from a Sklar set to bridge and neck SF2 but yet remain flexible if I need modern sound?
I have always been kind of used to more “traditional” or more vintage looking basses, especially for when playing on stage. So when I see 5 string Super P, Js, PJs for sale I drool over them!
A few months ago I got my first Dingwall and it’s a L Sklar 3x. It plays and sounds really good…but my question is, especially for those of you who can speak from some experience; would trading (or selling, can’t afford both) “down” to get Super PJ or J potentially be a mistake or have a disadvantage?
Besides looks, will super PJ or Js give me any more true, vintagy tones than what i can get from a Sklar set to bridge and neck SF2 but yet remain flexible if I need modern sound?
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Just spit-balling here, it seems the best way to get a truly Swiss Army Knife bass (for Classic Rock) would be something that would get in the zip-code of a J, P, Thunderbird, MM would be a 3 PUP Dingwall, but would require a custom switch.
A J would be Neck/bridge in parallel?
Tbird would be Neck/bridge in series?
MM middle/bridge in series?
P middle in series?
Add a neck solo in series and roll tone off for a Gibson mudbucker vibe?
So that's 5. Add a SushiBox pedal to get the tube vibe and you're all set. Any corrections to my assumption appreciated.
A J would be Neck/bridge in parallel?
Tbird would be Neck/bridge in series?
MM middle/bridge in series?
P middle in series?
Add a neck solo in series and roll tone off for a Gibson mudbucker vibe?
So that's 5. Add a SushiBox pedal to get the tube vibe and you're all set. Any corrections to my assumption appreciated.
