# NBD Dingwall NG-2: Korosensei



## russmuller (Jun 4, 2015)

I apologize for the crappy cell phone pics. I don't have a nice camera or optimal lighting here. Here comes the pr0n:







It came adequately packaged.






It's got a nice cheesy yellow to it.





















The fret ends are super-nice.






No barbs here.

First impressions:

Holy cow! This thing is a heck of an instrument. It's feels a bit hefty; very solid. The neck is exceptionally comfortable. I've spent about 40 minutes jamming on it and I can honestly say that it was effortless to adapt to the fanned frets.

The tone:

It sounds like I'm playing on the low end of a grand piano. The clarity is pretty outrageous. I definitely need to put a thicker string on the bottom for the low G.

It's a very bright sounding bass, so that probably helps with the clarity on the longer scale. After listening to all the pickup selection options, the series position is outstanding. 

The preamp is easy to figure out; bass/mid/treble as you move away from the pickup selector. When engaged, the preamp adds a lot of output and REALLY USABLE tone-sculpting control. They dialed those controls in really nicely. There are good sounds all over each dial.

Overall:

Series position with the preamp engaged- that's pretty much how this bass is going to stay. It growls beautifully. I can't wait to get this badboy all setup for my stuff.

Out of the box, it's setup perfectly for standard. I haven't spotted a flaw in anything. The fret work especially feels exceptional. It feels great to play and sounds incredible. I'm very very happy with this bass.

I'm a little bit of an anime nerd, and with the yellow/black color scheme I decided to name him Korosensei after the teacher on Assassination Classroom. After playing this bass, it's so unconventional and impressive that I feel like it's a good fit.






I ordered this bass on October 6, 2014. It was originally supposed to ship to me in March but Dingwall was backed up with 6x their projected order volume. Sheldon said on their forum that average wait is 7-8 months from the date you ordered, so June 4th puts us about as close to 8 months as you can get.


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## Hbett (Jun 4, 2015)

That thing is effin gorgeous. HNBD. Love the color.


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## asher (Jun 4, 2015)

God I love how these things look.

And I don't play bass.


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## Sepultorture (Jun 5, 2015)

i thought the NG's were supposed to be Bass/Lo-mid/Hi-mid


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## HighGain510 (Jun 5, 2015)

Glorious!  That's one of the few BASSES that I have legit GAS for, and I know I shouldn't as I barely play the bass I have already.  I heard the exact same thing about the backup from TWO big-time Dingwall dealers, the next batches that weren't pre-ordered already aren't supposed to arrive until OCTOBER!  Congrats on bringing one home!


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## xwmucradiox (Jun 5, 2015)

Sepultorture said:


> i thought the NG's were supposed to be Bass/Lo-mid/Hi-mid



I think the treble frequency is lower than it might otherwise by but its still definitely an attack control and the mid is a punch control. They're in just the right places to be effective.


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## will_shred (Jun 5, 2015)

what a beauty, I clicked because I saw "korosensei" on the homepage  I love Assassination Classroom.


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## russmuller (Jun 5, 2015)

Sepultorture said:


> i thought the NG's were supposed to be Bass/Lo-mid/Hi-mid



I believe you're correct on this, but I still think of them as bass/mid/treb. It's definitely a lot lower than your normal treble EQ knob, which I find to actually be WAAAY more usable. The low mid is especially powerful, but it sounds wonderful wherever it's at.


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## russmuller (Jun 5, 2015)

will_shred said:


> what a beauty, I clicked because I saw "korosensei" on the homepage  I love Assassination Classroom.



It's a great show! I watched the first episode because the picture on Hulu looked so ridiculous that I couldn't resist, but now I watch it every week. lol


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## Radau (Jun 6, 2015)

That mustard yellow has grown on me
HNBD!


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## Skyblue (Jun 6, 2015)

These basses look so absolutely amazing... HNBD man!


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## sPliNtEr_777 (Jun 6, 2015)

God, that is a good looking thing. It looks like it wants to be played... I like it! Congrats!


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## Harry (Jun 7, 2015)

A beastly looking instrument indeed, congrats!


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## russmuller (Jun 7, 2015)

I put in an order with Kalium for some strings that are a little more appropriate for my tuning. I'm definitely going to need to widen some of these nut slots, so this will be my first time doing that. I can't wait to hear this thing roaring a low G.

I have to say that this bass sounds drastically different from my Schecter Stiletto Custom 4. I've been using that thing long enough that I know how to get what I want from it in a mix pretty well. With Korosensei, the energy isn't concentrated in the same areas of the spectrum, so it sits very differently in a mix. I tried retracking the bass on an existing session, and it was clear that I can't get away with simply swapping the DI track. It definitely needs its own treatment.

I asked Sheldon if leaving the switch off meant your battery wouldn't drain if the bass is left plugged in: the battery will still drain. Plugging the bass in activates the preamp while the switch directs the signal into the active circuit when the bass is on. He did recommend turning off the preamp before plugging or unplugging the bass to avoid any pops from the preamp turning on/off.

I ordered a Mono Vertigo bass case. It fits the body very well, but the Headlock system is not very wide and the neck rests up on the sides instead of being cradled in the bottom. The larger part that mates over the fingerboard is wide enough and holds the neck firmly in place, but I was surprised at how tight a fit it is. I'd be nervous trying to stuff a 6-string neck into that thing.


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## Sepultorture (Jun 8, 2015)

I wish he'd make a case for his basses, even the priciest of their line up comes with a gig bag


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## bouVIP (Jun 8, 2015)

Hah I just caught up with Ansatsu manga a few days ago. Love the reference and love the bass! It's beautiful!


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## xwmucradiox (Jun 9, 2015)

Sepultorture said:


> I wish he'd make a case for his basses, even the priciest of their line up comes with a gig bag



Gig bags for high end basses are common because of the extremely wide variety of shapes. Form-fitted cases are ready available for guitars because they're almost universally within a narrow range of shapes. Bassists have adopted a lot of wilder shapes and formats and the players are more interested in gig bags for portability. 

Same goes for their more compact amps and cabinets. Bass players have overwhelmingly evolved to embrace portability while guitarists have stuck with bulky cabs and tube heads. 

The Mono case gig bags are excellent options for Dingwall basses. I bought a Bass Sleeve for my NG2 and its perfect.


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## russmuller (Jun 12, 2015)

I had a neon yellow DiMarzio ClipLock strap for this bass, but it didn't match very well. It's more of a night-time safety reflector yellow, where the bass has a much darker, McDonald's cheese kind of yellow tint.

So I scoured the internet and came across Couch Guitar Straps. I placed my order and it shipped the next day. It feels comfortable and well-made. Also, I think it looks hella cool. Check it!


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## asher (Jun 12, 2015)

Rad!


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## Mwoit (Jun 13, 2015)

Ooo, nice strap. How high can it go (how much can you shorten it by)? I have a Mono bass strap which is comfy but only goes up to my belly which is a bit short for me.


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## russmuller (Jun 15, 2015)

It's a very long strap. Shortened as far as it can go puts it up to my chest, but I'm a fat guy so YMMV. I think this would still be very high on most players.


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