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Dingwall Owners Club

#9,462
5StringPocket said:
Yes thanks, I could, but the J bridge pickup is in the "J" position rather than at the optimized "PJ" position a little closer to the neck.

I found this response in the Dingwall forum about a preamp in the Super P:
"There's not a lot of room under a P pickguard. I'd recommend trying the bass passive first if you haven't already. If an outboard pedal eq is an option there are lots of choices there. Otherwise I recommend the John East P-retro."

And this from BuffaloBobs Super P/J question:
"Will the addition of the FD3 have any effect on the soloed P tone? I assume the FD3 will be balanced in output with the split P?"
"The pickups balance very well. We moved the bridge pickup quite a bit closer to the neck. Way more than I anticipated, but we just kept moving it until the tone fell into place. The solo P tone is not affected."

I'm a big fan of the PJ configuration but the traditional "J" location sounds a bit thin for my liking when soloed and others have commented about the presence of the "J" bridge pickup in the traditional location altering the solo P tone. Pat Wilkins seems to have come to the same conclusion with his 'Cayenne' (Roasted) PJ5.


Considering all this, for me the optimized PJ placement trumps an onboard preamp. BuffaloBob's beautiful ash/wenge Super PJ5 really seems to hit the mark.
SP5%20pj%20Swamp%20Ash%20Transparent%20White%20Tort%20Wenge%20Wenge%20Black%20Hardware.jpg
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Actually, mine is a P4 without the J pup. The one you describe is its big brother. Reddavid's PJ definitely influenced my choice of aesthetics.

74AE17F3-4CC0-463B-A072-B9605A96F430.jpeg
 
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#9,463
I'm still bummed that there's no place around here (Austin, TX) to try one out. I play constantly (a slow year is about 200 gigs), and I'm curious as to whether the ergonomics out the fanned frets would be A) comfortable me, and B) easier on my hands over a long stretch of gigs. The other consideration for me is weight. I broke my neck a while back, so holding any bass over about 9 lbs for any length of time can trigger migraines. Anyway, these seem interesting....just wish i had a chance to check em out. :(
 
#9,464
Dark Horse said:
I'm still bummed that there's no place around here (Austin, TX) to try one out. I play constantly (a slow year is about 200 gigs), and I'm curious as to whether the ergonomics out the fanned frets would be A) comfortable me, and B) easier on my hands over a long stretch of gigs. The other consideration for me is weight. I broke my neck a while back, so holding any bass over about 9 lbs for any length of time can trigger migraines. Anyway, these seem interesting....just wish i had a chance to check em out. :(
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There are people in Texas who own Dingwalls. Try posting on the Dingwall forum and I'm sure someone would be happy to let you try theirs.
 
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#9,469
Dark Horse said:
I'm still bummed that there's no place around here (Austin, TX) to try one out. I play constantly (a slow year is about 200 gigs), and I'm curious as to whether the ergonomics out the fanned frets would be A) comfortable me, and B) easier on my hands over a long stretch of gigs. The other consideration for me is weight. I broke my neck a while back, so holding any bass over about 9 lbs for any length of time can trigger migraines. Anyway, these seem interesting....just wish i had a chance to check em out. :(
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I use a Super J/P4 on my 4 hour gigs. Can't speak for everyone, but to me it's the easiest playing bass I've ever owned. No fatigue, light, plays like a dream :)
 
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#9,470
dukeorock said:
I use a Super J/P4 on my 4 hour gigs. Can't speak for everyone, but to me it's the easiest playing bass I've ever owned. No fatigue, light, plays like a dream :)
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I have a long-standing lower back and more recent shoulder injuries. I am in miserable physical condition, due to a sedentary job and a serious exercise-avoidance skils. I stand 6' 2", with medium-sized hands.

I played a self-made, neck-through 5-string for nearly 20 years. The neck profile was perfectly matched to my hand size, and it had a slick heel carve and compound-radius fingerboard. Unfortunately, I had to give it up because at nearly 10lb, it was triggering serious pain on longer gigs.

My current #1 and #2 are an 8lb ABZ-5, and an 8lb 6oz Precision V. These are two of the lightest solid body 5-string basses you could find. Both basses are hung with wide, soft leather straps.

The Precision is 34" scale, with a neck profile that I find super-comfortable, plus I changed the rear strap attachment to get perfect standing balance. The ABZ is fanned fret, of course, with a loooong 37" scale on the B string.

When it comes to ease of play, the ABZ eats the Precision (and every other parallel fret bass I've ever owned) alive, despite the longer scale. Even my custom bass didn't feel as encouraging and secure as the Dingwall.

Paul McCartney talks about the way his Hofner let him treat the whole fingerboard as a playground, and I find the same thing with the ABZ. It seems to almost float into my hands, and I can effortlessly pull off runs and position changes that I would be scared to attempt on the P-bass.

I don't even have to look when doing big slides. It's just that easy, and it felt that way from the first day I had it.

The only place where the Dingwall ever gives me pause, is past the 17th fret on the top three strings. The steep angle of the frets up there forces me to look at the fingerboard, especially if I'm trying to pull off double-stops or triads.

Of course, this is mostly due to lack of woodshed time as much as anything else. Given that I spend at least 90% of my time between the 1st and 14th frets, I consider that a small price to pay for the ease of the fanned fret setup.

Fanned fret isn't for everyone. But if you have any kind of back or neck injury, you owe it to yourself to at least check out a Dingwall.

I imagine that an SJ or PJ would be even easier to handle on long gigs, because of the shorter scale. Just be sure to order the rear straplock button, to further improve the standing balance and the reach to the first fret...
 
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#9,476
wcriley said:
I'll be joining the Dingwall club when this arrives tomorrow from Jimi at the AxeShop:
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Nice! I tried this bass as well as the sunburst Combustion when I visited the Axe Shop last month and it convinced me that Dingwall is the way to go. Great bunch of guys over there; hope you enjoy it.
 

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