Inspired by a trip to Nashville’s Berry Hill, the Combustion Nashville Edition reintroduces a pickup blend control – our first since the ’90s – paired with a toggle switch and a Rupert Neve Design preamp. The result is a versatile range of pickup combinations suited to virtually any style, from old-school rock and blues to jazz and beyond, with plenty of vintage bite on tap.
Like the standard Combustion, the Nashville Edition draws from our Custom Shop Afterburner. Its compact swamp ash body offers excellent balance and all-day comfort, while the five-piece maple neck is securely bolted on for stability. The fingerboard features Ralph Novak’s fanned-fret system with a 240mm radius, delivering a fast, fluid playing experience across a full two octaves.
“The Combustion was always designed as a platform that could be modified,” says Sheldon Dingwall. “Like a Harley Davidson.” From that original platform came the NG, the John Taylor Signature, and now the Nashville Edition.
The Nashville Edition is equipped with three FD3n pickups and a Rupert Neve Design preamp, alongside a 3-position mini-toggle and blend control. This setup provides quick access to a soloed P-style tone, a bridge/neck blend for classic J-style sounds, or a full sweep across all three pickups for a thicker, humbucker-style growl.
“In active mode, the bass and treble controls only served to further highlight the best features of these pickups, rounding this off into what is a fantastically dynamic, easy-to-play bass with Swiss-army knife capabilities.” The Bassist Magazine
The Minimalist bridge uses a laser-cut shim system that raises the action by 1mm instantly, without adjusting individual saddles, while also reducing excess string pressure.
“It’s called the Minimalist bridge because you only need one wrench to adjust both action and intonation,” explains Sheldon Dingwall. “Whether you’re using metric or imperial, the screw sizes are universal.”
We also partnered with Hipshot to refine their Ultralite tuners, shortening the tuning posts to improve the break angle at the nut and maximise sustain.
Dingwall strings have been meticulously tested to maximize performance and deliver a tone that blends effortlessly with any style of music. We were the first company to design strings specifically for multi-scale instruments. Available in both nickel and stainless steel, our strings provide an even tension for optimal balance, letting you experience the warmest highs and the tightest lows possible.
Note: basses are shipped with Dingwall Nickel Strings as standard.
As development of the Nashville Combustion progressed, we realized that two of Nashville’s top lighthiers—Brian Barrett on the bass side and Joe Glaser on the guitar side—had already created their own three-pickup, switch-and-blend systems. So, a shout-out to Brian and Joe!
Brian Barrett owns and operates one of the country’s most respected high-end bass guitar shops. The LowEnd Bass Shop specializes in repairs and modifications, custom electronics, and finishing work, and it carries an exceptional selection of ultra-rare boutique basses—one of the largest and most impressive I’ve seen. Brian has also been building and modifying three-pickup basses using a switch and blend control for smooth, flexible pickup combinations.
Joe Glaser has built one of the world’s largest and most respected guitar repair shops. He’s also a prolific innovator, known for electronics work such as the Brent Mason Tele setup, which adds a middle pickup with its own blend control alongside a 5-way switch, as well as for hardware and tool designs developed through his Music City Bridge company. They offer a wide range of guitar upgrade parts, including the Glaser B-Bender, which is widely regarded as one of the most advanced bender systems available.
