Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
I don't usually go for fancy tops and paintwork, but this one is captivating.
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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
Well, "New Bass Day" watch continues for me tomorrow.
As of tomorrow morning, my AB1 will have been sitting for a full week in US Customs at JFK. After finally getting from the seller, what the TNT employee required to apply for a Certificate of Country of Origin, the Certificate was finally completed and filed for last Wednesday morning.
All of this to save $230 in duty, which had I just paid on Tuesday morning, I could have been enjoying my instrument since last Wednesday.
Apparently, you can actually fill out this form yourself, downloaded from the Internet. Apparently, you can do this ahead of time so it's available when it hits customs. I went ahead and empowered TNT to do it for me, thinking it would be faster than me trying to figure out how to do it myself. I can't wait to see how much they are going to ream me for letting them do it. So in the end I will end up saving less than the $230, no doubt.
The thing that is really annoying is that TNT will not give you any of the trade offs, nor will they volunteer or confirm that you can do it yourself, let alone how to do it. I asked all kinds of questions that were stone-walled with responses such as, "I don't know sir." I guess educating receivers would not be a smart business model if you want to ream them with brokerage fees as ransom for their shipments.
Moral of this story: research the customs issues before purchasing, so you can facilitate the process, saving time and money once the shipment hits US Customs. When it comes to NAFTA, make sure you have the documentation from the exporter necessary to obtain the required Certificate of Country of Origin, and apply for it as soon after purchase as you can.
Do not rely on the carrier for help, as it is not in their interests to provide you with any information that will minimize or eliminate your reliance on them to clear the package through customs. They want to have you by the huevos, so they can ream you for the brokerage fees.
As of tomorrow morning, my AB1 will have been sitting for a full week in US Customs at JFK. After finally getting from the seller, what the TNT employee required to apply for a Certificate of Country of Origin, the Certificate was finally completed and filed for last Wednesday morning.
All of this to save $230 in duty, which had I just paid on Tuesday morning, I could have been enjoying my instrument since last Wednesday.
Apparently, you can actually fill out this form yourself, downloaded from the Internet. Apparently, you can do this ahead of time so it's available when it hits customs. I went ahead and empowered TNT to do it for me, thinking it would be faster than me trying to figure out how to do it myself. I can't wait to see how much they are going to ream me for letting them do it. So in the end I will end up saving less than the $230, no doubt.
The thing that is really annoying is that TNT will not give you any of the trade offs, nor will they volunteer or confirm that you can do it yourself, let alone how to do it. I asked all kinds of questions that were stone-walled with responses such as, "I don't know sir." I guess educating receivers would not be a smart business model if you want to ream them with brokerage fees as ransom for their shipments.
Moral of this story: research the customs issues before purchasing, so you can facilitate the process, saving time and money once the shipment hits US Customs. When it comes to NAFTA, make sure you have the documentation from the exporter necessary to obtain the required Certificate of Country of Origin, and apply for it as soon after purchase as you can.
Do not rely on the carrier for help, as it is not in their interests to provide you with any information that will minimize or eliminate your reliance on them to clear the package through customs. They want to have you by the huevos, so they can ream you for the brokerage fees.
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I think these are the first basses that I have ever seen that are "reversed burst" and I love everything about them!
The Dingwall crew are always pushing the envelope in the most beautiful way!
Oh, and I just realized that today is MLK day. So, I doubt anything will get done today either! Yeaaayyyyyyy!!!
New Combustion pics on the instagram page... Rounded pickup shells, new bridge, and some new colors!
@Sheldon D. are the Combustions and NG-2's still each routed for both pickup configurations? I loved being able to adjust the pickup placement on my Combustion V4.
@Sheldon D. are the Combustions and NG-2's still each routed for both pickup configurations? I loved being able to adjust the pickup placement on my Combustion V4.
I definitely like the rounded pickup shells better. Nice purple, too.
I'm not a Dingwall owner yet but am Gassing painfully. The wait for a new one is around 8 months, and used Dings are as illusive as bigfoot. Does anyone know if the company will ever go back to rosewood fret boards ? actually ebony would be even better. I asked Dingwall if they would make a Combution 5 in matte black with matching head stock, ebony finger board, and all black hardware and quickly found out how Ding naïve I am as I was told they don't custom build the Combustions. I thought it would look super sexy !!??
The options on the less expensive basses are limited to streamline the build operation. That's how he keeps the costs of those basses down. If you want a more customized bass, you're going to have to opt for a Canadian build, and while it will cost significantly more, it will be an even more refined build as well.
I don't think Sheldon is building basses with ebony boards. He prefers wenge, morado, and maple because of their more inherent stability and durability. I think he also uses ziracote as an option as well.
CORRECTION: He does do Macassar ebony, on fretless and fretted basses, but that option will not be available on Combustions. The only other option (aside from the Sonokilin Rosewood on the combustion is maple
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Here are the Fingerboard options form his web site:
Fingerboard Specifications
Ziracote (Zeer-ah-coh-tay) on Prima Artist
Similar to Ebony in tone, but with a very striking grain pattern. The color is typically slightly darker than milk chocolate with black grain swirling throughout. When available it can be ordered with a mix of sap wood, which adds a cream colored contrasting stripe along the edge.
Wenge (Wen-gay) on Lee Sklar Signature, Z Series, Afterburner I and Afterburner II
This is an interesting fretboard wood due to the alternating layers of hard and soft wood (early and late wood). The hard grain gives the tone a nice top end similar to ebony and the soft grain adds the warmth of Rosewood. It’s a great all around fingerboard wood.
Morado (More-ah-doh) on Super J
Morado is another name for Pau Ferro. This wood has a nice tight grain structure for a smooth look and feel. Its tone is similar to ebony but slightly darker. It’s color ranges from golden-brown to orange-brown to milk chocolate with a slight purple hue. It is one of the most stable exotic woods meaning you won’t have to adjust your truss-rod very much with a Morado fretboard.
Maple on ABZ
Maple has a nice snappy top end that really enhances the attack of the note. We now finish our maple fingerboards with satin polyurethane. To maintain stability, we also finish the neck shaft with the same finish.
Sonokilin Rosewood on Combustion
This wood is very similar to Indian Rosewood in terms of tone and performance.
More refined options for Canadian basses:
Maple, Birdseye Maple, Pau Ferro, Macassar Ebony, Ziricote. On fretless, you can get lined and unlined Macassar Ebony, as well as an epoxy coated wenge.
Go here Dingwall Bass Specifications | Side by Side Comparison | Dingwall Guitars to see side-by-side comparison of options for each model. You will see that most of the options, such as matching head stock, black hardware, fret board woods (other than sonoklin and maple), preamps, pickup configurations, pickup types, etc. are not available on the Combustion models. At least not yet. I say that because historically, Sheldon has always found a way of smartly implementing his production so that he eventually increase the available options.
Fingerboard Specifications
Ziracote (Zeer-ah-coh-tay) on Prima Artist
Similar to Ebony in tone, but with a very striking grain pattern. The color is typically slightly darker than milk chocolate with black grain swirling throughout. When available it can be ordered with a mix of sap wood, which adds a cream colored contrasting stripe along the edge.
Wenge (Wen-gay) on Lee Sklar Signature, Z Series, Afterburner I and Afterburner II
This is an interesting fretboard wood due to the alternating layers of hard and soft wood (early and late wood). The hard grain gives the tone a nice top end similar to ebony and the soft grain adds the warmth of Rosewood. It’s a great all around fingerboard wood.
Morado (More-ah-doh) on Super J
Morado is another name for Pau Ferro. This wood has a nice tight grain structure for a smooth look and feel. Its tone is similar to ebony but slightly darker. It’s color ranges from golden-brown to orange-brown to milk chocolate with a slight purple hue. It is one of the most stable exotic woods meaning you won’t have to adjust your truss-rod very much with a Morado fretboard.
Maple on ABZ
Maple has a nice snappy top end that really enhances the attack of the note. We now finish our maple fingerboards with satin polyurethane. To maintain stability, we also finish the neck shaft with the same finish.
Sonokilin Rosewood on Combustion
This wood is very similar to Indian Rosewood in terms of tone and performance.
More refined options for Canadian basses:
Maple, Birdseye Maple, Pau Ferro, Macassar Ebony, Ziricote. On fretless, you can get lined and unlined Macassar Ebony, as well as an epoxy coated wenge.
Go here Dingwall Bass Specifications | Side by Side Comparison | Dingwall Guitars to see side-by-side comparison of options for each model. You will see that most of the options, such as matching head stock, black hardware, fret board woods (other than sonoklin and maple), preamps, pickup configurations, pickup types, etc. are not available on the Combustion models. At least not yet. I say that because historically, Sheldon has always found a way of smartly implementing his production so that he eventually increase the available options.
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Green NG-2? Don't mind if I do!
Are there any standard sets of strings that fit the long scale basses?
I may have asked this before but I don't remember either way.
I like the Dingwall strings I've been using but it would be nice to know if there are alternatives that are a little easier to get.
Are there any standard sets of strings that fit the long scale basses?
I may have asked this before but I don't remember either way.
I like the Dingwall strings I've been using but it would be nice to know if there are alternatives that are a little easier to get.
"
Anyone notice the slightly different pickup spacing on the "V5" combustion? How cool would it be if they came out with a combustion 3x... It looks like you could just barely manage to fit one in between there
Anyone notice the slightly different pickup spacing on the "V5" combustion? How cool would it be if they came out with a combustion 3x... It looks like you could just barely manage to fit one in between there
Dip and wiggle!!!
Nice colours!!!
Should do a metallic chocolate and a deep emerald green combo.
While I can't answer your direct question, it doesn't really get any easier than ordering a set from Payson. I get mine in about 3 days from him. Sure, it's not running down to Guitar Center and picking something up off of the wall, but, the GCs around here have pretty dismal selection when it comes to bass strings. It's not any more difficult to order direct from Sheldon and crew, just takes a couple extra days.
A 3x 6 string Combustion (or 3x 4/5) would be well worth whatever markup Sheldon decided on, IMO. I'd be very tempted to order a 3x 5er in that orange swirl... though I'm actually quite happy to order Canadian ones
My sentiments exactly!A 3x 6 string Combustion (or 3x 4/5) would be well worth whatever markup Sheldon decided on, IMO. I'd be very tempted to order a 3x 5er in that orange swirl... though I'm actually quite happy to order Canadian ones
