Dingwall Owners Club

[groovaholic]

Obviously, the master has spoken, and his advice is your best bet.

That said, I've had to replace bridge screws and IIRC, they are 6-32 stainless steel button-head screws.

Rather than grind the ones you have, you could also just go buy some shorter ones to try out the change and leave things 100% reversible.

 

[Jeff Roller]

Never touched the bridge for action adjustment, only a slight tweak on the truss rod was ever needed to bring a DW to perfection for me.
The only Dingwall I've ever had to have the shorter screws for was one I converted for non taper TI flats.

A new available option for flatwound lovers is Payson's tapered flats.

 

[singlemalt]

The TI's were the reason I bought shorter screws for the AB-1.

I've used the belt sander on a few, but only because the store was closed and, well, when you are dialing the set up...

Guilty as charged.

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

I have found Sheldon's advice to be spot on. I do have a few strings that approach the limit, but still have some thread left for further adjustment if need be.

But by adjusting the truss rod first to just short of the point where buzzing starts in the 5th fret plus or minus, I find the action can then be lowered to point of buzzing in the higher frets well before hitting the travel limit on the action screws. YMMV of course.

 

[spiritbass]

Well, I am going to be saving some money now. The alcohol soak works like a charm. Any mojo that can make used strings sound new is very cool in my book.

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

Well, I am going to be saving some money now. The alcohol soak works like a charm. Any mojo that can make used strings sound new is very cool in my book.

How long did they soak before you re-strung them? What kind of alcohol did you use?

 

[Bassheart365]

I'm curious about the wenge neck option. Seeking Dingwall owners' wisdom, here: compared to the laminated maple, are there differences in feel or tone you've noticed?

The first two Dingwalls I owned had maple necks. The two I own now are all-wenge. Wenge is Sheldon's first choice for necks and fingerboards on customs these days, and for good reason. Maple is kind of one dimensional compared to wenge. Very stable, fast response and bright. That's good. Wenge is bright and snappy, but also produces great mid and even low tones and is also extremely stable. I haven't touched the truss rods on either of my wenge neck Dingwalls. And I love the way wenge feels too. Silky but you also feel a little texture in the grain, unlike maple, which I happen to like.
Hope that helps.

 

[NaH]

I still have this thing in my head that I'd like a walnut neck. Maybe once I played a wenge neck I'd switch. Right now it is Maple or Bubinga.

 

[AB Nate]

I still have this thing in my head that I'd like a walnut neck. Maybe once I played a wenge neck I'd switch. Right now it is Maple or Bubinga.

Yep. Walnut is where it's at.
Wedge is also where it's at.

On my dings I'm at 2 walnuts, 1 wenge, 2 maples.

I'm hoping my next one is walnut but will be very happy to "settle" on wenge.

The AB2s were walnut for a long time. I'm not sure they are anymore though.

I am ashamed to say the maple neck on my combustion has surprised the heck out of me. I'm loving it. The last China neck I played was the yellow ng I had and it felt "big" compared to this. Maybe my fingers were swollen at the time. Lol.

Correct me if I'm wrong but they are the same profile?

 

[spiritbass]

How long did they soak before you re-strung them? What kind of alcohol did you use?

I soaked a 2 month-old set for 24hrs in 99% isopropyl alcohol because that's what I had on hand (I use it for the printing press I operate). The instructions in the link provided by @Ewo said to used paper towels to dry the strings. I was hesitant to add paper fiber to the mix, so I set the coiled set in my dish drainer to dry and let the alcohol evaporate thoroughly (probably for longer than necessary). I put the set on my SP and played it at practice last night. Beauty.

 

[Ewo]

been using a soak tube for several years. i put denatured alcohol in it, since it's cheap at a paint store, and change it out after a year. denatured alcohol is flammable, so i leave the tube outside in my carport--but there are no signs any vapor is escaping from the capped tube. can't smell anything, and the level of solvent in the tube doesn't decrease.

i leave strings in the tube for several days, sometimes more. the brass of the ball end sometimes discolors, but that doesn't bother me.

i get three passes out of a set of roundwound strings (new, soaked once, soaked a second time). after that the windings are getting beat up by the frets, so i junk them.

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

Thanks guys. I will try this myself!

 

[NaH]

Yep. Walnut is where it's at.
Wedge is also where it's at.

On my dings I'm at 2 walnuts, 1 wenge, 2 maples.

I'm hoping my next one is walnut but will be very happy to "settle" on wenge.

The AB2s were walnut for a long time. I'm not sure they are anymore though.

I am ashamed to say the maple neck on my combustion has surprised the heck out of me. I'm loving it. The last China neck I played was the yellow ng I had and it felt "big" compared to this. Maybe my fingers were swollen at the time. Lol.

Correct me if I'm wrong but they are the same profile?

No, I don't think they use Walnut in the necks anymore and I don't know if it can be an option, so I'd probably need to find a used one. My understanding is that the NG-2 is essentially a Combustion so I thought they did have the same profile. Both Combustion and the ABs are described as "Medium Thin C Shape", so you'd think they'd be the same.

 

[blu-snafu]

Enormous thanks to Sheldon for his comment and the others as well! The action on my AB2 is pretty good - I just wanted it a tiny bit lower. I don't mind experimenting a little on my other basses, but not this one!

On the subject of Wenge vs Maple, Wenge (at least the way Sheldon does it) is my choice. Maybe it's because all the different basses I've played thorough the years have had maple or maple/purple heart necks and my wenge neck is giving me a great new tone...? Maybe because I love the look and feel. Not really sure, all I know is my other basses on the wall are collecting a nice coating of dust.

 

[Ewo]

thanks to all for the comments on wenge necks as an alternative to maple. please keep 'em coming, whoever might be in a position to compare.

i'm pondering the spec for a super J build, so that's why i've asked. i owned an MTD 535 with a wenge neck for a while, and didn't care for the feel of the neck under my thumb. the grain felt very pronounced--but of course i'm used to the smooth feel of poly or nitro on maple.

at the risk of over-thinking it...that super P, the one i mentioned above, seems to have a wenge board. (mistook it for morado at first glance, but later compared it to another bass i know has morado.) it's very smooth and silky...so i was wondering if the _back_ of the Dingwall wenge neck would feel like that, too.

thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[dtsamples]

I've owned 4 super series basses, none with wenge necks but one had a wenge fretboard. I also owned an MTD 634-24 with wenge neck and board. I currently own a z3 with all maple. In my opinion, maple is much less scooped. I haven't ever cared for wenge, except on an all-maple Streamer stage one. For me, it's maple all the way, though wenge sure has the look.

 

[AB Nate]

No, I don't think they use Walnut in the necks anymore and I don't know if it can be an option, so I'd probably need to find a used one. My understanding is that the NG-2 is essentially a Combustion so I thought they did have the same profile. Both Combustion and the ABs are described as "Medium Thin C Shape", so you'd think they'd be the same.

That's my understanding on the neck profile too. I think it might have just been a characterization from bass to bass. Just a different feel. Maybe the next NG I pick up will feel very differently to me.

There is that beautiful AB2 for a killer price in the classifieds right now that like all walnut. I've been temped more then once but still have my DAS under control with the logic police on that one.

 

[boamedt]

That's my understanding on the neck profile too. I think it might have just been a characterization from bass to bass. Just a different feel. Maybe the next NG I pick up will feel very differently to me.

There is that beautiful AB2 for a killer price in the classifieds right now that like all walnut. I've been temped more then once but still have my DAS under control with the logic police on that one.

What akiller that dingwall is. If i had the money, it would be mine

 

[reddavid]

thanks to all for the comments on wenge necks as an alternative to maple. please keep 'em coming, whoever might be in a position to compare.

i'm pondering the spec for a super J build, so that's why i've asked. i owned an MTD 535 with a wenge neck for a while, and didn't care for the feel of the neck under my thumb. the grain felt very pronounced--but of course i'm used to the smooth feel of poly or nitro on maple.

at the risk of over-thinking it...that super P, the one i mentioned above, seems to have a wenge board. (mistook it for morado at first glance, but later compared it to another bass i know has morado.) it's very smooth and silky...so i was wondering if the _back_ of the Dingwall wenge neck would feel like that, too.

thanks in advance for any comments.

Wenge is a very open grained wood. I expect you would feel the grain 'pits' in the neck. I'm the same way - I like the back of the neck to be as smooth as possible. In one case, I got the same poly that Sheldon uses and sprayed about 10 more coats on the back of the neck. Sanding in between to reduce build up. At the end of the process, all the pits were filled in. Extreme, maybe. But - smooth!

If you're doing a custom build, you could ask Sheldon to add a bunch more coats of poly at build time and sand, to remove/reduce the grain effect.

Funny thing, my Prima has a composite neck, and you can feel the grain. I don't mind it at all there, because, hey, it's a Prima?! I did do some light sanding (with Sheldon's blessing!)

 

[RHA III]

thanks to all for the comments on wenge necks as an alternative to maple. please keep 'em coming, whoever might be in a position to compare.

i'm pondering the spec for a super J build, so that's why i've asked. i owned an MTD 535 with a wenge neck for a while, and didn't care for the feel of the neck under my thumb. the grain felt very pronounced--but of course i'm used to the smooth feel of poly or nitro on maple.

at the risk of over-thinking it...that super P, the one i mentioned above, seems to have a wenge board. (mistook it for morado at first glance, but later compared it to another bass i know has morado.) it's very smooth and silky...so i was wondering if the _back_ of the Dingwall wenge neck would feel like that, too.

thanks in advance for any comments.

Pretty sure the board on your Super P is Pau Ferro. Compared to my Wenge necked Afterburner, I found the tone on that P bass to be round and soft. The Wenge is difficult for me to describe, sometimes I think it's scooped sometimes it's mid forward. Always clear and precise though, and dark or ominous too. Like an iron fist in a velvet glove, a very thin glove. Where the super p had some boxing gloves on. The Wenge is grindy too. As far as feel goes, I love the wenge. I've often thought about un-bolting the neck and just taking a swing at something with it!
For your build you could get wenge on the Super J and swap necks. I'd love to hear that P with an all wenge neck, I wonder why we don't see that more often?