I agree with everything reddavid said. When I received my new Super PJ 5 I thought I would be changing the nickel strings right away like I did with the SS strings on my Combustion and ABI. They are still on the bass after 2 months and they are still growing on me.
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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
I agree with everything reddavid said. When I received my new Super PJ 5 I thought I would be changing the nickel strings right away like I did with the SS strings on my Combustion and ABI. They are still on the bass after 2 months and they are still growing on me.
MichaelOz
Commercial User
Just received my Z2 a few days ago - they come with the steel strings.
I can't believe HOW MUCH there is of everything (see reddavid's post). I love a little bit of "zing" (big fan of DR Hi-Beams) but I've found myself rolling of some highs and STILL there's a lot. I don't find them boomy though, totally astounded by the clarity and definition.
I've played the bass a fair bit (seems to be a common thing amongst new Dingwall owners) and am curious to see how the strings develop. So far they're unchanged.
Just my $0.02 (Australian
).
Regards,
Michael
I can't believe HOW MUCH there is of everything (see reddavid's post). I love a little bit of "zing" (big fan of DR Hi-Beams) but I've found myself rolling of some highs and STILL there's a lot. I don't find them boomy though, totally astounded by the clarity and definition.
I've played the bass a fair bit (seems to be a common thing amongst new Dingwall owners) and am curious to see how the strings develop. So far they're unchanged.
Just my $0.02 (Australian
).Regards,
Michael
Just picked up a barely used Darkglass tone capsule pre on reverb at a great price. It was only listed for ten hours lol. Already has a stacked hi/low mids pot and that's what I needed.
Now I'll need to have a hole drilled for one pot. ABZ + Darkglass should be awesome.
Now I'll need to have a hole drilled for one pot. ABZ + Darkglass should be awesome.
Firmly in the stainless steel string camp myself. I am most definitely a 'more of everything' guy. 
I used to get the urge to try flats, but I haven't done that in a few years now...
I used to get the urge to try flats, but I haven't done that in a few years now...
When I had this ABZ-5 I was thinking about having a Tone Capsule installed but got cold feet when I thought about finding someone to drill a hole in it. That ought to rock! Will it have active/passive switching?
I did install a volume knob with push/pull for series/parallel on the neck pickup. Lots of good tones on tap. Enjoy.
I'm a nickel steel guy pretty much on everything these days. I'm very happy with the Dingwalls.
My only non Dingwall bass is a Mike Lull jazz. It was shipped to me wearing LaBella nickel steels. They are very nice strings as well. They have a smoother feel to them then most nickel steels I've tried, but with that nickel steel tone.
My only non Dingwall bass is a Mike Lull jazz. It was shipped to me wearing LaBella nickel steels. They are very nice strings as well. They have a smoother feel to them then most nickel steels I've tried, but with that nickel steel tone.
Yes it did. The tone has a bit more focus and not as open. Both series and parallel sound good but different with the neck pickup and add variety when combining with the bridge.
Thanks. Not sure if I'm gonna keep the parallel/series switching or switch to passive/active. Sad to say I haven't been able to plug the bass up to an amp yet. Been busy and kinda sold my gear. The bass amp I do have is at my drummer's house. However I did just purchase an Eden wt400 to go with my 4x10 cab at home.
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I hope everyone eventually finds instruments that are as perfect for them as my Dingwalls are for me. Played the Superlative J5 with a fresh set of SS DR LoRiders yesterday: 
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I agree Spirit - i have a decent assortment of basses....and yet, i feel most will be in the Classified at some point - they aren't getting played much (if at all)...i grab my AB1 and theres no carpal tunnel strain, tendonitis is kept at bay...it's just so nice! My next (and last one for a long while) is going to be a Super P or PJ (active/passive)...just haven't seen any in the classifieds....not in Canada anyway - i found a new one but its passive only. If anyone is thinking about selling theirs, PM me! 
I agree Spirit - i have a decent assortment of basses....and yet, i feel most will be in the Classified at some point - they aren't getting played much (if at all)...i grab my AB1 and theres no carpal tunnel strain, tendonitis is kept at bay...it's just so nice!
The auctioning off of otherwise excellent parallel-fretted basses is a common scenario. That's what happened at my house.
Not bad but I usually take it to a local guitar shop that is pretty competent with these things. One way is to replace the stock volume pot with one having a push/pull DPDT switch. A 500k pot with 6mm shaft should work. The volume wiring stays the same but pickup leads from the two coils need to be rewired from the 4-position switch to the DPDT which then feeds the hot and neutral outputs to those same positions on the 4-position switch. I drew the wiring diagram up for the guitar tech and it worked as designed but don't think I still have that diagram (probably shipped it with the bass). Dingwall tech support is excellent and helpful if you have any questions.
series/parallel pickup switching - Bing Images
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....yep....and going from 6 basses, down to 3, REALLY makes the wife happy too!!!....and oddly WE are just as happy!
The trinity that keep me GAS (and DAS) free:
Father -
Son -
Spirit -
My volume pot is already a push-pull switch for active passive operation.
I was kind of thinking about just changing the neck pickup to series. That probably wouldn't be as involved, although one would lose the flexibility of having both.
I was kind of thinking about just changing the neck pickup to series. That probably wouldn't be as involved, although one would lose the flexibility of having both.
I think I like the fiver the best, but it's a tough choose for sure.
The trinity that keep me GAS (and DAS) free:
Father -
Son -
Spirit -
Glad I already have 2 Dingwalls. This one (NG-2 Combustion) was on the market for an hour before it sold:
For Sale - Black Dingwall NG-2 Combustion 5-String | TalkBass.com
For Sale - Black Dingwall NG-2 Combustion 5-String | TalkBass.com
I've been fortunate to have some very nice basses but I'd like to get back into a Dingwall. That 3X pickup option with P-tone neck and 3-band preamp with active/passive covers so much ground. The configuration that really struck me was Albert Rigoni in this AR5 video?
I checked with tech support and found: If you get a 3X with no toggle switches, the pickups are wired like this (although they can be changed by the end user):
- bridge pup - parallel
- middle pup - parallel
- neck pup - series
The rotary pickup selector is like this:
- bridge - soloed
- bridge/middle - in series
- bridge/neck - in parallel
- neck - soloed
This seems to cover all the best tones. I could see series/parallel being useful for the bridge pickup because two parallel pickups in series or two series pickups in parallel seem to have the right balance of fullness and detail. A volume pot with push/pull DPDT for series/parallel switching of the bridge pickup could be used to avoid mounting an external switch.
Active/passive switching with passive tone control is very useful with a preamp (Darkglass Tone Capsule). Here's what I found on preamp selection:
"We use 2 preamps, Glockenklang and Darkglass. Glockenklang in our Canadian built basses and DG in the NG2's (DG is available in our Canadian stuff if requested). Both have the active/passive switch on the volume control in the basses we build here. Only the Glockenklang has a passive treble. In active mode it has active treb boost and passive treb cut (on the same control) and in passive mode it has passive treb cut. The Darkglass has active high mid boost and cut and no eq at all in passive mode. The active high mid cut sounds very similar to a passive cut circuit."
If dual density swamp ash is available that would be awsome but regardless if it's ash or alder, I'd really like to go with a wenge neck/fingerboard. These are just beautiful.
The AB1 and Super J both have 3X pickup and preamp options so it's a question then of 37" or 35" scale. 37" is great for that piano like clarity but does the 35" have a bit more traditional vibe and is there any difference in percieved punch, sustain, or tone in the high strings? I haven't played a SuperJ or P so don't know how they stack up.
I checked with tech support and found: If you get a 3X with no toggle switches, the pickups are wired like this (although they can be changed by the end user):
- bridge pup - parallel
- middle pup - parallel
- neck pup - series
The rotary pickup selector is like this:
- bridge - soloed
- bridge/middle - in series
- bridge/neck - in parallel
- neck - soloed
This seems to cover all the best tones. I could see series/parallel being useful for the bridge pickup because two parallel pickups in series or two series pickups in parallel seem to have the right balance of fullness and detail. A volume pot with push/pull DPDT for series/parallel switching of the bridge pickup could be used to avoid mounting an external switch.
Active/passive switching with passive tone control is very useful with a preamp (Darkglass Tone Capsule). Here's what I found on preamp selection:
"We use 2 preamps, Glockenklang and Darkglass. Glockenklang in our Canadian built basses and DG in the NG2's (DG is available in our Canadian stuff if requested). Both have the active/passive switch on the volume control in the basses we build here. Only the Glockenklang has a passive treble. In active mode it has active treb boost and passive treb cut (on the same control) and in passive mode it has passive treb cut. The Darkglass has active high mid boost and cut and no eq at all in passive mode. The active high mid cut sounds very similar to a passive cut circuit."
If dual density swamp ash is available that would be awsome but regardless if it's ash or alder, I'd really like to go with a wenge neck/fingerboard. These are just beautiful.
The AB1 and Super J both have 3X pickup and preamp options so it's a question then of 37" or 35" scale. 37" is great for that piano like clarity but does the 35" have a bit more traditional vibe and is there any difference in percieved punch, sustain, or tone in the high strings? I haven't played a SuperJ or P so don't know how they stack up.
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