Basses similar to Dingwalls?

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bloughlin16

New member
Hi everyone, I've just gotten into playing bass (I've been playing guitar for 13 years) and am considering investing in my first legitimate bass in the upcoming months. I know what I like in terms of tone from a bass, and Dingwall (particularly their Combustion models) are definitely the closest to that ideal tone that I've come across. However, even a Combustion is likely to be out of my budget range, and I was wondering if any of you know of any basses that have a fairly similar character to them.
 
Re: Basses similar to Dingwalls?

bloughlin16 said:
Hi everyone, I've just gotten into playing bass (I've been playing guitar for 13 years) and am considering investing in my first legitimate bass in the upcoming months. I know what I like in terms of tone from a bass, and Dingwall (particularly their Combustion models) are definitely the closest to that ideal tone that I've come across. However, even a Combustion is likely to be out of my budget range, and I was wondering if any of you know of any basses that have a fairly similar character to them.
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What's your budget?
 
Re: Basses similar to Dingwalls?

Not completely sure on the budget. I'd put $1,000 at the max in all likelihood, but I may end up just saving up and getting a Dingwall. I'm not so much concerned about the difference in playability as the overall tone. I imagine that if I just bought a pair of the pickups they put into Combustions and a good preamp that I'd probably get there, but I know the woods of the bass play a factor and just wanted to see if anyone had found a viable option.
 
Re: Basses similar to Dingwalls?

I can never keep Dingwall and Fodera straight in my head. Both a bit kooky. Both a bit cool. Had to look up the Combustion model.

The pickups are FD3s by Nordstrand, which is a brand with a lot of internet bass forum cache. The preamp is by EMG, which....kinda isn't.

May I ask why, in particular, you've zero'd in on that brand/model as the one you've got to have? I wonder if you'd be about as happy with another active bass; any quality preamp and pickup set is going to give you a TON of versatility.
 
Re: Basses similar to Dingwalls?

St_Genesius said:
I can never keep Dingwall and Fodera straight in my head. Both a bit kooky. Both a bit cool. Had to look up the Combustion model.

The pickups are FD3s by Nordstrand, which is a brand with a lot of internet bass forum cache. The preamp is by EMG, which....kinda isn't.

May I ask why, in particular, you've zero'd in on that brand/model as the one you've got to have? I wonder if you'd be about as happy with another active bass; any quality preamp and pickup set is going to give you a TON of versatility.
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I really liked the tone I've heard from them on the records of the artists who've used them, especially on Periphery's and Haunted Shores' material. I realize a good bit of that tone is the Darkglass B7K and those pickups, but I think the configuration of the pickups and the bass itself also play a big role. I'd also love to give fanned frets a shot because of what I've heard it can do for intonation and string tension, but that's less important to me than the overall tone.
 
Re: Basses similar to Dingwalls?

There's a Combustion on Reverb right now for $1700. Maybe just save up a bit longer and stretch your budget? There aren't really any cheaper alternatives that reproduce the peculiarities of a Dingwall.
 
Re: Basses similar to Dingwalls?

St_Genesius said:
There's a Combustion on Reverb right now for $1700. Maybe just save up a bit longer and stretch your budget? There aren't really any cheaper alternatives that reproduce the peculiarities of a Dingwall.
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I'm planning to. I work for a music store now, and they told me we could order one in and I'd get it at cost vs. normal retail pricing, so I will very likely just save up and get a Dingwall.
 
Re: Basses similar to Dingwalls?

bloughlin16 said:
I'd also love to give fanned frets a shot because of what I've heard it can do for intonation and string tension, but that's less important to me than the overall tone.
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Whatever you do, try one before you buy it. Dingwalls and other fanned fret designs are a gaining fad, partly because they legitimately have an advantage with lower string tension, but also partly because of a myth that they have good playability. They don't. The frets near the nut require you to contort your wrist to get your fingers near parallel to them (either that or hold the neck near vertical). People with healthy wrists might not feel it, but people with wrist problems... let's just say that I tried to play one, I have arthritic wrists, and it was excruciating trying to get my wrist into position at the far frets.

To see what I mean, check these pictures out. Look at how the players' wrists and fingers are situated when they are in position and relaxed. The fingers are just about perpendicular to the far frets. And when the fingers are in anything close to playing position on the lower frets, see how stressed the wrist is.

dingwall%20wrist%208_zpssawri13g.jpg
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dingwall%20wrist%204_zpsnfdnxda8.jpg

dingwall%20wrist%201_zpsa5dndxww.jpg
dingwall%20wrist%209_zpsb9u5gzfz.jpg
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Re: Basses similar to Dingwalls?

BlueTalon said:
Whatever you do, try one before you buy it. Dingwalls and other fanned fret designs are a gaining fad, partly because they legitimately have an advantage with lower string tension, but also partly because of a myth that they have good playability. They don't. The frets near the nut require you to contort your wrist to get your fingers near parallel to them (either that or hold the neck near vertical). People with healthy wrists might not feel it, but people with wrist problems... let's just say that I tried to play one, I have arthritic wrists, and it was excruciating trying to get my wrist into position at the far frets.

To see what I mean, check these pictures out. Look at how the players' wrists and fingers are situated when they are in position and relaxed. The fingers are just about perpendicular to the far frets. And when the fingers are in anything close to playing position on the lower frets, see how stressed the wrist is.
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I definitely will, thank you for your concern. Thankfully, my fretting wrist and fingers have rarely, if ever, given me problems, and I mainly intend to use the Dingwall to track bass for my music, rather than gigging with it on a regular basis (I'm primarily a guitarist and really can only play bass "properly" in a hard rock/metal context).
 
Re: Basses similar to Dingwalls?

Even those with healthy wrists need to be careful. Most people with messed up wrists are people who started out with healthy wrists. They got to be messed up by doing things that weren't good for them.

I actually think the fanned fret design would be much better if the nut was at 90 degrees, and everything fanned from that point. Then you'd have the advantages of the fanned frets without the disadvantage of having to bend your wrist at an unhealthy angle to play the low notes.
 
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