You can't go wrong with either, really.
The Z feels a bit more refined but I never gelled with the body shape (although there are ways to make it less obvious) and I tend to like thicker necks, so I'm on team Afterburner
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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
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You can't go wrong with either, really.
The Z feels a bit more refined but I never gelled with the body shape (although there are ways to make it less obvious) and I tend to like thicker necks, so I'm on team Afterburner
I own a Z3 and a Combustion 5. Not exactly the same as an AB, however, the body shapes are.
No doubt a Z3 neck profile is thinner. For me personally I like that better than the thicker profile necks. But I can see how some would like a thicker neck better. The Z neck is really thin. That is all personal preference though. Similar to how some people like P-Bass necks better than J-Bass necks. One other difference between the necks is that the Z uses a tilt-back headstock whereas the AB's use a straight headstock with sunken tuner posts. Here you can see the different profiles and headstocks:
I DO like the thinner more curved/rounded body of the Z better. Super comfortable.
Haha, stole my pic!
The Z neck fits me and my style of playing like a glove. But I do a lot of stuff where a fast neck feels better: prog metal, relatively technical deathcore, tech death… lots of tapping, thumping, double-thumb speed picking. NG/Combustion is still great though! Pretty much my backup these days.
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Back when I was deciding between a Z and an AB I think you posted that pic to show the tilt back headstock so I hung on to it!Haha, stole my pic!
The Z neck fits me and my style of playing like a glove. But I do a lot of stuff where a fast neck feels better: prog metal, relatively technical deathcore, tech death… lots of tapping, thumping, double-thumb speed picking. NG/Combustion is still great though! Pretty much my backup these days.
I wish I was bass nerdy enough to have calipers to measure the difference between the necks. Maybe someone else can.Back when I was deciding between a Z and an AB I think you posted that pic to show the tilt back headstock so I hung on to it!
Honestly, the pic is a little deceiving as the Z has the dark wenge fretboard that gives the illusion it is thinner.
But, much of thinness comes from the neck profile, the shape of the neck. The Z is flatter while the NG is more D shaped making it feel thicker width wise, not necessarily front to back. Not sure about that part. That’s how it feels to my hands anyway.
Maybe someone else can chime in with measurements. Would be cool
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I am your nerd for that. A couple pages back I measured the thicknesses between the SP-1 and the Combustion. I can measure my Z vs. a Combustion as well, but not an AB unfortunately as I dont have one of those.
The measurements are posted on the Dingwall site. Afterburners and Combustions neck thickness are 21mm at the first fret, 24 at the 12th. Z and Sklar are 19mm and 22mm.
Curious where you found them on the site. They’re not listed with the bass specs or FAQ.
Edit: never mind. Found on Learn More page bass comparison tool.
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So....After buying an SP1 in Ducati White back about a month ago and falling in love with it, I bought and received a second SP1 in Black last week.
I gigged this past weekend using exclusively the (2) SP1's after a decade of strictly playing Spector Euro's. Couldn't be happier with the SP1's. The ONLY complaint I have (If I am being nit picky) is that the fret board side markers are a bit difficult to see in low stage lighting. Aside from that minor detail, the SP1's are a perfect beast!
I gigged this past weekend using exclusively the (2) SP1's after a decade of strictly playing Spector Euro's. Couldn't be happier with the SP1's. The ONLY complaint I have (If I am being nit picky) is that the fret board side markers are a bit difficult to see in low stage lighting. Aside from that minor detail, the SP1's are a perfect beast!
A luminlay stick could help that if you're willing to tackle it (I'd be scared to, but I've heard of others that have done it).
I put a glow in the dark sticker from Amazon on the C on the E string for my NG3, just to provide a visual reference on the fretboard, which helps in low light venues.
I have a Maple fretboard though, and easier to see than Rosewood, which most of the SP1's have.
FretGlo (Fret Glo) has been very good to me! These probably aren't "as good" as real Luminlay dots, but it's a very easy and reversible way to try out highly visible fret markers for ~ten bucks plus shipping. I put them on my NG3, on older basses that only had teeny-tiny black dots, and even on the side of the upright bass fingerboard... I'm not a purist!
I've got Fret Go's on 4 basses. No issues with them yet, despite being on 3 players
FretGlo works for me too. Inexpensive, easy to see, and they are holding up well on the one bass I tried them on.
I need some suggestions from dingwall’s and markbass’ owners please!
I had a band practice today. Playing with a new amp, a markbass amp. I got it two weeks ago. I am used to GK and ampeg amps. I struggled at finding a tone that I like out of my NG3. I had a markbass head and 2 separate 15 inches bass cabs.
Any setting suggestions?
I had a band practice today. Playing with a new amp, a markbass amp. I got it two weeks ago. I am used to GK and ampeg amps. I struggled at finding a tone that I like out of my NG3. I had a markbass head and 2 separate 15 inches bass cabs.
Any setting suggestions?
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Just to make sure, you have the VPF and VLE turned all the way counter-clockwise? I've seen people put those at noon thinking that was the neutral setting. I've never really like Markbass cabinets. They sound kinda boxy to me.
