Machines

15 hours ago, scropenoggin said:

Just picked one up (blue, 5-string) for a princely £110 , light in weight, plays beautifully with a slim neck and the two humbuckers sound tidy. Very impressed so far, doesn’t have the quality feel of my Sire V7 but still a thoroughly good instrument for a duffer like me!

My Dingwall isn't going to see retirement, but it is a nice alternative that I don't have to baby as much. The pickup positions make it sound a mix between a Spector and Warwick Thumb. Biggest gripe I have is string spacing -  a bit narrow (16mm or so). I tried repositioning the bridges out to 17mm which is OK for the neck, but the pickup's magnetic field won't cover that wide at the angle they are and it results in a quiet B and G string. I believe a similar problem occurred on the first Spector Dimension fanned frets with Fishman pickups when shipped.

I have of course now sold one of the basses I was bringing, so am replacing the Dingwall NG3 with an MTD Kingston Super 5. I might even bring the cheapo fanned fret to demo what you can get for £80.

I swapped out the stock preamp on my Yamaha RBX6JM as I found it somewhat badly voiced and couldn't use the bass or mid controls without it sounding boxy. The new Delano Sonar 3 doesn't fundamentally change the character, but gives me more options than the original did and has got rid of the 'bad' sounds entirely. 

If you don't have a problem with your preamp or notice and specific short comings, then it's unlikely to benefit you significantly in my opinion.

Sorry, I misread that as ureter. Taking the pee or what.

23 minutes ago, Richard R said:

£80 - that's a very good deal. What was the damage that made it B-stock?

A few scuffs, missing headstock binding (about an inch), and neck crack on rear around 5th fret. It was fairly jagged but the neck was still stable under quite a lot of tension, so I've filled and sanded it and it's barely noticeable now. A few weeks ago I sold my Dingwall NG3 as 2 Dingwalls was too much money sat around, I won't pretend this is on the same league, but it does scratch the same itch the NG3 did tonally.

Here's how it came, the missing binding is painted black and not obvious anymore.

I'm out, managed a whole week more than last year. This cost me £80 as Gear4Music B-stock, it's now repaired and am quite happy with it, looks way better than the website pics.

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/RedSub-Coliseum-Fanned-Fret-5-String-Bass-Blue-Burl-Burst/31J3?_gl=1*j1qqvl*_ga*MTQyMjAyMDYwMi4xNjc5MDU3MjIy*_up*MQ..

10 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

 

WD40 is silicone based. Not good for electrical contacts.

Yes, and also no. I use this and it works a treat.

I have a 4 string BBG in the same finish, put some SPB-3's in it and it's stonking, totally worth £350.

Is it fotoflame ? Yeah probably, but you're not getting a 2cm highly figured AAA maple top on a low end Yamaha at this price.

Aaaaaaand another one. eBay again, same stupid money (just over £100).

Cracked neck on this one (by 5th fret) but surprisingly stable, minor binding damage on headstock and a small crack in finish on body by 24th fret. Everything else is fine and after a considerable setup, it plays quite nicely.

I have raised an RMA for the finish crack as this wasn't advertised, but depending on if they offer a discount I may keep it. In all honesty it is a serviceable backup for my D-Roc 5.

n.b. Please ignore the potato-cat at the top left, she is sitting on the radiator.

e.

54 minutes ago, MNY said:

No it’s a definitely Combustion with an EMG pre amp. I think the NG3’s are all solid colours. 

Correct. Combustions are natural ash or maple top finishes and NGs have a matching headstock also. All import Dingwalls produced since 2022 are built with 3 pickups.

On 23/02/2023 at 22:24, greentext said:

This is a 2012 Dingwall Combustion B-Stock purchased directly from Dingwall for about £500-600 at the time.

Wow, can't believe how cheap they used to be. Sounds like that was a 100% cosmetic b-stock and there's nothing wrong with it really, that logo looks fine from the pic.

16 minutes ago, SumOne said:

 It seems the best deal being that it is in a London shop that can probably sell for a bit more than a shop in a Leamington Spa industrial estate, and it's a lower % comission than competitors

The websites are not hosted in the shops, 90% of the commission sales i've had there are online. I would bet they have more web visitors than the Bass Gallery has foot traffic.

I've used BassDirect (a dozen plus times) and BassBros a couple. BassDirect wait 7 days after it is delivered to the buyer before releasing your money or a day or 2 if bought in the shop, BassBros i've found quicker generally on releasing after postage.

Whilst you may get a lower commission rate elsewhere, you may also wait a lot longer for it to sell, or it doesn't at all and you have to drop the price negating the saving.

What you have to sell would direct me where to go, if there 5 other basses much like yours somewhere it may take longer than it being the only one of it's type.

43 minutes ago, Wan said:

This is one of the posh ones that are made in the UK.

 

 

Why does it say manufactured in PRC ? 

10 hours ago, WeeleeN said:

Hello, what's the action at the 12th fret string E and G? Thanks

2mm

50 minutes ago, TeresaFR said:

I sold a drum machine and two pedals and picked up one pedal and a pair of flat patch cables as part exchange and came out of it with money in pocket. Am I out?

Yep, the new pedal did it not the way it was financed.

I'm on 6 weeks which i think is a record for me for at least 3 years.

1 hour ago, djc63 said:

Wow! Stunning piece of wood on that for £175!

To be fair, the bass was £89.

I don't think i've posted my BBG here yet. Sniped on eBay around November for absolutely stupid money, since upgraded with Seymour Duncan SPB-3s which were mispriced (sorry PMT). Stock is was fine, but the pickups were lacking a bit of heft and I struggled with the lack of bottom end compared to my other basses.

This BBG has cost me under £175 including adding the pickups. It plays like butter, sounds amazing - it is my go to 4 string.

10 minutes ago, tauzero said:

PMT Birmingham have moved from their old premises just outside the Birmingham Middleway to where I think the Triumph dealership used to be, just inside the Birmingham Middleway, which means they've moved from outside the clean air zone to inside it - £8 for my car to go there (at least Mrs Zero's is free).

I'll save you the £8. It's a shadow of the former store. Stock is boring, expensive and uninspiring for a bassist.

Fender/Squier/Jackson

Ibanez

Yamaha

Sandberg

Musicman/Sterling

That's it.

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Is that light bit a chip or a reflection?

Reflection.

Withdrawn

Probably :

Dingwall D-Roc 5

Dingwall NG-3

Warwick Gnome 280w + Ashdown RM210

Unashamed duo shot.

Recorded with the NG last week, sounded IMMENSE.

I have made a purchase but think it's permissible.

I've bought a 3/4 Ibanez Mikro for my lad's birthday next month, he doesn't play yet but has shown enough of an interest so far and I found this cheap enough for it to be worth a shot.

Part of the allure of vintage instruments in my mind is that they DON'T look new. I want to see a bit of wear and tear, patina and a story behind it. Being sat in a case for 45+ years (maple neck looks like it's seen zero UV) just makes it look like a newish P bass that's really bloody expensive.