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Dingwall questions

Stinkoman20xx

Stinkoman20xx

Oct 19, 2003
1,188
411
41
Cincinnati
#1
been gasing for some of these for awhile Im looking were the cheapest to get a 4 afterburner string in the us would be? I think the cheapest I found with no case is 974 at bass central.And i have a question about their necks.Ive been told and read a few places that the necks are relatilvy unstable and tend to twist and need adjustments more then your usal seasonal adjustments.Im wondering if any of you had some of the problems withy our afterburners.From what I read here they are all usal top notch insturments.
 
#2
Can't help you on your quest to find an inexpensive Dingwall ABI. Look around... Basscentral, bassnw, thebassplace all carry whatever stock they can get. Also AB often pop up on Ebay, although I've not seen ay of them for the money you talk about.
I will say i have never heard of twisting necks or unstable necks w/ a Dingwall bass. I did have a bit of neck movement when i first got the bass, but the neck was spot on and needs only occasional seasonal adjusments after the 3rd month (haven't touched my neck on my fretless AB Dingwall for 2 yrs.) I've played 3 other Dingwalls (not including my own) and not seen a twisted neck. I wouldn't worry about the neck, Sheldon is extremely customer friendly, and a standup guy. if you have a unsettled neck, then I can pretty much guarentee he'll walk you thru it and if need be make it right. His customer service is top notch.
These are great basses w/ amazing tone, the Fanned fret boards take no time to get used to
frank
 
#3
The neck on my AB1 5 string has been completely stable. If it was going to have problems, I'd imagine it would have them here in the Texas Tropics.

I have heard of one, maybe two people having some neck issues, but they were well taken care of. Sheldon Dingwall takes very good care of his customers. Frankly, as solid as mine feels, I have to wonder if those folks went overboard with heavy gauge strings. Since these basses use extra long scale lengths, there's no reason to use a .110 E and a .135 B string - those low strings will be plenty tight with .100 and .125 gauges. On my other ERB's, I'll use heavier strings, but it's just not necessary on the Dingwall.

It's a very well built bass. Perfectly balanced, super comfortable neck, and of course one of the best B's out there. For my taste, the pickups have a bit too much "zing" to them, but mine has FD-1's; newer basses will probably have FD-3's, which I've read have a somewhat more vintage tone. That all depends on what you like, though. I tend to like darker sounding pickups. Some people prefer brighter pickups.
 
#4
Hey Brucewayne
I'm in Houston too, and the humidity is brutal. My first Dingwall ABI (about 3 yrs ago) neck danced a bit til it settled in. Sheldon held my hand the whole way, and after a month or so, Its not moved since.
AS for the FD-1's, I love that zing, The FD-1 sound great on my Fretless, As for p'ups Sheldons used thru the years; the Bart p'ups were very growly, the FD-1 are middy, lots of ommph and zing, and the FD3 (the newest version) are more polite, lots of mids, lots of bass. Great tone for a bass.
Personally, you won't go wrong w/ a Dingwall bass
 
#5
I have to agree with what the others have said. I have had no neck issues with either of the Dingwalls I've owned and I've also never heard of anyone having neck issues. I've been to Sheldon's shop a few times and I can say from talking with him that these basses are each very carefully planned and painstakingly crafted. And, if you had any issues, Sheldon is the king of customer service, so there would be no need to worry. Speaking of which I really have to go pick up my Dingwall from the shop.

On a side not of props to Sheldon, I took my JP Plume in there. Some of the knobs on it felt kinda weird as you turned them. Sheldon took them off, saw what was wrong and then cut some brass strips to shim the knobs so that they sat properly on the posts. That's just the kind of guy Sheldon is.

-Geoff
 
#6
+1 to everything said here, my neck is solid as a rock, also in Texas humidity.

Forget what people tell you about flatsawn maple, if the wood is good to begin with, it will hold up quite well. I imagine the AB's might be the only ones with any issues at all (since they are one piece flatsawn necks), and as the others have said, if there is an issue, Ive never seen it.

PS - Think about this too, every dingwall player here on the boards (that Im aware of) just replied to you within one day. Thats gotta say something about how much we love our basses :)
 
#7
Thanks for the replys. Im almost postive im going to join this club and get bassnw to order me one. My last question is what Is the diffrence between the afterburner and afterburner 1 & 2? Or is just a standard afterburner a I and the wenge neck one a II
 
#9
ABI- maple body, flatsawn maple neck, wenge fretboard. FD-3, w/ Blueqube
ABII- mahogany body, bubinga neck, fingerboard. Active Eq(w/ bluqube as well).
The tone of the ABII is a bit more complex and middier IMO, to me it has more tonal adjustments.
I look at it this way, ABI are less than 1/2 the cost of Sheldon's high end basses, but in that AB package you get more than 2/3 of the tonal options and 100% of the playability (and Dingwall goodies- like novax board, countersunk tuners, unique bridge, custom FD p'ups) for the lower price.

Right now on Ebay is a ABI w/ flame maple top and a 3 -piece neck (first one I've seen) -so if you concerned w/ any neck issues a laminated neck will remedy this concern)
I thought I'd saw about 4 or 5 ABI 5 stringers and one or 2 - 4 stringers as Basscentral. The only thing I'd say about ordering a bass from the Dingwall group is the wait time. I believe its a 3 person operation and you might be waiting longer than you'd hope to get a fairly standard AB w/ a few options (just a guess 2-5 months -IIRC ABI can't be all that modified, just active EQ added or special color).
Now if its a custom instrument, then plan on waiting.....(going on 19 month for me now)
frank
PS i think there like 8 of us w/ Dingwalls on this board.
 
#10
I want to point out that I am pretty sure that the ABIs are now using quartersawn laminate maple necks. I really forget what Sheldon said as to why, but IIRC, it was something with having trouble getting enough quality flatsawn timber (???). I could be wrong, and maybe Sheldon will chime in. I just remember seeing him gluing up 5 piece maple neck blanks and I remember that they were for the Afterburners.

-Geoff
 
#11
Geoff St. Germaine said:
I want to point out that I am pretty sure that the ABIs are now using quartersawn laminate maple necks. I really forget what Sheldon said as to why, but IIRC, it was something with having trouble getting enough quality flatsawn timber (???). I could be wrong, and maybe Sheldon will chime in. I just remember seeing him gluing up 5 piece maple neck blanks and I remember that they were for the Afterburners.

-Geoff
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing that out Geoff. Currently all Afterburner necks are 5-piece laminates. This is not an endorsement of laminated necks over flatsawn one-piece. It's just that for us we get more predictable results using a laminated neck. I find comfort in that.
 
#14
Geoff St. Germaine said:
On a side not of props to Sheldon, I took my JP Plume in there. Some of the knobs on it felt kinda weird as you turned them. Sheldon took them off, saw what was wrong and then cut some brass strips to shim the knobs so that they sat properly on the posts. That's just the kind of guy Sheldon is.

-Geoff
Click to expand...

:hiding:

Thanks Sheldon! ;)

Peace,
JP
 

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