Dingwall 4/5 string

Jonathanthomas83

What you got?

cLepto-bass

Couple of 5 Strings over on Basschat

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/326977-dingwall-super-j53-candy-purple-£2000/

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/327960-dingwall-combustion-5/

Jonathanthomas83

cLepto-bass said:

Couple of 5 Strings over on Basschat

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/326977-dingwall-super-j53-candy-purple-£2000/

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/327960-dingwall-combustion-5/

Thank you mate, I'll have a look at those!

Jonathanthomas83

Jonathanthomas83 said:

cLepto-bass said:

Couple of 5 Strings over on Basschat

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/326977-dingwall-super-j53-candy-purple-£2000/

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/327960-dingwall-combustion-5/

Thank you mate, I'll have a look at those!

Second guy didn't seem to want to reply to me :-/

Jonathanthomas83

Bump

guitarfishbay

Not selling mine but it’s a good idea to keep an eye on Bass Direct. They’re the biggest stockist also they get second hand stuff every now and then but used Combustion/NG stuff sells really fast.

Also worth following them on FaceBook because they sometimes post about their inventory there as they receive it

http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Dingwall_Combustion.html

Right now they’ve got 2 Canadian 5 stings in second hand. 

Jonathanthomas83

Nice one @guitarfishbay much appreciated. I'm pretty much on that site daily now as I've seen 2 come and go lightning fast. I'm a quick learner though so won't let it happen again if I like it. What model do you have?

guitarfishbay

I have a Combustion 4 Alder, in White because that was the cheapest colour lol. I’ve converted it to a 3x pickup model.

Jonathanthomas83

Ha, I've noticed that and am going for black for the same reason. I don't know much about bass stuff, is there much advantage to having the 3rd pickup?

guitarfishbay

It depends on what sounds you like.

So the Combustion and NG bodies are both routed for 3 pickups underneath the pickguard. You can only buy Combustion pick guards and 3x pickguard s after market, they won’t sell you an NG2 pickguard.

You can just remove the pick guard and reposition the pickups to try the different positions out though.

The Combustion positions are a little more traditional Fender, with the neck pickup being in a kind of Precision bass position and the neck and bridge together in parallel kind of being like a fat and aggressive Jazz bass.

The NG positions sound tighter and have quite a unique midrange to them. People seem to associate the both pickups on sound with a Music Man sound but it’s nowhere near as gritty on the highs, and much more defined on the lows. It has its own thing going on, very distinctive.

Both the 2 pickup basses have the same rotary, so the options are: bridge, bridge and neck parallel, bridge and neck series, neck.

They do 2 different 4 way pickup selectors for 3 pickup basses. The 3x and the D-Bird. From my own testing the 3x switch had all of my favourite sounds, so it was a no brainier for me.

The D bird switch is geared towards tighter sounds. The NG3 comes stock with the D-Bird switch as far as I’m aware.

Jonathanthomas83

That's superb, @guitarfishbay , I think I'm looking for similar sounds to yourself in that I'm looking for tight and defined. Sounds like a good plan to go for the 3x option.

guitarfishbay

Yeah I’ve only ever played the one I own but it is a really good instrument. Light, punchy, and had a great setup including nut height straight out of the box. Stock pickups sound good too.

The only small issue I had was I didn’t like the edges on the saddles, they were a little square for my tastes. I rounded them off with a file and sanded them up to a high grit. You basically can’t see I’ve done it unless you look super close.

It’s possible mine wasn’t typical on that front because I don’t see complaints from others, but either way it didn’t take long to fix and I didn’t want to return it because it’s otherwise totally killer. I guess I could’ve contacted support but it’s a non issue now 

Jonathanthomas83

@guitarfishbay need some advice... looks like 5 strings are quite hard to come by, the more I look the more I fancy an NG. If you were me, would you save for NG or go for a Combustion? And do I really need a 5 string? I play mostly E standard and rarely drop to D, I kind of want a 7 string again one day, so the B would be nice, but it says on Bassdirect that the 4 strings are great for tuning to BEAD. What do you think? Will the extra scale length on a 5 string B be beneficial and worth waiting for if I'm forking out for it? Part of me is considering a 4 string now tbh.

Or am I being a bit daft and should I just save some coin and go for the Combustion being that I am not a bassist!

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks

guitarfishbay

The 4 string is still great for a low B, I tune mine to drop B.

The 4th string is 36.25” scale, so enough longer than a standard 34” scale bass to feel and hear a benefit. I also think it sounds great in E.

The 5 string version has a 37” low B which would be even nicer, but personally I prefer the feel of a 4 string bass.

So Combustion vs NG really boils down to what your favourite sound is.

If you love the Nolly kind of tone get the NG. It has the Darkglass preamp which has tighter/punchier lows and aggressively voiced upper mids. The combination of the pickup positions and Pre is very distinctive.

The EMG preamp in the Combustion is more traditional, deep voiced bass and more sparkly high end. The pickup positions end up sounding more traditional towards a Fender sound, but more modern and fatter than a Jazz bass.

In terms of pickups they’re the same, the differences are the pickguards, you can’t buy an aftermarket NG2 style pick guard to have the pickups next to each other. Both basses have the same 3 pickup routing underneath, but if you convert to 3x with their switches you will lose at least one of the sounds from the 2 pickup version. You’d have to check with BassDirecf but I think you can get a replacement Combustion guard, so if you got an NG you could more easily convert between the positions in an aesthetically pleasing way.

My favourite sound is bridge and neck combined from the Combustion, in parallel. I found the series mode a bit much. When I took the pick guard off and tried the NG positions my favourite was the bridge and middle in series. So for me doing a conversion using the 3x switch was a no brainer, I got to swap my least favourite Combustion tone for my favourite NG tone. 

I do sometimes wish I had the Darkglass preamp but then I also do like the EMG Pre too.

guitarfishbay

I think the NG is Alder only. There have been Ash and Alder combustion’s. Mine is Alder as far as I am aware.

Jonathanthomas83

Thanks @guitarfishbay really appreciate you helping me out like this. Your advice, as always, is invaluable. You've got me thinking sensibly again and I've listened to a few clips, I think I prefer the traditional sound of the Combustion, it's more along the lines of what I'll be trying to achieve, although the NG sounds lovely. I also think I'll prefer the feel of the 4 string...which widens my options considerably.

Thanks again, you're a legend!

guitarfishbay

No problem. Will be interested to see what you get if you decide to buy one.

Jonathanthomas83

guitarfishbay said:

No problem. Will be interested to see what you get if you decide to buy one.

Ordered myself a Combustion 4 in blackburst, very happy! Thanks so much for all your advice, @guitarfishbay!

guitarfishbay

Is it this one from Bass Direct?

guitarfishbay

They look sweet in that colour

Jonathanthomas83

@guitarfishbay ;The very one mate, yes! Looks awesome doesn't it. Got a nicely figured board on it too, which is a bonus! :-)