therealting

Oof, ok I’m definitely going to check that tonight. I anticipate transplanting EMGs into this, so I’m interested to know if that will be a problem. I’ll try those settings. Which pickup are you favouring with that? I’ve not stripped the neck before... would it just be a sandpaper job?

The bridge alignment issue is annoying, but easily fixed by filling and redrilling the screw holes. I might take the opportunity to replace the bridge units as it appears that some of the adjustment screws are stripped. I’m thinking that gold bridges with black saddles might look cool - and similar for the tuners. ... and yes, 32-35” would be my preferred scale too, as per my Dingwall Supers. Want to try the Ibanez EHB multiscale sixer once those start turning up secondhand.

Yeah, I had a Mk I Combustion and it just wasn’t me. My Supers are much more “it”! Would love a 6-string Super. Almost all the Dingwall demos seem to have that grindy, scooped metal tone that is all the rage these days. I’m more into old school P tones, just refined and with better balance. This one is closer to the 90s gospel / soul tone a la Ken Smith and my Sadowsky NYC Modern. And re: neck profile - of course we are allowed our own preferences on feel and everything is relative... I’m talking more about the overall scale of neck profiles, where Ibanez Soundgear is definitely on the skinnier side of the spectrum.

Oh I’m certainly not trying to compare the Dingwalls to this - I have owned three and they are in a different league. But I would be looking at over £2k for a six string AB (I tried the NG six string but I hated the sound of the Darkglass Tone Capsule on the prototype I tried through a headphone amp at the LBGS, sounded icepicky and I couldn’t get a tone I could tolerate out of it). The neck on this certainly isn’t fat, it’s just not super skinny like the Soundgear necks. I have five 6-strings now, should probably shift the KSD...

@TheMaartian Those are very cool looking, similar vibes to the Wilcock.

Absolutely. The QC is evidently bound to be spotty... but I can obviously only relate my own experience of the one example of this model that I’ve tried, so as to give some sort of idea of what buying one might entail for interested Basschatters. Often with these cheaper basses the question is how good they are as is, and how good they can be made to be with a little extra investment. In my case, I’ve actually owned the similar Ibanez model, the SRFF806, which I bought thinking that if I liked it, I might splurge for the Prestige model with the Nordstrands. To avoid making a loss, I bought it secondhand for around £700 and sold it again for around £700 after six months. The only real problem I had with it (albeit a crucial one) was that the slim neck did not work for my hand, I would start cramping within half a minute of starting to play. I was desperate to love it - it sounded good, wasn’t too heavy, looked good... but with the best will in the world, if an instrument’s ergonomics cause you pain them it’s not for you. I have played this one for several hours today without any pain in my hand - which makes me VERY happy. Given that an equivalent Dingwall is bound to cost me at least £2k, I’m now happy to put a little bit of money into it (maybe another £200-300, so £500 overall) to see if I can make it something that would be a bargain at £1k.

My Dingwall Super P is as close to the perfect bass as I’ve tried.

@4000 They’re much cheaper than Fender Masterbuilts, which is IMO what they are equivalent to... in fact cheaper than the standard Custom Shop stuff.

Right, first mod done. Put a Straplock button where the outermost neck bolt is, and a suede-backed strap put on. Balance improved slightly, and suede strap means less sliding.

I was thinking this, but also worrying about why they’ve painted it - have I got a particularly unattractive roasted maple neck? 😂 Nonetheless, the dust particles are somewhat annoying on an otherwise nicely shaped neck. I find it a lot more comfortable that the Ibanez fanned fret sixer I’ve had before which was just too slim.

I hope you didn’t mean me - I just responded to a recommendation for Limelight by saying that, IMO, I hadn’t seen one I found convincing... but then to be fair I think there are lots of relicers whose work doesn’t look realistic - like actual, real wear - to me. I know they have many customers, and they seem like a great deal for what they cost. The most convincing ones are generally not overdone, nice finish checking, a few dents in usual places, light wear... ideally mostly put on by the players on a thin nitro coat that ages quickly, and the best ones have been Bravewood, Crinson / @Rick's Fine '52, Nash, and some of the Masterbuilt Fenders.

Are the knobs actually touching each other? Can you pull the top one out slightly? (might have to loosen the grub screw)

Took a punt on this two days ago on eBay when a B-stock came up for £200... figured there wasn’t much to lose at that price point. Here she is next to my Dingwall Super P5: My initial impression is that it’s insane how they are selling these for £299. This one at £200 is probably as many as many features as I’ve seen on any bass for the money: - burl laminate top - roasted maple neck and bound fingerboard - multiscale: 34” high G and 36.25” low B - LumInlay side markers - 3-band pre, EMG45 sized pickups - monorail bridges - Gotoh-style tuners - Black hardware - red / purple burst, with matching headstock Now obviously this isn’t a Dingwall, and there are compromises. For a start, it’s not perfectly balanced: the strap button near the neck is only around the 15th fret, and on a 6-string that makes it slightly neck heavy. I think I’ll put Dunlop Dual Design Straploks on which will extend it a centimetre or do - I might also toy with an inset one on the back like Dingwall do with their D-Bird / D-Roc models. The back of the neck on this one is painted, and there are dust bits in the paint which you can feel with your fingers. Given that it’s a roasted maple neck, I think I’m going to give burnishing a go. The bridge alignment is a bit of a mess - the monorails are not in line with the strings, and one of the saddles has almost fallen over. The saddle was easily fixed when I did the alignment - I will probably redrill for the bridge at some point, and possibly replace with gold ones if I end up liking this bass enough to keep it. There were some marks along both edges of the fingerboard - these were easily removed with a damp microfibre cloth, but seems strange to have them there. Some of the fret ends are a little sharp - again if I end up liking this, I may have them dressed properly. There is buffing compound dust in the neck bolt holes - again easily fixed, but perhaps where they managed to cut corners a little. On the listing, it cited to areas of damage: the gap between the nut and the neck, and a dents in the neck close to the heel. Both relatively minor and easily fixed. The truss rod relief was perfect, and surprisingly the nut slots were at the perfect height, but the bridge action was all over the place so I’ve given it a quick height and intonation set, and I have to say it plays very nicely. One or two slightly high frets preventing super-low action, but works well for my preferred setup and comfortable to play fingerstyle or slapped with the stock D’Addarios. The pickups aren’t anything particularly exciting, and the electronics aren’t exactly silent, but it sounds very passable... and for perspective, the Sadowsky preamp in my Dingwall cost me more than this entire instrument shipped. Going to live with it for a while, and then might try some of the fettling mentioned above. I have the EMG45s and EMG pre that came with my Shuker, so those could potentially go in this; the Shuker could then take the Glockenklang that came with my Sadowsky, and the Sadowsky could have its original Sadowsky pre put back in. In conclusion: I honestly can’t believe this thing cost me £200. It’s a very acceptable instrument as it is, and a little bit of work and parts I mostly already have, this could be an absolutely killer bass for under £400 that would probably cost 8-10x that if ordered from a custom builder.

Both, IMO.

@Woodinblack Does she have longer nails?

@cLepto-bass Colour me picky, but I’ve not seen a Limelight that I consider to be realistically reliced. Having said that, they are very inexpensive for what they are.

Except that Northwest one actually has an additional option - string through body. It’s a shame they don’t make a five string version of these bridges.

I have a couple pre-CBS Precisions, Bravewood did their restorations and they are simply incredible. I have also owned a couple of his reliced replicas, and they are indistinguishable from good examples of the real thing.

What about a passive tone control? I personally find it makes my active basses much more versatile.

You can tell based on how many wires there are from each pickup. If there are four wires, you could potentially use coil splits.

Are the pickups splittable/tappable?

No. I also lost more than a dozen watches which I’d collected over 20 years. Lots of sentimental value. However, as my girlfriend at the time pointed out, she was safe, I was safe, and my two beloved cats were safe. If anything had happened to any of us, I wouldn’t even have been thinking about the watches and guitars. Smart woman. Would still like them back 😂