Dingwall Owners Club

[warbassick]

Yep! As soon as my new SOL arrives to replace the Z I will be selling it and potentially ordering a new one. I say potentially because if I end up being thrilled with the SOL then another expensive and risky order of a Z that does the same thing might be somewhat redundant. We shall see…

Keep me in mind please for any future plans you may have with your Z3’s

 

[Scott McArron]

Even when going through a dealer, it helps to have direct contact with the builder when it comes to the details of a custom finish (or electronics for that matter). For example, when I ordered my custom FBass through Donovan at Fretspot, he put me in contact with Marcel Furlanetto to make sure that Marcel knew what I wanted, but also that I knew what was possible *and* what Marcel recommended based on his experience and what was available at the time.

Yeah, that would help immensely! Comes as quite a surprise actually. My past dealer made it sound like it was hard for him to contact the shop at all for even the simplest questions. I found it a bit hard to believe which makes me think he’s simply an avoidant personality type and/or didn’t want to bother. But enough of that dead horse

 

[The Sandman]

Yeah, that would help immensely! Comes as quite a surprise actually. My past dealer made it sound like it was hard for him to contact the shop at all for even the simplest questions. I found it a bit hard to believe which makes me think he’s simply an avoidant personality type and/or didn’t want to bother. But enough of that dead horse

Marcel is amazing… he goes way above and beyond expectations.

But my impression of Dingwall is that they also care a great deal about customer engagement and satisfaction. They may not be a vocal presence here but they are quite active on their FaceBook page. I’d try reaching out to them and discussing both your current Z3 and a potential future build.

 

[Element Zero]

NOT looking to stir up arguments… just looking for real world experience…

Has anyone been able to real tell the difference of say a Z with all other aspects being equal/same is neck wood, fingerboard, pickups, preamp yadda yadda yadda… BUt different body woods? Have YOU personally experienced a difference in tone/resonance/focus?

I’ve heard the pickup variations thanks to some good YouTube sleuths. But finding QUALITY body woods/neck woods AND the same pickups videos is a more nuanced and quite a lot more work than I’m willing to put into right now lol.

Eventually I’d like to place a custom order for what I’ve built up in my mind as the end all be all bass lol. I’ve managed to get ever closer these last couple weeks in my hunt for tone. Quite frankly, I’m the closest I’ve ever been. With the addition of a sick EQ pedal, some light compression, and moving the pickups around…

It’s INCREDIBLE AND there’s 2 other positions that are excellent as well.

I know Dingwall and MANY other builders will say there’s a difference, but I’ve not been able to experience this for myself first hand. Any insight would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[NaH]

NOT looking to stir up arguments… just looking for real world experience…

Has anyone been able to real tell the difference of say a Z with all other aspects being equal/same is neck wood, fingerboard, pickups, preamp yadda yadda yadda… BUt different body woods? Have YOU personally experienced a difference in tone/resonance/focus?

I’ve heard the pickup variations thanks to some good YouTube sleuths. But finding QUALITY body woods/neck woods AND the same pickups videos is a more nuanced and quite a lot more work than I’m willing to put into right now lol.

Eventually I’d like to place a custom order for what I’ve built up in my mind as the end all be all bass lol. I’ve managed to get ever closer these last couple weeks in my hunt for tone. Quite frankly, I’m the closest I’ve ever been. With the addition of a sick EQ pedal, some light compression, and moving the pickups around… View attachment 7519786
It’s INCREDIBLE AND there’s 2 other positions that are excellent as well.

I know Dingwall and MANY other builders will say there’s a difference, but I’ve not been able to experience this for myself first hand. Any insight would be GREATLY appreciated.

I had two AB2s that basically had the same specs, just different tops and they had a different tone/feel, so it also might come down to the pieces of wood you get.

Cocobolo

Dec 1, 2006. It has FD3 pickups, an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp and weighes 8lbs7oz.

Arbutus Burl

May 10, 2007. It has FD3 pickups, an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp and weighes 8lbs8oz.

Other notes:

Both necks are bubinga with wenge fingerboards. Both have walnut bodies.

The Cocobolo just had something over the Arbutus that seemed to have nothing to do with specs. It just had a warmer, bassier tone. Man - I miss that one and I'd probably buy it again if it came up for sale.

 

[Element Zero]

I had two AB2s that basically had the same specs, just different tops and they had a different tone/feel, so it also might come down to the pieces of wood you get.
View attachment 7519857View attachment 7519858

Cocobolo

Dec 1, 2006. It has FD3 pickups, an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp and weighes 8lbs7oz.

Arbutus Burl

May 10, 2007. It has FD3 pickups, an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp and weighes 8lbs8oz.

Other notes:

Both necks are bubinga with wenge fingerboards. Both have walnut bodies.

The Cocobolo just had something over the Arbutus that seemed to have nothing to do with specs. It just had a warmer, bassier tone. Man - I miss that one and I'd probably buy it again if it came up for sale.

I understand and accept that, well, wood is wood. No 2 will be the exactly the same. Not that I’m contemplating an exotic wood topped model since frankly, it’s not offered on the Effigy as of now. But your experience is appreciated.

 

[Bassheart365]

I am a true believer in wood tone and have definitely developed a preference for the type of wood I want on my bass, with over 40 years of owning who-knows how many bass guitars, including at least 10 Dingwalls. For body wood I prefer ash. For my Dingwalls I love the dual density ash body (northern ash on the top and swamp ash on the bottom half.) For neck and fb wood I use to prefer maple until I took delivery of my first custom Dingwall Z with a wenge neck and fb. Now that’s my favorite. However on my next custom I want to try a roasted ash neck with a wenge fb based on Sheldon’s preference for roasted ash as a neck tone wood. So I guess you could say I’m taking a leap of faith because I’ve never owned or played a bass with a roasted ash neck.
It’s all about personal preference. So the only way to figure out what YOUR ears prefer is to play as many basses as you can. It’s like music. The more bands/genres you listen to the more you acquire your own musical tastes. Same with food.
And of course wood is not uniform. For example two pieces of swamp ash may have different densities and thus slightly different tones. As a result two basses with identical woods, pickups, etc may sound slightly different. But I’m pretty sure the boys at Dingwall know a thing or two about wood variations and try to minimize that.

 

[Element Zero]

I am a true believer in wood tone and have definitely developed a preference for the type of wood I want on my bass, with over 40 years of owning who-knows how many bass guitars, including at least 10 Dingwalls. For body wood I prefer ash. For my Dingwalls I love the dual density ash body (northern ash on the top and swamp ash on the bottom half.) For neck and fb wood I use to prefer maple until I took delivery of my first custom Dingwall Z with a wenge neck and fb. Now that’s my favorite. However on my next custom I want to try a roasted ash neck with a wenge fb based on Sheldon’s preference for roasted ash as a neck tone wood. So I guess you could say I’m taking a leap of faith because I’ve never owned or played a bass with a roasted ash neck.
It’s all about personal preference. So the only way to figure out what YOUR ears prefer is to play as many basses as you can. It’s like music. The more bands/genres you listen to the more you acquire your own musical tastes. Same with food.
And of course wood is not uniform. For example two pieces of swamp ash may have different densities and thus slightly different tones. As a result two basses with identical woods, pickups, etc may sound slightly different. But I’m pretty sure the boys at Dingwall know a thing or two about wood variations and try to minimize that.

Dingwall’s aren’t available anywhere near my neck of the woods. I had to drive 6 hours to FretNation just to try some high end basses much less try a plethora of Dingwall’s… but yeah. Try before you buy. Didn’t do that for too many basses that came and went. My NG3 was actually the first bass in 5 basses I’d played before I plunkt down the cash. However I feel much more confidant in a couple years down the road ordering a custom now knowing what the play/sound/feel like.

 

[AB Nate]

Can’t argue that. Sometimes the reverse burst looks more like a “blotch” of paint rather than a “burst”, like mine.

To me, this top probably would’ve looked a lot better with a natural finish, and of course unbleached. It doesn’t look suitable for a reverse burst at all.

Good buckeye tops were scarce at the time (so I was told) which is why they probably went ahead and used it anyway.

You know, not trying to change your mind here in any way, I was just thinking the yellowishness almost looks more like fresh bone.

Your axe reminds me of Skeletor!

I still dig it.

 

[Element Zero]

You know, not trying to change your mind here in any way, I was just thinking the yellowishness almost looks more like fresh bone.

Your axe reminds me of Skeletor!

I still dig it.

View attachment 7519898

Remember. You’re only as good as your bass looks. Until we meet again!!!

 

[aarono2690]

Remember. You’re only as good as your bass looks. Until we meet again!!!

Truest words ever spoken

 

[Mr_BK]

Can’t argue that. Sometimes the reverse burst looks more like a “blotch” of paint rather than a “burst”, like mine.

...

Yes. That. Reverse Bursts looking like a blotch is really a no-go. And I seem to remember more examples of such blotchiness.

Problems like yours were the reason I abandoned my plans for a custom order, be it Dingwall or any other manufacturer. I had something like that with MIke Lull years back. It was corrected in an OK way though. But still.

Thinking about something like this:

And getting a bass like yours instead would not make me a happy camper.
And so I only buy what I can see.

Sorry for all the trouble and grief.

 

[Scott McArron]

Yes. That. Reverse Bursts looking like a blotch is really a no-go. And I seem to remember more exanples of such blotchiness.

Problems like yours were the reason I abandoned my plans for a custom order, be it Dingwall or any other manufacturer. I had something like that with MIke Lull years back. It was corrected in an OK way though. But still.

Thinking about something like this:

View attachment 7519938

And getting a bass like yours instead would not make me a happy camper.
And so I only buy what I can see.

Sorry for all the trouble and grief.

That bass is actually the one I used for my example I said I wanted as close as a recreation of that as humanly possible in a 6-string format, spare no expense to make it happen (in summary). And well, here we are

 

[Mr_BK]

That bass is actually the one I used for my example I said I wanted as close as a recreation of that as humanly possible, spare no expense to make it happen (in summary). And well, here we are

In this case I wonder about QC. Honestly. That is not even remotely close, neither objectively and especially not in vibe and feel.

Exactly that would have been my custom order, too.

 

[warbassick]

I had two AB2s that basically had the same specs, just different tops and they had a different tone/feel, so it also might come down to the pieces of wood you get.
View attachment 7519857View attachment 7519858

Cocobolo

Dec 1, 2006. It has FD3 pickups, an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp and weighes 8lbs7oz.

Arbutus Burl

May 10, 2007. It has FD3 pickups, an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp and weighes 8lbs8oz.

Other notes:

Both necks are bubinga with wenge fingerboards. Both have walnut bodies.

The Cocobolo just had something over the Arbutus that seemed to have nothing to do with specs. It just had a warmer, bassier tone. Man - I miss that one and I'd probably buy it again if it came up for sale.

Absolutely well said the woods totally shape the tones of your bass. That coccabolla is gorgeous

 

[Scott McArron]

In this case I wonder about QC. Honestly. That is not even remotely close, neither objectively and especially not in vibe and feel.

Exactly that would have been my custom order, too.

I have no issues with DW at all in this. I don’t think they got the message from my dealer.

 

[warbassick]

Absolutely well said the woods totally shape the tones of your bass. That coccabolla is gorgeous

John fox bass has the most extensive video platform of the newer Dingwall’s

 

[Mr_BK]

I have no issues with DW at all in this. I don’t think they got the message from my dealer.

IMHO if they offer custom orders and do so using dealers exclusively ... it is their job to make sure, the process works. It is not your responsibility. You are powerless in this scenario. But you shell out the coins. I know this can come scross as harsh, but I would place the responsibility of this outcome on DW and the dealer, but in the end, on DW.

My inquiries about a custom Dingwall also led to me communicating with a dealer / distributor. That process felt very distant, very uninformed and very powerless on my side. I couldn't even understand all the options in those big lists and got no explanation. And so I abandoned the project and got my Z3 via normal online shopping.

 

[Scott McArron]

Yes. That. Reverse Bursts looking like a blotch is really a no-go. And I seem to remember more examples of such blotchiness.

Problems like yours were the reason I abandoned my plans for a custom order, be it Dingwall or any other manufacturer. I had something like that with MIke Lull years back. It was corrected in an OK way though. But still.

Thinking about something like this:

View attachment 7519938

And getting a bass like yours instead would not make me a happy camper.
And so I only buy what I can see.

Sorry for all the trouble and grief.

I have to say, this time period of Dingwalls was a very special time when it comes to tops and reverse burst finishes. I’ve seen several of these similarly spec’ed basses come through since over the last few years and none have quite come close to these masterpieces in particular for my taste:

 

[Mr_BK]

I have to say, this time period of Dingwalls was a very special time when it comes to tops and reverse burst finishes. I’ve seen several of these similarly spec’ed basses come through since over the last few years and none have quite come close to these masterpieces in particular for my taste:
View attachment 7519939
View attachment 7519940View attachment 7519941

It seems we have similar tastes