Dingwall Owners Club

[groovaholic]

Could always go nuts and get an 11 position rotary switch...

That'd be a little too opaque to me; I'll probably go with a series-single-parallel switch for the two rear pickups, so that I retain my "middle only" option, then the blend to determine how that composite signal combines with the neck P-Tone.

So the bass will have 4 knobs and 3 switches, but it'll make sense to me, and give me rapid access to my preferred tones.

 

[kirkdickinson]

Speaking of modifications... anyone ever think about designing a different power supply for their Dingwalls?

I'm thinking of using the giant cavity to hold a Li-Ion battery and a charging system for it. I'll have to measure out the cavity (note: is the cavity the same across all models? Combustion/ABs etc?) to see what size battery I could fit, but I imagine I could get several hundred hours out of a single charge... low charge cycle count (say I get 500 hours, that's only 18 charges per year if you left it on 24x7, so the battery would last at least more than 10 years).

I have an idea....

The magnetic cover is a cool idea. What about fabricating a replacement for the magnetic cover that had a battery attached to it and an LED indicator on the outside. Inside the cavity and on the new cover, there could be magnetic contacts for the battery. Could have an extra battery/cover in your case with a charger. Pop out pop in. Faster than changing the battery in a Dewalt drill.

Could be a kit with a 10 minute conversion, take out the batteries, plug the connectors into the magnetic connector and mount that in the cavity and pop the battery/cover on.

 

[Selta]

I have an idea....

The magnetic cover is a cool idea. What about fabricating a replacement for the magnetic cover that had a battery attached to it and an LED indicator on the outside. Inside the cavity and on the new cover, there could be magnetic contacts for the battery. Could have an extra battery/cover in your case with a charger. Pop out pop in. Faster than changing the battery in a Dewalt drill.

Could be a kit with a 10 minute conversion, take out the batteries, plug the connectors into the magnetic connector and mount that in the cavity and pop the battery/cover on.

The issue that you run into with that is the shape/size of the battery cavity. The batteries I (and really, everyone) would want to use for this are LiPo or Li-Ion, which only come in certain sizes and shapes - most notably, thin and wide.
I have some revisions already brewing in my head, and reached out to a contact I have at a battery company about what it'd take to get a custom LiPo designed. I don't need huge capacity, just form factor.

First, I want to finish the proof of concept - LiPo battery + charger + status light anywhere in the bass to start. Once I feel the idea is truly viable, then I refine it down to being a drop in replacement. Hopefully, anyway

 

[kirkdickinson]

A month or so ago, I ordered a Hipshot Double stop for my Combustion. I like the real Hipshot better than the ones that came on it. Yesterday, I ordered 4 more Hipshot Ultralites to match. One of those things that nobody will probably ever notice but me. My OCD didn't like the tuners being different style and brand.

Actually, I don't really have OCD, I have "CDO", it is the same as OCD, but the letters are in the alphabetical order like they should be.

 

[kirkdickinson]

The issue that you run into with that is the shape/size of the battery cavity. The batteries I (and really, everyone) would want to use for this are LiPo or Li-Ion, which only come in certain sizes and shapes - most notably, thin and wide.
I have some revisions already brewing in my head, and reached out to a contact I have at a battery company about what it'd take to get a custom LiPo designed. I don't need huge capacity, just form factor.

First, I want to finish the proof of concept - LiPo battery + charger + status light anywhere in the bass to start. Once I feel the idea is truly viable, then I refine it down to being a drop in replacement. Hopefully, anyway

I have a couple of Lightwave Basses that have internal batteries. They have an 18v external charger. They can be charged while playing, but it is inconvenient. I always thought it would be cool to be able to swap the battery quickly with a plug in battery like a drill has.

I would never do this to my Lightwaves or my Dingwall, but I thought if I ever did a custom bass that was powered, I would try to make it work with an off the shelf drill battery. If I used a Dewalt battery like below, I could probably design an area on the butt of the bass where this battery could just plug in.

 

[spiritbass]

When I first got my Z2, it had some goofy resistors and caps on the volume pot that was KILLING the highs, so my initial thought was that I wanted to brighten up the bass a bit.

I despise goofy resistors and caps. Don't care much for Mickey Mouse ones either...

 

[spiritbass]

Actually, I don't really have OCD, I have "CDO", it is the same as OCD, but the letters are in the alphabetical order like they should be.

 

[Selta]

I'm kind of a dumbass.
For whatever reason, I thought Pi (blue Afterburner 1) had the factory battery compartment since it's active. Just realized that it doesn't. Oh well, I can still do the proof of concept work on Pi, and then when my 6 string comes in (hopefully December) I can work on the revisions.

Unless I buy something else in the meantime >.>

 

[Jeff Moote]

The shop has a specific 4 way switch for the three pick up models. I could have ordered one of those, but decided against it. I dont ever use the parallel setting, so it didnt make any sense. If I could design my own switch it would have all the options for series combinations and solo combinations on the three pick ups. As it is, I never really use the bridge soloed out either. While I might miss the middle solo'ed, I think having the hard wired bucker will suit me best.

Sounds like a good combo that will work for you. I don't particularly care for the options on the Dingwall 3x switch (neck, neck-bridge in parallel, middle-bridge series, bridge). My plan for the 3x mod on the NG-2 is to add a mini toggle (or move the A/P switching to push pull on the volume and use the existing hole) to switch between the neck and middle pickups feeding the normal 4-way rotary. That way I can solo any of the 3 pickups, and have the bridge with either of the middle and neck in parallel or series.

 

[pravus]

Could you have a switch for each pickup to turn it on and off? It'd be killer to have a 3-switch setup where each switch is a 3-way: Off/On/Hot. Add a volume knob and the pre-amp knobs and I think it'd be pretty cool.

 

[NaH]

Could you have a switch for each pickup to turn it on and off? It'd be killer to have a 3-switch setup where each switch is a 3-way: Off/On/Hot. Add a volume knob and the pre-amp knobs and I think it'd be pretty cool.

I was thinking about that too. They do offer series parallel switches for each pickup. So add on/bypass switches and a 7 point selector for:

Neck solo
Neck Middle
Neck Bridge
Middle solo
Middle Bridge
Bridge solo
Neck Middle Bridge

I'm guessing that some of those combinations won't do much for you and you'll end up with four favorites anyway. I think some people have tried some of this.

Are there different series/parallel ways to connect two or three pickups that might end up with more combinations?

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

A month or so ago, I ordered a Hipshot Double stop for my Combustion. I like the real Hipshot better than the ones that came on it. Yesterday, I ordered 4 more Hipshot Ultralites to match. One of those things that nobody will probably ever notice but me. My OCD didn't like the tuners being different style and brand.

Actually, I don't really have OCD, I have "CDO", it is the same as OCD, but the letters are in the alphabetical order like they should be.

Hilarious!

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

I was thinking about that too. They do offer series parallel switches for each pickup. So add on/bypass switches and a 7 point selector for:

Neck solo
Neck Middle
Neck Bridge
Middle solo
Middle Bridge
Bridge solo
Neck Middle Bridge

I'm guessing that some of those combinations won't do much for you and you'll end up with four favorites anyway. I think some people have tried some of this.

Are there different series/parallel ways to connect two or three pickups that might end up with more combinations?

I have found that regardless of how much experimentation that I do, in the end, Sheldon seems to have identified the sweet spots in the tone in the options he provides. I have come to the point where I trust in that implicitly.

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

In fact, I have almost exclusively used the series settings on my AB's until recently. I have discovered the bliss of the parallel setting. It has such a punchy and well-defined tone, but the upper mids remain even and musical. I find the series settings tend to increase the upper mids that I'm always trying to tamp back down.

I find it is easier to add a bit of low mids or bass to the parallel setting, than to adjust the upper mids. Funny, but I still haven't installed my P tone in my ABZ. I am loving the tone just the way it is.

 

[Bocete]

I have found that regardless of how much experimentation that I do, in the end, Sheldon seems to have identified the sweet spots in the tone in the options he provides. I have come to the point where I trust in that implicitly.

Except for solo middle on a 3X. It is a very, very useful sound. It's along the lines of a P sound, kind of like solo neck, but more useful in my opinion. Less extreme, but still very chunky and recognizable. Similarly, given how useful middle and bridge are in series, I am curious about neck and middle in series.

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

Except for solo middle on a 3X. It is a very, very useful sound. It's along the lines of a P sound, kind of like solo neck, but more useful in my opinion. Less extreme, but still very chunky and recognizable. Similarly, given how useful middle and bridge are in series, I am curious about neck and middle in series.

I haven't had the pleasure of playing a 3x, but I can see where that might have value.

 

[Thumper]

When you use series/parallel switches, each pickup is wired first to them and then to the rotary. Using Dingwalls solderless rotary, you can change to solo the middle pickup instead of the bridge. This would give you a neck/middle combo though. I'll try them before I consider a 5 way rotary.

 

[5StringPocket]

Except for solo middle on a 3X. It is a very, very useful sound. It's along the lines of a P sound, kind of like solo neck, but more useful in my opinion. Less extreme, but still very chunky and recognizable. Similarly, given how useful middle and bridge are in series, I am curious about neck and middle in series.

+1 for the solo middle... I have had an ABZ5 with passive tone and an NG2 with the Darkglass. After playing the ABZ5 for a while, I converted the bridge pickup from parallel to series and added a push/pull series/parallel switch for the neck pickup. This was a tonal improvement for me over the stock configuration because it fattened up the bridge and made the neck pickup more versatile. After playing the NG2 for a while, I added push/pull series/parallel switching for both middle and bridge pickups. Again, this opened up the tonal palette in a good way and the middle pickup in series was a very useful addition.

I agree with BuffaloBob that Sheldon seems to have identified the sweet spots in the tone in the options he provides, but would like to consider the following with a 3X configuration having individual series/parallel and a 4-way selector: reverse the middle and bridge pickups in the 4-way selector.
The stock 4-way provides
- Neck solo
- Neck Bridge parallel
- Middle Bridge series
- Bridge solo
With middle and bridge pickups reversed this would become
- Neck solo
- Neck Middle parallel
- Bridge Middle series
- Middle solo

Working with the different pickup alignments in those 2 basses I could really see this sounding good with a 3X configuration. I really liked the middle pickup soloed but found the solo bridge useless for the music I play. P-tone neck solo is a must and the middle/bridge in series is excellent. The parallel alignment provides more treble and bass with less density in the mids so I think the neck and middle in parallel would actually be quite nice, especially with a Darkglass which can beef up the mids but doesn't have the passive tone to roll off the higher treble.

 

[Bocete]

Both pickups on my Combustion are FD3-4Ls hardwired in series. On my AB-II I can toggle the neck pickup (the bridge is hardwired to series), and while the neck pickup is better in series when soloed, it's a bit overwhelming otherwise.

 

[Selta]

Well, the next few weeks of my wait should go by somewhat quickly. Going on vacation outside of the US until middle of April.
Then, I get back, and within 48 hours have a show opening for a national act. That'll be a blast being all jet lagged