# NBD - Dingwall Combustion



## Seybsnilksz (Oct 10, 2015)

The reason I bought it was to take pictures of it. Something wrong with that? What am I, a musician?!

Unboxed and all




Resting calmly on my lap












This headstock won't snap, that's for shure




Solid neck joint








Brilliant battery compartment




The saddles for the E and A strings rests on extra plates, probably for height reasons




Some kind of metal wire going under the saddles




I like that the knobs form a "V" instead of a "U"








Jokes aside, I am going to play it as well. 

I decided to get one of these since I wanted to have great clarity in lower tunings and stuff. It feels like I won't ever need to buy another bass. Well, maybe another Dingwall to have in a permanent tuning 

It didn't take many minutes to get used to the fanned frets, and it just feels and sounds great overall. I'll get some slightly heavier strings, but that's about it.


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## Sean Muffin (Oct 11, 2015)

Nice!

What gauge strings you goin with?


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## Seybsnilksz (Oct 11, 2015)

According to calculations, the Daddario EXL170BT is going to be perfect for the 4 highest strings. It's 45, 60, 80, and 107. Since I live in Europe, I'm having trouble finding a 5th string that's long enough, but I think I'm going with an Elixir 130 extra long taperwound. Ideally I would like a 135 or something like that, but it simply doesn't exist.


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## Sean Muffin (Oct 11, 2015)

Daddario makes .145 singles that should be long enough for Dingwalls. Also tapered .160 .165 and .170


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## Seybsnilksz (Oct 12, 2015)

I was going with a 145 at first, but I'm scared that the tension will be too great in standard.


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## hairychris (Oct 14, 2015)

The wire is probably an earth lead, which is needed on passive pickups (you may be running active/passive).

Nice bass btw!


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## EclecticFinn (Oct 14, 2015)

a beauty. I've been wanting a Dingwall for some time now.

How is it getting used to fanned frets? Does it take a while or do you find it pretty easy?


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## Seybsnilksz (Oct 14, 2015)

EclecticFinn said:


> a beauty. I've been wanting a Dingwall for some time now.
> 
> How is it getting used to fanned frets? Does it take a while or do you find it pretty easy?



It didn't take much time at all, if any. I did expect it to be at least a few hours, but I was surprised how easy it was.


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## Low Baller (Oct 15, 2015)

How does it sound I have never tried a dinger but I am really curious.


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## Seybsnilksz (Oct 16, 2015)

Well let's say this: If you're playing a Dingwall and the tone is muddy, you can say for shure that it's not the Dingwalls fault.


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## Drew (Oct 16, 2015)

I've been using D'Addario EXP Super Long scale 5 string sets on mine (an Afterburner 5). They JUST barely fit - technically, the tapering begins just before the nut, but it actually fits into the groove pretty well and buzz isn't a problem. They're 45-130, and I'd hate to try a 38" or whatever scale with much heavier than that.

EDIT - I'll have to go check the spares I have at home, but I'm 99% sure this is what I've been using: 

http://www.daddario.com/DADProductD..._String_Bass__Light__45_130__Super_Long_Scale


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## Seybsnilksz (Oct 16, 2015)

Wait, the "Super Long" strings are supposed to fit up to 38", but the Dingwall is 37", and it barely fits?


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## Drew (Oct 16, 2015)

Seybsnilksz said:


> Wait, the "Super Long" strings are supposed to fit up to 38", but the Dingwall is 37", and it barely fits?



Yeah. The bridge design, distance from nut to tuning peg, etc all impact how much string you need for a particular scale length. A D'Addario Super Long is kind of pushing it... but DOES work on a Dingwall.

D'Addario's Super Long and Elixir's Extra Long strings will both *barely* work on a Dingwall, but both have a tapered low B that starts to taper just before the nut. The Elixrs you have to custom assemble, as they don't sell a Extra Long 5-string set. Both are 130s. I'd prefer something a little lighter, but while the Elixirs tend to hold up a little better, I think the D'Addarios sound better.

My bass before the Afterburner (a Sherman custom that Mike had used as a shop loaner for years that I picked up from him used) was a 35" scale with a fairly long headstock, and I had a hell of a time finding anything that would fit it.  Cases were a problem too, due to that headstock. I vowed myself that I wouldn't buy anything with an unusual size or scale after that... And then promptly got a Dingwall.


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## Roland777 (Oct 16, 2015)

Seybsnilksz said:


> Wait, the "Super Long" strings are supposed to fit up to 38", but the Dingwall is 37", and it barely fits?



Nope, they've just got a "38 wound length. Gotta remove about 1.25 inches to account for the toploader, at least when using the regular longscales on my "35 BTB555 which IIRC are advertised as having a wound length of "36.25


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## Seybsnilksz (Oct 17, 2015)

Turns out that I have to order a custom string set instead. I wish that Kalium were in Europe.


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## Seybsnilksz (Jan 13, 2016)

Update: The honeymoon period with this bass doesn't seem to end. I think that this is the instrument I've been the most happy with in my life.

Secondly I'm going with Kalium, but what length should I go with? Are their "long scale" strings too long for the Dingwall?


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## Bigfan (Jan 13, 2016)

Kalium Strings' "Standard Scale" is 34-35", while medium is 37-38". Long scale strings are for basses with a 39-40" scale neck.

For a Combustion you'd get the medium length set, as you'd want your set length to correspond to the longest scale length of your instrument.


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## Seybsnilksz (Jan 13, 2016)

D'addarios "super long scale" are supposed to fit 38", but they are still to short for the Dingwall because of the bridge design. I don't want to buy Kaliums all the way from the U.S. of A. to discover that they too are shorter than I need.


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## Bigfan (Jan 13, 2016)

Seybsnilksz said:


> D'addarios "super long scale" are supposed to fit 38", but they are still to short for the Dingwall because of the bridge design. I don't want to buy Kaliums all the way from the U.S. of A. to discover that they too are shorter than I need.



You could always just send an email to [email protected].


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## Seybsnilksz (Jan 13, 2016)

I just sent them a mail about it, and at the same time I discovered that they have a 15% off coupon-code only for today. Man I hope I get a reply soon.


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## Bigfan (Jan 14, 2016)

Seybsnilksz said:


> I just sent them a mail about it, and at the same time I discovered that they have a 15% off coupon-code only for today. Man I hope I get a reply soon.



According to MFKitten who does Kalium's guitar support you should be fine with the medium scale set. It can't hurt to check with their bass guys though.


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## illimmigrant (Jan 14, 2016)

Seybsnilksz said:


> D'addarios "super long scale" are supposed to fit 38", but they are still to short for the Dingwall because of the bridge design. I don't want to buy Kaliums all the way from the U.S. of A. to discover that they too are shorter than I need.



The Kaliums work fine. I have a Combustion and I buy the 4-string sets from D'addario and order a fifth single from Kalium.
Only one time they sent me the wrong scale length string. I took a picture next to the old Kalium low-B I had to prove that they were the ones to mess up the order. They sent me the correct string with postage to send the incorrect one back.


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## Seybsnilksz (Jan 14, 2016)

I got all the info I needed after mailing the bass support. Very helpful indeed  The mediums will be perfect.

I also asked about the tension, and I got some useful information:
"Medium tension for a Dingwall is around 41lbs. You can go as heavy as 50lbs otherwise you risk a string break. Going lighter than 31lbs can lead to tuning instability depending on your playing style. Anywhere in that 31-50lb range is "safe" to use."

I also found exact measurements of the string lengths and the tapers for every scale length: http://store.kaliumstrings.com/TensionCalculator/index.html


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## Tapaska (Jan 21, 2016)

I'm pretty sure Nolly uses d'addarios nowadays. He's on their artist page and it says he uses their EXL165SL set and probably a single .145+ for the g#. Maybe d'addario will make the super longs fit the dingwall 37" more suitably with Nolly onboard.

Also nice bass! I have one in tangerine pearl aka orange. Used to have a semi hollow abII, but for heavy stuff I honestly prefer the combustion . That says something about them.


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## Seybsnilksz (Apr 20, 2016)

Well, the bass still sounds great, and it still is the best instrument that I own, but I finally have a little problem. The glue for the magnet that holds the cover for the battery compartment isn't strong enough, so it keeps falling off. Is it worth contacting Bassdirect about it? I figure that this isn't a big deal, and that I should just glue it back myself.


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## Bigfan (Apr 20, 2016)

Tapaska said:


> I'm pretty sure Nolly uses d'addarios nowadays.



He does live, yeah.


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## Eclipse (Apr 23, 2016)

Hope you like it! I'm thinking about getting an NG2!


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## BubbleWrap (Apr 26, 2016)

Absolutely gorgeous! I've been considering selling my two six stringers and getting a Dingwall.


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## russmuller (Apr 26, 2016)

tristanroyster said:


> Hope you like it! I'm thinking about getting an NG2!



All I can say is DO IT! You won't be disappointed. The wait is long, but it's worth it.


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## Seybsnilksz (Jul 6, 2017)

I recently discovered that the Combustion and the NG-2 have exactly the same pickup cavity. This means that you can move the neck pickup to either position without any routing nor drilling. There is, however, no replacement NG-2 pickguards for sale, so I'll have to do with no pickguard while having the NG-2 pickup placement. Doesn't matter when recording though ^^

Here's a comparison with raw DI's. First Combustion placement, then NG-2 placement: https://www.dropbox.com/s/leel3yx2h6vk6vi/Dingwall Pickup Placement.wav?dl=0

I'm gonna use this when recording lower tuned stuff. I've never been so happy!


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