NDB - Dingwall D-Roc 5 (Aquamarine Flake)

[Machines]

Last weekend was the Bass & Guitar show in Liverpool. I had the opportunity to be on the Bass Direct stand for the weekend helping with product demos and made a couple of bass sales (Cort A5 Plus SC & Kala U-Bass). It is well documented in other threads that the weekend was fairly quiet, which gave me the opportunity to try out most of the instruments I liked the look of with no limitations.

 

The most popular basses were without a doubt the Dingwalls, a good mixture of those who had never played a fanned fret before - and some who are diehard Dingwall fans. Lots of people went for the D-Roc 5 to try out - it was moderately priced (for a Dingwall !), and had a stunning aquamarine flake finish. It was definitely the most popular instrument I saw being demo'd and was with me too.

 

As a passive instrument, I expected it to sound a bit dull compared to the NG/Combustions, but it did not. It was mostly plugged into a GR Bass head and 2x12 carbon fibre cab. It was without a doubt the most thunderous yet clear bass sound i've heard to date. The pickup switching was very good and there isn't a bad sound available from it.

 

Every time someone tried it out I was hoping they'd put it back, because otherwise I couldn't have it. We got to the end of Sunday and it had survived, so I agreed a sale whilst we were packing up and took it home that day. The only downside, is that I will have to lose 1-2 basses to fund it, but i'll get over that quite quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

And here it is just before the show opened - I hadn't played it yet nor considered buying it.. should have got Sheldon to sign it but in the fluster of packing up I didn't think of it (i'm 2nd from left).

 

[funkypenguin]

Happy NBD!! I was one of the people that played this and while its really not my thing ergonomically, it's possibly the finest sounding passive bass I've ever played, I was really impressed with it!

 

 

[LeftyJ]

Lovely, congrats! Probably the best finish available on these, I love it. The "new" shape after the D-bird copyright issues has grown on me quite a bit by now, it looks fantastic! 

 

Here's the before / after, for those who missed it:

 

[NickD]

It's a beautiful thing!

 

I'm a fan of passive basses anyway, and I've long been of the opinion that if it's done right, its plenty flexible.  I have an East, a Glockenklang and a Bart pre-amp across different basses, but my passive Jake is always the first bass guitar I pick up, and I've yet to find it lacking

 

Having played this one, the range of sounds available, and the quality of those sounds was ridiculous. I can't imagine needing more.

[lee650]

I've never been a fan of unusually shaped basses! But I have to admit that is one of the most stunning basses ive seen 😁

[Skybone]

Love the D-Roc, and especially in that colour. Happy NBD!

 

Really GAS-ing for the 4 string version...

[uk_lefty]

Gorgeous bass. I've not yet tried a fan fret but I probably would for one of these!!

[Machines]

I'll try and do some sound demos today if I can find my interface.

 

EDIT: Found it

Edited April 7, 2022 by Machines

[Rich]

Congrats on the new bass! A logical step on from your old Redsub Coliseum I guess? How does the Ding compare in terms of balance & weight etc?

 

 

20 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

Lovely, congrats! Probably the best finish available on these, I love it. The "new" shape after the D-bird copyright issues has grown on me quite a bit by now, it looks fantastic! 

 

Here's the before / after, for those who missed it:

 

All I can say is, thank god for the copyright issues. The new shape is far better to my eyes. I love that little kick at the back, by the controls. It looks sleeker, a proper 21st century Bird (there's a song in there somewhere).

[Machines]

36 minutes ago, Rich said:

Congrats on the new bass! A logical step on from your old Redsub Coliseum I guess? How does the Ding compare in terms of balance & weight etc?

 

The RedSub Coliseum was always a budget experiment for me, sounded OK but the ergonomics and feel were really quite bad. The D-Roc was actually designed properly and balances very well. I'm rehearsing with it tonight so will let you know once I work out how these straplocks work 😂

Edited April 7, 2022 by Machines

[Machines]

Some quick sound demos. All recordings are into a Zoom B3n with pickups in following order. 

 

1) Bridge

2) Bridge / Middle (Parallel)

3) Middle

4) Bridge/Middle (Parallel) + Neck in Series

 

Fingerstyle (Clean signal):

 

 

 

Slap (Treble boost on Zoom):

 

 

 

METAL (Darkglass Model):

 

 

 

 

[Rich]

That low B is stunning 

[krispn]

I'd happily own either style as I think it's a killer bass.

[Machines]

And it made it out the house last night. No surprises, it sounded great even through this knackered old Ashdown. It was the first proper opportunity to play it on a strap though, and headstock dive was absent and it was very comfortable throughout.

 

[Daz39]

It's like the Joey of basses, just leaning there all casually. "How you doin?"

When the D-Roc was first teased by Sheldon I did say it met a definite need (want!) in the market and  I bet it sells shedloads, and it wouldn't be long before they needed a Standard* version like the Combustions to serve volume, as well as the err Custom*? ones made in Saskatoon.

 

*I've forgotten the nomenclature!

[LeftyJ]

On 07/04/2022 at 11:16, Machines said:

Some quick sound demos. All recordings are into a Zoom B3n with pickups in following order. 

 

1) Bridge

2) Bridge / Middle (Parallel)

3) Middle

4) Bridge/Middle (Parallel) + Neck in Series

 

Fingerstyle (Clean signal):

 

 

 

Slap (Treble boost on Zoom):

 

 

 

METAL (Darkglass Model):

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting pickup switching options, and it also really surprises me which one stands out to me: in nearly all of these samples, I preferred the tone of the middle pickup stand-alone . After reading through the list of settings, my first thought was "I wish it had a Bridge + Neck option and an option to use the Neck pickup alone" but that faded after listening to your samples. I was also surprised by the similarities in tone to a Stingray, in some way. I've never played one or heard one in the flesh, and have yet to encounter a lefty I can try out (they do lefty Combustion 4 and 5-strings and lefty NG2's and NG3's), but now I'm aching to try one 

Edited April 8, 2022 by LeftyJ

[krispn]

Should I get one of these in 4 string for my 80’s band 🤔 Stingray tones if needed. Solid slap tones if needed. Solid ‘middle’ tone if needed. 

[Machines]

46 minutes ago, krispn said:

Should I get one of these in 4 string for my 80’s band 🤔 Stingray tones if needed. Solid slap tones if needed. Solid ‘middle’ tone if needed. 

 

I think you've kind of answered that yourself.

[Machines]

3 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

 

Interesting pickup switching options, and it also really surprises me which one stands out to me: in nearly all of these samples, I preferred the tone of the middle pickup stand-alone . After reading through the list of settings, my first thought was "I wish it had a Bridge + Neck option and an option to use the Neck pickup alone" but that faded after listening to your samples. I was also surprised by the similarities in tone to a Stingray, in some way. I've never played one or heard one in the flesh, and have yet to encounter a lefty I can try out (they do lefty Combustion 4 and 5-strings and lefty NG2's and NG3's), but now I'm aching to try one 

 

There are replacement switches available if you really wanted, but for me it all happens with the 'all on' setting. 

 

Combustion switch

 

D-Roc switch

[krispn]

3 hours ago, Machines said:

 

I think you've kind of answered that yourself.

I had a Super PZ5 for about 5 yrs which was my main gigging bass and I really enjoyed playing that one. I think the D Roc is such a great reimagining of a classic the same way their Super P is. I may have a cull and see what I can find used! 

[krispn]

On 08/04/2022 at 15:27, Machines said:

 

I think you've kind of answered that yourself.

 

 

It arrives Tuesday 🙂

[BillyBass]

On 07/04/2022 at 10:16, Machines said:

Some quick sound demos. All recordings are into a Zoom B3n with pickups in following order. 

 

1) Bridge

2) Bridge / Middle (Parallel)

3) Middle

4) Bridge/Middle (Parallel) + Neck in Series

 

Fingerstyle (Clean signal):

 

 

 

Slap (Treble boost on Zoom):

 

 

 

METAL (Darkglass Model):

 

 

 

 

 

This seems to be a very versatile bass.  I think my next bass will be a D-Roc 5.

[Daz39]

On 08/04/2022 at 15:29, Machines said:

 

There are replacement switches available if you really wanted, but for me it all happens with the 'all on' setting. 

 

Combustion switch

 

D-Roc switch

As I recall, you could at one point spec the Canadian D-Roc with the Combustion switching. Sheldon also showed a diagram of the wiring and how to change it yourself for various series/parallel combos.

[JapanAxe]

@Machines and @krispn - how are you both getting on with your D-Rocs?

 

And why am I asking? No reason really, definitely not Dingwall GAS.

[krispn]

I moved mine on as it just wasn’t as comfortable as the Super P. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t a match for me. I’ve been spoilt😀