Dingwall vs 36-inch Overwater for modern metal?

[cyril233]

Hi all, I'm currently eyeing a used 5 string bass at 1-2k price range for playing in a djent/metalcore band. Having searched around, it seems the best options are:

- Dingwall NG2/NG3

- Overwater Progress 36-inch

- Some basses with great remark for their low B string (Lakland 5502, Ibanez BTB) 

- Some mobern models (Ibanez EHB)

 

Tuning would be either standard or dropping by a whole step. 

 

I wonder what you think about these options? And could anyone share your experience with 36-inch basses? I have never tried one, and comparison videos seem quite rare.  Thank you.

Edited February 8 by cyril233

[Greg Edwards69]

Have you considered Warwick? The 5 string Thumb I used to have had a tight and defined B string with overall clear-as-a-bell clarity.

 

PS, have you tried a 36" scale bass? I'm not sure I'd get on with one, but then again, I'm only 5'7".

Edited February 8 by Greg Edwards69

[Owen]

I have a 36" Overwater 6 string tuned to bottom F#. Djent for days.

 

 

[cyril233]

43 minutes ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

Have you considered Warwick? The 5 string Thumb I used to have had a tight and defined B string with overall clear-as-a-bell clarity.

 

PS, have you tried a 36" scale bass? I'm not sure I'd get on with one, but then again, I'm only 5'7".

 

Thanks I'll try a Thumb sometime. Love the tight rear pickup sound.

I never tried any 36 inch basses. I assume at least it would be easier get use to compared to a Dingwall.

 

 

[Paulhauser]

@cyril233

I would add the following to your list:

- Spector Dimension 5 and Dimension 5 HP : 34"-37", both models sound great and are in the same price bracket as the DW NGs

- Ibanez BTB805MS : 35-37", priced closer to 1K than to 2K and based on clips it is a seriously good sounding instrument. Had a BTB before and was great but it wasn't the multiscale version

- Spector Euro 5LX : I have used them with drop A and standard A tunings and they sounded killer. Some of the best B strings in the business.

 

I have a Warwick Thumb 6NT which does have a great B string but dropping it to A doesn't sound as good as on the Spectors. 

I personally haven't tried a 36" scale bass but I did use a Dingwall AB5 for a while that had a 37" B string and it was a breeze. (All my other basses are / were at that time 34" or 35")

[itu]

I have a 36" fretless 4. Playing is very easy. That extra inch or two is much more about how the bass fits your body horizontally (reach to half position etc.).

 

Stringing requires super long scale / long scale plus. The scale length and the string gauge may require some trials to find a suitable set. When the right gauge is found, you certainly feel and hear it. As an example, .120 B sounded far better than a .130 or .135 in my 35" 5-string.

[cyril233]

2 hours ago, Paulhauser said:

@cyril233

I would add the following to your list:

- Spector Dimension 5 and Dimension 5 HP : 34"-37", both models sound great and are in the same price bracket as the DW NGs

- Ibanez BTB805MS : 35-37", priced closer to 1K than to 2K and based on clips it is a seriously good sounding instrument. Had a BTB before and was great but it wasn't the multiscale version

- Spector Euro 5LX : I have used them with drop A and standard A tunings and they sounded killer. Some of the best B strings in the business.

 

I have a Warwick Thumb 6NT which does have a great B string but dropping it to A doesn't sound as good as on the Spectors. 

I personally haven't tried a 36" scale bass but I did use a Dingwall AB5 for a while that had a 37" B string and it was a breeze. (All my other basses are / were at that time 34" or 35")

I'm not a fan of the Korean Spector body shapes, Euro 5 seems great (but is 34" though?).

[Paulhauser]

5 minutes ago, cyril233 said:

I'm not a fan of the Korean Spector body shapes, Euro 5 seems great (but is 34" though?).

Of the Czech neck through models only the current Euro 5 Classic and the obsolete 25+ years old NS-5CR (the prececessor of the Euro, sometimes turn up on the used market, great basses ) have 34" scale lenghts, all other Euro 5s (pre LX Euro 5, Euro 5XL, Euro 5 LT) have 35" scale. 

[wavemaker]

As a resident Dingwall enthusiast I‘d like to point out that all of their basses are optimised not only sonically but also and maybe even more so [editor‘s note: only slight hyperbole] ergonomically. Any Dingwall will have less reach to the "money notes" than a 34" Spector or Warwick Thumb, and that reach can very easily be further reduced by doing this.

 

I don’t think many other manufacturers have understood this aspect of Dingwall’s design or have come close to replicating it. 

 

[BigRedX]

My second main bass was an Overwater Original 5-string with a 36" scale length. I never noticed the extra two inches, although that might have been because my previous main bass was a short scale. The first time I realised that it was longer than standard was when I tried fitting a 34" scale set of strings and found that the silks started in the first fret area. Back then (in the early 90s) finding extra long scale sets with a usable low B was very difficult. These days it's much easier. Since then I've owned basses with all sorts of scale lengths and my experience has been that scale length on it own only makes a difference for the sound and feel of the lower string when you go 36" or longer. 

[robiredale]

For standard B tuned stuff, whatever guitar you like will work within reason. I've a 31.5 inch scale ACG fiver that's currently my main gigging bass with a pretty heavy metal band in this tuning. It works extremely well. The shorter neck makes it easier for me to move around the fretboard, which I really like.

 

EQ is such a powerful tool on our guitars, boards and amps these days that any weaker low end that a short scale instrument might have compared with longer scales (and this isn't always the case!) can be easily overcome.

 

If I was downtuning though I'd reach for a Dingwall. String tension on the ACG is a bit low - but equally, it is manageable.

 

No experience with the Overwater's - great rep for quality though and will no doubt be fine instruments.

 

Other multiscales are worth considering, especially second hand Ibby's which can sometimes be had for a bargain price if you keep an eye out. I've no experience with the Spector's but given their rep for quality instruments, I'm sure they'll be very good. The Dingwall will play great, quality is excellent and is likely to hold value well. I love mine.

 

Clearly I am a bit biased as an owner of one, but its hard to look past the NG2 for this application in my opinion. If your budget needs to also stretch to include a suitably Djent preamp , go with a cheaper Ibby and one of the Darkglass AO Photon or Microtubes Infinity pedals too - will get you some awesome tones for that genre (and many others).

[Baloney Balderdash]

17 hours ago, wavemaker said:

As a resident Dingwall enthusiast I‘d like to point out that all of their basses are optimised not only sonically but also and maybe even more so [editor‘s note: only slight hyperbole] ergonomically.  

 

Optimized sonically, and even more so ergonomically, to what, and compared to what, exactly?

 

To being basses, and compared to all other basses in existence?

 

Or to drop A/A standard tuning in specific? (though what have that to do with ergonomics?)

 

Edited February 9 by Baloney Balderdash

[Skybone]

What about an ACG?

 

Just seen this come up in the "For Sale" section: Peavey Cirrus 35"

 

Edited February 9 by Skybone

[wavemaker]

5 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

Optimized sonically, and even more so ergonomically, to what, and compared to what, exactly?

 

To being basses, and compared to all other basses in existence?

 

Or to drop A/A standard tuning in specific? (though what have that to do with ergonomics?)

 

Hi there Baloney. Quick question: Are you intentionally misinterpreting my words or do you lack reading comprehension? I offered not only one, but two specific ergonomic comparisons.

 

Regarding the sonic aspects of their design: In short, yes. 

For further elaboration, please do read up on the differences of single- vs. multiscale by yourself (some of which people, entirely subjectively, see as advantages), watch some videos, or preferably, experience the thing in the flesh. Or don’t, you‘re your own person.