[quote="jlaplante":202v2g23]How long have you had yours? Did you get it at BassCentral? (that's where this one's from) In general how do you like yours? Anything you would change?
Also, how did you know mine is #3678?[/quote:202v2g23]
There was one picture on ebay that shows the owner's booklet and the plastic bag with the hex wrenches lying on the case. The label on the plastic bag shows the serial number.
I've had my bass for about 5 weeks now. I bought it in a store here in Winnipeg, Canada. It was only the second one ever sold in this province, which is right next door to Saskatchewan where Dingwalls are made.
"Cakepocket" is the proud owner of the first one here. It's very similar to ours.
So far I really like the bass. It took only minutes to get used to the fanned frets like everybody says. But I'm not 100% on them yet - mainly because I've been playing fretless almost exclusively for 20 years. I'm a little noisy on any fretted bass or maybe I'm just too aware of it.
The only things I've changed on my bass are the knobs. I didn't like the look of the original plastic knobs (they'd look better on a reverb unit) so I changed them to black knurled metal dome knobs - the smallest I could find, though I'd like to get smaller ones.
Other than that, I think I've tuned the bass once and that was just to match a recording that was out of tune. The bass is just that solid.
I tinkered a little bit with the truss rod and the string heights because I was getting a buzz that creeps in on long sustained notes around the 5th fret. After a few minutes, though, I went back to the original factory settings and decided to just play with a lighter touch.
I'm used to playing with a heavy right hand on a fretless P-Bass but that's not necessary on a fretted bass, especially an Afterburner because of it's higher output and, I think, more sensitive pickups.
Also the extra long scale has really stretched my left hand, which I think already had a wide reach. Now when I go back to my 4 string Precision Bass and even my 5 string Jazz, it feels great, like my fingers can go anywhere. A narrow 4 string Jazz is like playing a twig, which is fun, too.
Of course the best thing about the Afterburner is the B string. It should be the standard for all 5 string basses not the exception. It's clear and defined and it matches the sound of the higher strings. It belongs on the bass. It's not a gimmick or an afterthought added to a 4 string bass design like the B strings on so many other basses. It's not a wet noodle.