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Dingwall Owners Club

#60,781
Admiral Chew said:
I love that bass, so much so that it’s just prompted me to take the plunge on a fretless ABII 5-string. I’ve been on the lookout for a good walnut bodied ebony-fingerboarded fretless for an age and a pre-owned ABII unexpectedly popped up near me. After George’s bass, I couldn’t say no. I’ll post more details about it when I’ve been able to spend some time with it and when I’ve taken the obligatory TB photos.
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Following on from my earlier post, I’ve taken some photos of the new bass. I’ve not really had much time to play it as it only arrived yesterday but I’m already delighted with it. I’ve been on the lookout for a walnut and ebony fretless 5 for a while and I didn’t expect it to be a Dingwall that popped up matching that brief. I know how the FDVs and Glockenklang sound in a semi-chambered body so I was excited to add fretless to that mix.

I’ve asked Dingwall for a bit more background but I gather the specs are:

- 5-string fretless
- Chambered walnut body with wenge contrast layer
- Walnut burl top
- 3x pickup config
- FDV pickups
- Glockenklang preamp
- series/ parallel switches
- Roasted ash neck
- Macassar ebony fingerboard

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And, for the sake of it (in true TB fashion), a Dingwall family shot:

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#60,782
#60,786
IvanBassist said:
@Scott McArron came by for a bass hang and I got to try out his Z3 6 string.

What a bass! The neck profile feels awesome. I'm pretty surprised at how easy it is to play, not to mention how good it sounds.
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It was awesome to finally meet up! 😄

The Z3-6 is definitely the easiest playing bass I’ve ever played, not to mention lightweight, balanced, balanced tonally across the strings, and everything one could imagine in a perfect 6-string! ☺️

Your SJ and SP were both amazing too! I especially fell in love with the SP being so far different from the Z. If I ever get back into the cover band scene, a DW Super P will be at the top of my list for sure. 😊
 
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#60,787
nellie48 said:
I got to play my new 2025 Z3 at church this Sunday. Looks beautiful under the lights, doesn't it?
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The sound guy also said my tone is the best he has ever heard. I even had a couple people come up afterwards to comment on my playing. The other bass player even said it looked like I had improved a lot! I explained to him that I hadn't but that I had recently discovered the strap lock port on the back of this new Z3. Let me explain.

That strap-lock port position must have been engineered to allow the bass to hang exactly like a bass balanced on your knee when sitting. Literally the bass does not move when I have it on my knee playing and then standing up with the strap on. This was a game changer in allowing me to play at my full potential!!

I am nearly 50 years old and have been playing bass in rock bands since I was about 20. Until about 5 years ago I didn't take my playing that seriously and really the only time I picked up my bass was for rehearsals and shows. So pretty much all my playing and practicing was done standing up.

That all changed about 5 years ago during Covid. I decided to overhaul my hand technique and tried to get rid of some bad habits with my plucking hand. This new playing technique was built around sitting down with the bass high up on me and my forearm resting on the top edge of the bass. This gave me a gentler touch and more speed. I also moved to a more floating thumb style instead. I got rid of the mostly flat finger look that was sloppy and heavy. I saw some big improvements in my playing but that would all somehow go out the window when I played live at church and standing up again. For the past 5 years I could not get a good feel for my new technique standing up and could not perform at the same level as I was at home. This all changed this weekend with this strap-lock. It is the perfect position!!!!
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The cool thing about Dingwalls is their clarity. As long as you're up in the mix, the audience (and fellow musicians) can actually hear what you are playing much better IME. I only use Dingwall basses to praise the Lord with! The lights make your Z look like it is on fire. :cool:
 
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#60,789
Admiral Chew said:
That configuration is wild! At the risk of asking you to repeat yourself, what’s the story here?
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It came out as a Z2 with the Glockenklang pre-amp. The owner took it to Joe Glaser in Nashville and had him turn it into a Z3. Then it got sent to Brian at The Low End to turn it into a Z4. He ended up getting the bass for himself.

Now… it’s mine and I’ve got to learn all those options. Man, it genuinely has so many different tonal capabilities. I love the sounds. It’s definitely more versatile than my last Dingwall. I loved that bass but I just wanted more Dingwall.
 
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#60,791
Admiral Chew said:
Following on from my earlier post, I’ve taken some photos of the new bass. I’ve not really had much time to play it as it only arrived yesterday but I’m already delighted with it. I’ve been on the lookout for a walnut and ebony fretless 5 for a while and I didn’t expect it to be a Dingwall that popped up matching that brief. I know how the FDVs and Glockenklang sound in a semi-chambered body so I was excited to add fretless to that mix.

I’ve asked Dingwall for a bit more background but I gather the specs are:

- 5-string fretless
- Chambered walnut body with wenge contrast layer
- Walnut burl top
- 3x pickup config
- FDV pickups
- Glockenklang preamp
- series/ parallel switches
- Roasted ash neck
- Macassar ebony fingerboard

View attachment 7203227View attachment 7203228View attachment 7203229View attachment 7203230

And, for the sake of it (in true TB fashion), a Dingwall family shot:

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That is a beauty? Congrats on the find.
 
#60,792
Admiral Chew said:
No problem! It’s nice to have an excuse to speak about it (thank you Talkbass!). I’ve included some photos below.

In terms of tone, it’s a beautiful mixture of growl and precision. It has a deep, earthy, woody tone as a result of the chambering but the scale length means that the notes all stay articulate. The Glockenklang preamp allows for some girth and grit to be added too.

Ergonomically, it balances well, it’s light (I’ll share my bass weights for the spreadsheet at some point) and the smoothness of the neck makes it easy to fly up and down it. I have Dingwalls with maple, wenge, ovangkol and roasted ash necks and I really like how the ABII’s ovangkol feels under my fretting hand.

My first Dingwall was an NG3 and I was expecting a degree of aggression from it because of the demo videos and genres it was most often seen in. I was surprised by how polite it sounded (especially in comparison to my Warwick Streamer which had real growl). The FDVs on the ABII are closer to the tone I was expecting. I have them on my D-ROC too but the ABII’s preamp makes a difference at how this tone is drawn out.

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It is that one (and sorry for getting in there first). I’ll make a note to let you know should I ever consider moving it on. It was a very unexpected thing to see in the pre-owneds and I feel for them person that had to let it go.
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That is a GREAT looking bass! Love the color!
 
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#60,793
spiritbass said:
The cool thing about Dingwalls is their clarity. As long as you're up in the mix, the audience (and fellow musicians) can actually hear what you are playing much better IME. I only use Dingwall basses to praise the Lord with! The lights make your Z look like it is on fire. :cool:
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It certainly looks like fire and brimstone at church with their lighting! Ha ha.

That said, it’s true color is a bit more amber sunburst. Here are some better pics from home.

Z3 Swamp Ash w/Maple Burl top
- Wenge neck and fingerboard
- Rupert Neve Pre with toggles
- SFII pickups
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#60,794
#60,795
silky smoove said:
Disclaimer: This is not intended to be a political post.

Last week I mentioned that I was looking into changing my current custom order for a Super P placed through The Bass Shop in Seattle. I worked with Chad at the Bass Shop on this and he was able to confirm that Dingwall had not yet started production on my Super P, and therefore could change the custom order to reflect what I now want to prioritize, which is essentially a 5-string version of my current #1 bass, a 4-string Super J, all while retaining my spot in the build queue. I'll still order that Super P at some point, but for now I have more need for a 5-string than I do for a Super P that was going to be my "bass that always wears flats."

The specs for my revised order are as follows:
Super J 5-String
3X SF2 pickups
D-Roc rotary switch
Series-parallel switches
Neve preamp
Alder or ash body, prioritize light weight
Charcoal frost metallic finish
Maple neck
Maple fretboard (birdseye if possible)
Black dots
Red tort 3-ply pickguard
Black hardware

The charcoal frost metallic with red tort pickguard and maple fretboard is a classic Fender color combination that I've always really liked. Below is a great example of this combination from Fodera that I provided to Dingwall for a reference.

Now, why did I mention politics at the top of this post? I got the updated quote for the bass. For those of you more knowledgeable about what various options cost, you might be able to back calculate how much, if any, the current tariffs increased the cost of this order. I'm already committed to the build and am good with the quoted price, so for me it's a non-issue. For those that are currently contemplating a build and are somewhat reluctant given the tariffs situation and the number of unknowns, this may be useful information.

Quoted build price: $5,330 USD

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A couple questions:

-1 piece or 5 piece maple lam neck. Affects price.
-body wood will also affect price. Ash is an upcharge on an SJ from alder from what I can see.

From what I can tell you’ve got a good price still. I’m basing numbers off of a 2023 price list
 
#60,796
Admiral Chew said:
Following on from my earlier post, I’ve taken some photos of the new bass. I’ve not really had much time to play it as it only arrived yesterday but I’m already delighted with it. I’ve been on the lookout for a walnut and ebony fretless 5 for a while and I didn’t expect it to be a Dingwall that popped up matching that brief. I know how the FDVs and Glockenklang sound in a semi-chambered body so I was excited to add fretless to that mix.

I’ve asked Dingwall for a bit more background but I gather the specs are:

- 5-string fretless
- Chambered walnut body with wenge contrast layer
- Walnut burl top
- 3x pickup config
- FDV pickups
- Glockenklang preamp
- series/ parallel switches
- Roasted ash neck
- Macassar ebony fingerboard

View attachment 7203227View attachment 7203228View attachment 7203229View attachment 7203230

And, for the sake of it (in true TB fashion), a Dingwall family shot:

View attachment 7203232
Click to expand...
Beautiful new addition!! Congrats!
 
#60,797
AB Nate said:
1 piece or 5 piece maple lam neck. Affects price.
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One piece, though I didn’t specify.

AB Nate said:
body wood will also affect price. Ash is an upcharge on an SJ from alder from what I can see.
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Correct. I didn’t specify. I only stated that I wanted to prioritize light weight. That’s what I did on my 4-string SJ and ended up with an ash body. It’s a solid painted finish, so it doesn’t matter to me as long as it’s not a heavy bass.
 
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#60,798
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#60,799
silky smoove said:
One piece, though I didn’t specify.


Correct. I didn’t specify. I only stated that I wanted to prioritize light weight. That’s what I did on my 4-string SJ and ended up with an ash body. It’s a solid painted finish, so it doesn’t matter to me as long as it’s not a heavy bass.
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So let’s say hypothetically you do get charged for an ash body wood

If alder, take off $150ish.

I come to $4985 based off an old price list. My understanding after speaking with someone well appreciated around here is that there would be roughly 22% increase from that price list, and this is well before tariffs.

Even adding that 22% puts you over your quoted price, pre tariffs. I’m not sure what to say other then it seems like your price is pretty great.
 
#60,800
AB Nate said:
Even adding that 22% puts you over your quoted price, pre tariffs. I’m not sure what to say other then it seems like your price is pretty great.
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That's where I landed as well. I built out my order on the Fretnation custom order form and ended up at a higher price than my quote, so I'm not sure what to think vis a vis the current price list, options, tariffs, etc.
 

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