kwmlondon Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 On 20/04/2022 at 16:35, lowregisterhead said: I had a second-hand 2-pickup Combustion over a decade ago, and although I loved how it played, I could never get it to sound the way I liked, despite pickup upgrades etc. I bought this 5/3 new a couple of months ago, and it's a very different animal. I upgraded the FD-3N pickups to a set of Super Fatty II's, which gave a subtle lift in the mids and overall warmth of tone, and my other basses (Lakland, Bogart, Status) don't seem to get a look-in now. After going to hear Sheldon Dingwall speak at guitarguitar in Epsom a couple of weeks ago I'm considering a Canadian build, but they're well beyond my budget for now. There's a very nice AB1 on eBay at the moment though... I was there too! I’ve just bought some new Dingwall soft plastic knobs…. A Canadian build is a bit of a dream atm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 12 minutes ago, kwmlondon said: I was there too! I’ve just bought some new Dingwall soft plastic knobs…. A Canadian build is a bit of a dream atm So did I !! The bass doesn't slide into the gigbag quite so smoothly now, but I can live with that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 5, 2022 Share Posted May 5, 2022 There are some nice used Canadian Dingwalls at BassDirect at the moment. A couple are not far off Chinese NG prices too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 (edited) Last night's gig: Edited May 15, 2022 by Machines 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrorshowbass Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 On 15/05/2022 at 23:19, Machines said: Last night's gig: Omg never seen the block inlays. Guys, anyone have opinions on early versus newer model combustion? Local guy has 2010 combustion for sale. https://www.adverts.ie/electric-basses/dingwall-combustion-5/26679849 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 6 hours ago, horrorshowbass said: Omg never seen the block inlays. They won't fool anyone close up, but from 6ft away they're fine. https://neckillusions.com/collections/dingwall-multiscale-bass-guitar-markers-only 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 6 hours ago, horrorshowbass said: Guys, anyone have opinions on early versus newer model combustion? Local guy has 2010 combustion for sale. https://www.adverts.ie/electric-basses/dingwall-combustion-5/26679849 Should sound the same, the newer pickups are just in a different cover, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted June 6, 2022 Share Posted June 6, 2022 16 hours ago, Machines said: Should sound the same, the newer pickups are just in a different cover, I believe. That's a VERY good price. I know they've refined things a bit since then but I doubt you'd tell much of a difference without being able to play it against a new one back-to-back. The only thing I'd say is that if you wanted to upgrade to the 3-pickup model it may be more tricky, but personally my go-to tone is both on a-la-Jazz with both pickups on full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrorshowbass Posted June 6, 2022 Share Posted June 6, 2022 Yeah only real difference is the rotary switch for series/parallel etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickmew Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 On 05/06/2022 at 16:11, horrorshowbass said: Omg never seen the block inlays. Guys, anyone have opinions on early versus newer model combustion? Local guy has 2010 combustion for sale. https://www.adverts.ie/electric-basses/dingwall-combustion-5/26679849 My first Dingwall was an early Combustion. After I got it I sold my MTD Kingston Heir and USA Jazz as I never played them, thought well that's me sorted for good. Of course later on I came across a 2nd hand AB1 for a stoopid price but that's a different story. The new ones are a bit more refined cosmetically maybe, but they aren't at a different level. And that is a good price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrorshowbass Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 2 hours ago, nickmew said: My first Dingwall was an early Combustion. After I got it I sold my MTD Kingston Heir and USA Jazz as I never played them, thought well that's me sorted for good. Of course later on I came across a 2nd hand AB1 for a stoopid price but that's a different story. The new ones are a bit more refined cosmetically maybe, but they aren't at a different level. And that is a good price. Cheers dude so the rotary switch with series/parallel combos doesn't affect sounds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 1 hour ago, horrorshowbass said: Cheers dude so the rotary switch with series/parallel combos doesn't affect sounds? I've owned both. I had a twin pickup 5-string about 10 years ago, but I couldn't get it to sound the way I wanted, despite a pickup upgrade. I bought a new 5-3 a few months back, and it's tonally much more versatile IMHO. All 4 positions on the selector are very useable sounds, and I'm really happy with it. It depends what you're looking for of course, but I'd recommend you try before you buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrorshowbass Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 2 hours ago, lowregisterhead said: I've owned both. I had a twin pickup 5-string about 10 years ago, but I couldn't get it to sound the way I wanted, despite a pickup upgrade. I bought a new 5-3 a few months back, and it's tonally much more versatile IMHO. All 4 positions on the selector are very useable sounds, and I'm really happy with it. It depends what you're looking for of course, but I'd recommend you try before you buy. Thanks man, bass gallery in London might have to be hit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 I've put my lovely NG2 up for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted September 11, 2022 Share Posted September 11, 2022 (edited) Got this NG-2 to try out - very different sound to my D-Roc and surprisingly lower output (passive) even with same pickups, setup height etc. The strings are not Dingwall (not sure what they are) so might change to my 'normal' set before being sure. I was a bit hesitant at the 2 pickup version initially, but I think it looks better than the 3, and has enough sounds in it as it is, plus I have the D-Roc if needed. EDIT: Output is not lower, it just had Grossman strings on it, which seem to be quieter than Dingwall strings. Edited September 14, 2022 by Machines 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 As good as my Combustion 5/3 was out of the box (bought new earlier this year) I've upgraded a few things - Super Fatty II pickups, black Hipshot USA tuners, and Babicz bridge saddles. Worthwhile improvements to an already great bass. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 2 hours ago, lowregisterhead said: I've upgraded a few things - Super Fatty II pickups, black Hipshot USA tuners, and Babicz bridge saddles. Worthwhile improvements to an already great bass. How much did the tuners/bridges cost you ? I might do the same for the full hazard look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 3 hours ago, lowregisterhead said: As good as my Combustion 5/3 was out of the box (bought new earlier this year) I've upgraded a few things - Super Fatty II pickups, black Hipshot USA tuners, and Babicz bridge saddles. Worthwhile improvements to an already great bass. I had a white Combustion and did exactly the same! I loved the look of the black hardware on the white. Gutted, another bass I was forced to sell I was very fortunate to be on the Dingwall testing team and was one of the first to test out the prototype SFII and the FDV pickups. I'd already had Bothe the FD3n and FD3a pickups, so it was a lot of fun testing each! (I still have the NFR's, so when I can get a Dingwall again, I will definitely be using them!) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 On 12/09/2022 at 10:28, Machines said: How much did the tuners/bridges cost you ? I might do the same for the full hazard look. The tuners were £129 for the set. Although the bass was already pretty well balanced, the USA Hipshots are quite a bit lighter than the licensed ones it came fitted with. The Babicz saddles were about £55 each. Not cheap, but they're rock solid, a big improvement on the old saddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 On 12/09/2022 at 11:32, Dood said: I had a white Combustion and did exactly the same! I loved the look of the black hardware on the white. Gutted, another bass I was forced to sell I was very fortunate to be on the Dingwall testing team and was one of the first to test out the prototype SFII and the FDV pickups. I'd already had Bothe the FD3n and FD3a pickups, so it was a lot of fun testing each! (I still have the NFR's, so when I can get a Dingwall again, I will definitely be using them!) Black hardware on a white bass - very cool! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 4 hours ago, lowregisterhead said: The Babicz saddles were about £55 each. Not cheap, but they're rock solid, a big improvement on the old saddles. Yikes. The OEM ones are good enough for me at that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfram Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 New BassChatter here - I had a question about Dingwall basses, thought here would be the best place to ask it. I just picked up an Afterburner HS (bubinga body / wenge neck) with three pickups and three series/parallel switches. It's an awesome bass, and I find each pickup position gives a distinct, very usable sound - and the s/p switches add some interest too. I just wondered if it is normal on a Dingwall to have a pronounced difference in output level between pickup positions (particularly, the two bridge-most pickups together position is much louder than any of the others)? The sounds are great, but I would struggle modulating between them in one piece, or even set, with that level difference. Cheers! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 The pickup selector has 4 positions from most anti-clockwise to most clockwise. Position 1: bridge pickup only Position 2: bridge and middle pickups in series Position 3: bridge and neck in parallel Position 4: neck pickup only. These are further modified by the three series/parallel switches. These affect the how the two coils in each pickup are combined, rather than how each pickup is combined, but have a similar tone shaping effect. Parallel combines the output of both pickups, which results in some frequency cancellation and results in a slightly lower output and a scooped sound, like a jazz bass with both pickups on full volume. Series feeds the output of one pickup into the other, resulting in a slightly louder signal and more pronounced mids. The switches do the same thing, but for combining the coils of each pickup rather than the pickups themselves. So, if you choose position 2 and set the switches for bridge and middle pickups to series it will have a pretty high output. Selecting position 1 with the bridge switch set the parallel will be quite a lot lower in output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 A tip from someone (I can’t remember who) is that if you want relatively even output across all 4 pickup settings, set the switches to series for the bridge and neck pickups and parallel for the middle pickup. Position 2 (bridge/middle in series) is still a bit louder but much less so. IMHO the pickup coils sound better wired in series on positions 1 and 4 anyway, possibly because the nature of the Dingwall humbucker is that unless you drive them hard (or play hard) they lack a bit of sparkle, which the series setting seems to bring back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfram Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 Thanks guys, that's really helpful! Really loving this bass, and getting to know all its sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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