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Dingwall Super J
- Thread starter Stu Rose
- Start date
I played a Super J and a Super P/J at the Atlanta Bass Gallery.
The P/J was maybe the best bass I've ever played. It was just about perfect in every way. It sounded so massive (through an Epifani rig) and played so incredibly well that the Super J was kind of "meh" by comparison.. still a nice bass, but the P/J was totally awesome.
The P/J was maybe the best bass I've ever played. It was just about perfect in every way. It sounded so massive (through an Epifani rig) and played so incredibly well that the Super J was kind of "meh" by comparison.. still a nice bass, but the P/J was totally awesome.
actually i was also wondering about the super-j and how it compares to other j's such as fender, sadowsky, valenti etc... anyone here had the privilige of playing all of them?
Andy Brown
Commercial User
- Jul 23, 2004
- 5,675
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- Founder/Owner: Wing Instruments
I've been waiting for my SJ5er for over a year and the first run is now in production, so the first ones should be out with 8-12 weeks. I already have 2 customs with similar ergonomics to the Dingwall (32-35" scale 5s with 19mm bridge spacing) and I'm having a hard time waiting. The Dingwall quality of finish and superb pickups will kill. I love the longer scale Dingwalls for their sound and quality, but the shorter scale will be welcomed for tougher fretting. The B may not be up to the 37" B of the "usual" Dingwalls, but the even tension, output and tone of the strings will be outstanding-damn I hate waiting 
Outstanding jazz bass...as good as anything out there. Not a big fan of the treble boost (to be fair any treble boost), but the treble cut is quite nice. It you dig the feel, you like it.
RS
RS
I played a P/J in the summer of 2006, and I'm with Dave -- it's probably the best bass I've ever played. I balked at the price and couldn't justify it at the time, but I wish I'd bought it.
My Jazz is a 2003 Am. Ser. Fender with Fralin pickups. It's an excellent piece, and my "go-to" bass. I've tried several boutique Jazz basses, including Pedulla, Sadowsky Metro, and Mike Lull. Of the parallel fret instruments, I liked the Lull the most for its light weight, great neck, and the tone of the Fralin pickups. But to me, none seemed a meaningful improvement over my Fender, especially for the money.
The Dingwall is in another league entirely. When I moved back to other basses after about ten minutes with the Dingwall, they felt primitive. And it's a mistake to think the Novax fanned fret system is the only distinguishing feature, because the electronics are killer too. The P-bass tone on the P/J is just monstrous, yet crystal clear.
My Jazz is a 2003 Am. Ser. Fender with Fralin pickups. It's an excellent piece, and my "go-to" bass. I've tried several boutique Jazz basses, including Pedulla, Sadowsky Metro, and Mike Lull. Of the parallel fret instruments, I liked the Lull the most for its light weight, great neck, and the tone of the Fralin pickups. But to me, none seemed a meaningful improvement over my Fender, especially for the money.
The Dingwall is in another league entirely. When I moved back to other basses after about ten minutes with the Dingwall, they felt primitive. And it's a mistake to think the Novax fanned fret system is the only distinguishing feature, because the electronics are killer too. The P-bass tone on the P/J is just monstrous, yet crystal clear.
Greetings,
On the Dingwall forum a person complained about having fingering problems above the 12th fret due to the more drastic change in the fret system.
It seem in the low registers it's fairly easy catch on to, to get but the upper registers could be an issue and take some serious time to adjust.
I'm close to buying one but I'm really doing my homework first.
On the Dingwall forum a person complained about having fingering problems above the 12th fret due to the more drastic change in the fret system.
It seem in the low registers it's fairly easy catch on to, to get but the upper registers could be an issue and take some serious time to adjust.
I'm close to buying one but I'm really doing my homework first.
- Jun 19, 2004
- 4,782
- 83
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- Endorsing Artist, Schroeder Cabinets
IME, and from what I've heard from others, the upper frets are not a problem unless you make them a problem. If you just close your eyes and play, it's very natural. If you look at the neck, you'll get confused Just go with it.
Just go with it.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,350
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- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
The Super J has less 'fan' than some of the other Dingwall basses. This can be a problem for some but most don't seem to have difficulty, especially with the reports of the Super-J I've seen. If I were considering a Jazz style bass, this would be my first choice.
I believe TB'er Benjamin Strange is using a Super J as his main bass...the OP might consider contacting him as I believe he gigs with it frequently.
I consider myself a fairly ham-handed, technically-challenged player, and when I picked up the Super P/J, I was instantly able to play double-stops and chords high up on the neck with no problem. The fanned frets fit the natural curve of your hand on the fretboard. Everything I wanted to play just fell under my hands with that bass, and the notes really jump out. I really can't say enough good things about it.
Agreed again. The fanned frets correspond to a natural arc for moving your hand, so I thought the ergonomics were excellent, even high on the neck. I didn't try chords, but I don't think they'd be a problem.
Oh, and my agreement with Dave only includes myself as a ham-handed, technically challenged player, not him!
Among the 40+ basses I own, I have a couple of Dingwalls, and one of them is a Super PJ. As much as I've said in the past that I'd never buy a Jazz bass, the Super PJ made me re-think about it and I ended up buying it. Super great bass indeed. As far as the high fret chordal stuff I have no problem whatsoever (even 4 note chordal stuff!!!)
The problem with chords on a Dingwall is not related to fretting them with your left hand, but tapping them with your right hand IME. You have to twist your forearm a little differently to tap chords high up on the neck, like using your right index and middle fingers to play a D chord on the 19th fret of the D & G strings for example. Its probably less of an issue on a Super J than it is on an Afterburner or Z-series and I managed to work around it just fine on my AB-1 once I adjusted to it. Chords with your left hand are super-easy on fanned frets, much easier than on straight frets IMO.
For you Dingwall fans, it looks like Bass Central is getting ready to blow a bunch of Dingwalls out the door. Many of these have been listed on the site for a long time (I guess they are a specialty type thing that doesn't move in high volume and BC is sitting on a pile of them).
Anyway, looks like there are some serious deals to be had on these basses starting December 1st. Check it out.
Anyway, looks like there are some serious deals to be had on these basses starting December 1st. Check it out.
I tried one and thought it was a great bass. Everything is top notch, except for me, the string spacing is too narrow.
Man, it's 19 mm, how much wider? Are you mistaking some other Dingwall model for the Super J? The others are 18mm, but the Super J (4 and 5 str) are 19mm.
Smallmouthbass is right. Very few think the width at the nut when they talk about string spacing. The Super PJ is narrow at the nut, just like a Jazz. WHen I speak of string spacing, I ask for nut and brdge width
- Jun 19, 2004
- 4,782
- 83
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- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist, Schroeder Cabinets
