[quote="jlaplante":r0m4fdml]Here is another ABII 5-string to add to the collection. This came to me by my good fortune off eBay this week, and it is a true delight. Serial number #3678, built probably late 2005. FD-3 pickups, OBP-1 preamp, immaculate condition.[/quote:r0m4fdml] Looks like a nice one! Enjoy her! -B.

Now, on the wenge headstock and heel laminates... -Sheldon's done a great job. I'm guessing that the steaming and bending of the laminate and then the gluing is probably a pretty tricky thing, especially on a first attempt with those surfaces, which have quite a curve to them. Cheers to the the effort it took along with the attention to detail. With that said, I'm a bit dubious that this will ever be a regular feature on the AB series, which is designed to not have the hands on detail work that the other models do...unless Sheldon has descovered a time and effort saving way to expedite the process. -Also, I have to be honest and say that I kinda like the old aesthetic. I can understand the appeal of that look, but I like the maple headstock better. I think maybe a black headstock would probably work nicely too. And unless the neck heels are going to be finished to match the body finish...I'm cool with the maple. BTW...nice detail work on the trussrod entry...painted to match the blackburst. That's a super nice detail and shows the extra work! -B.

Mark

Here is a closeup of the ABII I sold a while back. I realized the hard way that I'm not a six string player. One day I want to get a five string version of it for sure. I always thought it had the coolest figuring on the top. By the way, that hideous couch is not mine.

Hey Guys, I use a Sennheiser Digital Wireless and it's the best sounding wireless I've ever used, and I've used some high end Shures and an EV's. I'm an audiophile and I can't tell any difference between it and my guitar cable. I also have an "AccuGroove El Whappo" I bought a year ago. It has the BEST smooth accurate sound of any cabinet I've ever played through. Whatever your bass really sounds like, the cabinet will let you know if your axe is worth a s___t or not. It's that accurate. If you buy one, take my advice, purchase a road case for it. Mark is a bass player and plays nights in the San Francisco area. We've become good friends over the phone/emails and I talked to him about how he got to building his own cabinets, how he decided on what size and brand speakers, crossover, special wood the cabinet is made of, other stuff, and specifically about the "Bass Player" mag review. I've always enjoyed "Bass Player", their reviews and articles, but after talking to Mark, I'm really dissappointed in "Bass Player" and will be more skeptical of their reviews from now on. Mark told me that "The Mag" had his "Bill Dickens" cabinets for a year and didn't call him for any info or instruction on them until right before the review came out. They were rushed and the call didn't last 5 minutes. Didn't even test the cabinets until right before the review was published. They didn't test the "AccuSwitch" properly so the test results were wrong. They did their test, made up their minds without proper info, and then published. That was unfair and wrong!! When I told Mark that I had just bought a "Dingwall ABII-5" and should I buy a "Whappo Grande" for the low B, he told me that the "El Whappo" was designed for 5-string basses. He also said that I didn't need to purchase anything else, but recommended that I buy another "El Whappo" if I wanted to move buildings. I hope that answered some of your thoughts. Any more questions on the AccuGrooves, just ask. TB

[quote="Texas Bred":21wmy90g]They didn't test the "AccuSwitch" properly so the test results were wrong. They did their test, made up their minds without proper info, and then published. That was unfair and wrong!! TB[/quote:21wmy90g] It seemed like an objective, thorough review to me. They (BP) didn't like the treble response, and couldn't figure out if/how the AccuSwitch really worked. Aside from that, the cabs got a decent review. How does Mark think should the cabs have been tested? Mark

Hey TB- I too have played thru and love accugroove stuff. I'll agree w/ alot of your review, however I too thought the BP article was a fair review and it was NOT the first time I had heard about the accu-switch. There is also another "impartial" review on acmes website about the magical switch, and its more scathing than what BP did. How does one test the accu-switch, it seemed to me that it was done correctly, esp inlight of what electronics guys had posted on talkbass. Anyway to me it doesn't make the cabinents any less attractive, it just makes the Accugroove guys look suspect because of their marketing hype. But if i had the cash-ola I'd have one of their tri-10s in a heartbeat.

I'm going to be blunt: the Accuswitch does not work. Others have tested it too, and the science involved is within the grasp of any first-year EE student - and a lot of people with no formal education as well. Whatever one thinks of Accugroove cabs in tone and build, the Accuswitch is a separate issue. Many people are all too ready to confuse the two.

[quote="greenboy":3ry5bt0u]I'm going to be blunt: the Accuswitch does not work. Others have tested it too, and the science involved is within the grasp of any first-year EE student - and a lot of people with no formal education as well. Whatever one thinks of Accugroove cabs in tone and build, the Accuswitch is a separate issue. Many people are all too ready to confuse the two.[/quote:3ry5bt0u] What's the Accuswitch "do"? What's the circuit look like?

I am going to be blunt as well. Not pertaining to AG cabs but to Bassplayer's reviews in general. I will never believe reviews in magazines that are stuffed with advertisements for the products they are evaluating. I have tried many of the products given glowing reviews only to find them to be far from how they were described. This has been particularly true in the case of their famous shootouts.

I agree with Zac. I don't know anything about AccuGroove stuff. However, I've long taken Bass Player (and most other) gear reviews with fistfulls of salt. When is the last time you read a review saying that a product is mediocre, and that there are better/cheaper alternatives? I've never seen one. The negatives are always diluted/downplayed and the reviews totally subjective. Until there's a Consumer Report rag for bass that doesn't accept add dollars, that's all we'll get

I agree with Zac. I don't know anything about AccuGroove stuff. However, I've long taken Bass Player (and most other) gear reviews with fistfulls of salt. When is the last time you read a review saying that a product is mediocre, and that there are better/cheaper alternatives? I've never seen one. The negatives are always diluted/downplayed and the reviews totally subjective. Until there's a Consumer Report rag for bass that doesn't accept add dollars, that's all we'll get

I tend to stick with review sources such as Harmony Central and BGRA. Though I realize these are not infallable either, and it would be easy for manufactures to stack their products with anonymous reviews. Also, I am not saying that BP is never right. They gave the Prima Artist a perfect score recently. However, back in the old five string shootout they gave the Stingray Five a perfect 5/5 score on sound and the Dingwall a 4/5. Both had 5/5 on B string. Hogwash. This nudged me into buying a SR5 and delaying further my Dingwall experience. Later when I had both basses here in my own hands and compared them side by side, I scored things much differently. I had similar experiences with the 112 cabinet and combo amp shootouts. Never again.

I also do not have any experience with the AG's, but I think that the AccuSwitch issue might be a moot point - none of the cabs appear to have it anymore, judging from their website. I was pretty interested in AG's though. Had I not gotten such a smokin' deal on my Schroeder, I would've gotten an AG cab with my T-funk (they have package deals!). IIRC, the AccuSwitch allowed you to go from 4 ohm to 8 ohm cab impedence. I can, however, think of a time when BP gave a pretty accurate review.... they DID review the Afterburner a while back! Joe

Yeah, I've had gear I like slagged for reasons that aren't even valid or accurate, and I've seen cabs that can't play a low E at 1/2 their rated power without farting get big plaudits. But that's not quite the same as running impedance sweeps and/or testing the resistance. That's quantifiable, and their results meshed with results others have gotten using proper methods. EDIT: Also note that AG has done a lot of advertising in the mag. So if there are faults in the reviewers and the review process (and of course there are) that alone isn't a cause.

Good point greenboy. I would say that it is not the only factor, but I bet it is considered in the process somewhere.

Hey guys, I' m not an electronics tech so I leave that up to guys that know. All I know is when talking to Mark, he told me the story of what happened. He wasn't too pleased. Please understand that when I find something I believe in , such as Sheldon Dingwall, I promote and stand behind that product to the hilt. Plus, I've gotten to know Mark and unless he lied to me, I believe him. Mark really likes the Dingwalls and knows about the "Killer B". I suggested that he check out this Forum and start a Forum on his website patterned after this one. That way he could answer questions directly through the forum. I'm going to ask him if he would post an answer to your questions on this Forum. Sheldon and Mark should hook up somehow on promoting each other because AccuGroove and Dingwall really compliment each other well. What do you think?

I can't believe how poorly the whole situation has been handled. I undertand that Mark is a cabinet maker and a musician more than a business man, but there hasn't really been any clear response to what appears to be fairly convincing evidence about the switch. I have nothing against Accugroove, but I'm pretty sure I don't want this thread to become another 'switch' thread. Lets hope that a common concensus is arrived at in fairly short order, and that some of the venom that's been in evidence about this issue dissipates. I hate to see this thing ruin friendships or business relationships in a fairly small market. That said, lets get back to talking about those wonderful basses... ...AND lessee some new pictures!

I am with you on that one brother, and I will refrain from stirring the coals myself. These things can get ugly.

No its not mine. This has always been my favorite Dingwall. That is the most amazing finish. It reminds me of a real cool tie dye. When I order my Z, I want to get a finish something like this one.