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Dingwall Owners Club

A couple days ago I did sound samples of both Darkglass preamps using tracks without the original bass line.
Since I used Dingwalls on 3 out of 4 tracks I thought it may also be relevant over here.

0:00 - The Beatles - All my Loving on a parallel fretless w/ Thomastik flats
2:05 - Deep Purple - Highway Star on a SP5 w/ worn in Circle K rounds
3:30 - Iron Maiden - Powerslave on a SJ4 (neck) w/ LaBella flats
6:15 - Muse - Hysteria on a SJ4 (parallel) w/ new Circle K rounds

 
I started out with a Super P/J four string. No compromises there. More like a total refinement of the Fender design. String balance is perfect, the D & G strings really benefit from the shorter scale. Every bit of fat and flab is gone from the Fender design. And my four string weighs in at 8 lb. The Super PJ fiver weighs 9.5, the swamp ash is noticeably heavier. Both are strung with TI Jazz flats.

Fender shaped objects are sometimes less objectionable to traditionalist bandmates, so these can fly under the radar.

The long scales add another layer of clarity. My AB is also super light weight.

I brought the AB sixer to a delta blues gig, and the guy was weirded out, until he heard it. Then he had all kinds of questions, and said it was the coolest bass he'd ever seen or heard.

I had a guitarist mate see a picture of the Z3 and say it looked like I should be playing metal. Everybody else seems to love the look of it. I just discovered that one of the things they love, is the look of the fanned frets. I wasn't expecting that.
 
Zero compromise IME. I wouldn't ditch the pickup selection switch either. :rollno:

I believe that is my old AB-1. I installed the P-tone and a Redeemer Circuit buffer, so it was active when I sold it. You may want to open it up and if the pre and battery are still installed, check or change the battery.
Definitely zero compromise!!

While it is true that you get the longest B string with a long scale Dingwall , what you get with the Super P and J are the are the shorter-scale D and G strings, which IME make them a bit lower in tension and a bit sweeter in tone. So you get a P or J with a slightly longer E and a much longer B, but you also get a nicely balanced D and G. The playability is awesome!!

I have both a Voodoo Prima with 37 to 34, but I also have a Super P. I love them both and they both do their thing better than any bass I've played.
 
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A couple days ago I did sound samples of both Darkglass preamps using tracks without the original bass line.
Since I used Dingwalls on 3 out of 4 tracks I thought it may also be relevant over here.

0:00 - The Beatles - All my Loving on a parallel fretless w/ Thomastik flats
2:05 - Deep Purple - Highway Star on a SP5 w/ worn in Circle K rounds
3:30 - Iron Maiden - Powerslave on a SJ4 (neck) w/ LaBella flats
6:15 - Muse - Hysteria on a SJ4 (parallel) w/ new Circle K rounds


Oooh, Looking forward to hearing these with some headphones!!
 
A couple days ago I did sound samples of both Darkglass preamps using tracks without the original bass line.
Since I used Dingwalls on 3 out of 4 tracks I thought it may also be relevant over here.

0:00 - The Beatles - All my Loving on a parallel fretless w/ Thomastik flats
2:05 - Deep Purple - Highway Star on a SP5 w/ worn in Circle K rounds
3:30 - Iron Maiden - Powerslave on a SJ4 (neck) w/ LaBella flats
6:15 - Muse - Hysteria on a SJ4 (parallel) w/ new Circle K rounds



They all sound great!
 
Same here. I had an ABII and almost always used it in series.
Coming to the ABZ-5 after my old parallel-fret bass, series mode seemed the most familiar and comfortable. I actually found myself ignoring the other pickup positions on the gig.

However, while experimenting with compressors and preamps recently, I re-discovered the neck pickup. While that nice little scoop in the series position adds to the growl, it also creates a bit of gank on the D and G strings, and I was finding that a little tricky to dial out.

The neck pickup sounds a bit thin and hollow at the same amp and tone control settings. However, I discovered that rolling back the passive tone control and boosting my level a bit was a real treat.

It gave me a slightly mid-forward tone that sits in the mix remarkably like a P-bass, while retaining the signature Afterburner growl and clarity.

This was as an excellent reminder that louder always seems better, which is why it's so important to re-balance your levels when doing comparison testing. It also taught me not to be afraid of the passive tone control, which is much more subtle and musical than most.

The neck position is now my go-to, and the parallel position is getting more air time as well. Sheldon sure knows his stuff...
 
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A couple days ago I did sound samples of both Darkglass preamps using tracks without the original bass line.
Since I used Dingwalls on 3 out of 4 tracks I thought it may also be relevant over here.

0:00 - The Beatles - All my Loving on a parallel fretless w/ Thomastik flats
2:05 - Deep Purple - Highway Star on a SP5 w/ worn in Circle K rounds
3:30 - Iron Maiden - Powerslave on a SJ4 (neck) w/ LaBella flats
6:15 - Muse - Hysteria on a SJ4 (parallel) w/ new Circle K rounds



Man that SuperP!!
 
I've sometimes battled the brightness of my Dingwall basses -- especially coupled with the mental block that I have about having my tone knob set at anything other than a center detent or 100%. That means that I rarely, if ever, use my tone controls -- active OR passive.

But today I went home for lunch and played a bit -- and I thought of Steve Rolefca's discussion of learning to love the parallel mode.

So I tried some different settings out -- and got some great tones!

The "happy accident" in all of this is that because of my oddball pan pot + 4-way switch configuration, the passive tone acts as a master volume when the selector is in series...and it just so happens that the same knob position that takes the rasp off the parallel mode ALSO rolls off the series volume the perfect amount so that now all 4 switch positions have the same output!

So, now the bass is MUCH more flexible -- and I like the overall tone better.

If there's a moral to this story, it's to keep exploring the MANY possibilities that these basses offer us.
 
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Weighing in on the "VVT" thing.. .

..Way back when I retrofitted my Bartolini equipped Voodoo to FD-3's I was familiar with the old set-up and wanted to keep the individual volumes for each pick-up. Sheldon sketched out a diagram and sent it with the pickups and Aggy preamp. I'm still rocking it that way and loving it. There's no passive option or series/parallel switching but it doesn't lack for warmth or flexibility.
 
Super P. Someone say Super P?

This Sunday is Super P day at church.! Yay

So... is this a Super PJ or because it is a Super J with a P is it a Super JP? We need acronyms for all the combinations. Sunday is Super JP day for me too.

DingwallSuperPJsmall.jpg
 
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So I had mentioned the previous owner pulled out some components to install the P tone neck pup and the Glockenklang Preamp.

Here is a pic of the F3. Do we know what "generation" it is? I've read there are different evolutions.
image.jpg


Here are the two pots and switch. Volume, tone and ?

image.jpg


Is this the BluEQ circuit? Are there schematics available on how this is cabled up. I was thinking of returning the AB1 to stock to see what it sounds like. If it helps I can take a pic of the current control cavity setup.
 
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Is this the Bluecube circuit? Are there schematics available on how this is cabled up. I was thinking of returning the AB1 to stock to see what it sounds like. If it helps I can take a pic of the current control cavity setup.
Yep, that's a BluEQube circuit, but I can't remember seeing a circuit diagram anywhere lately. I used to have an older AB2-5, with that and the Aggie OBP-1. I found it quite useful for quickly cutting mids for a modern slap tone. (I might have an email from Sheldon, somewhere, mentioning what the cut frequency is, if you're interested.) Still have one laying around, might have to use it in something soon, for sh*ts and giggles. :)

Cheers,

EG
 

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