This is my 1st post here, but I've traded several e-mails with Sheldon...
My first Dingwall was an Afterburner 1. F'n BRILLIANT bass. After ~30 seconds playing it, I knew that any other makers' 5-string would be a waste of my time.
Fast forward 8 months and I find myself in a band using drop-A tuning all the time. The mere idea of any other bass becomes completely unthinkable. I start looking around for a used Dingwall (as a backup to my AB I) and find a used, purple Z2 at a SCANDALOUSLY fantastic price, it just needs a new input jack and some electronic TLC. The Z2 is so far beyond perfect for me that it IMMEDIATELY becomes my numero uno.
The only problem I have is that my Z2 has WAAAAY more output than my AB I, so I install an Aguilar OBP-3 in my AB I, trade out the pickup selector for a blend pot, and get rid of the volume control (I don't ever turn down; doing so is NOT rock & roll). Now, it's just blend, mids, and stacked bass/treble.
It's a cool setup, but not being the type to leave well enough alone, I observe that the Z2 is still quite a bit hotter than the AB I. I also observe that the Z2 has room for two 9v batteries, but only uses one (it came to me with a Bartolini NTMB). So, I switch the preamps. Now, I have a trim pot in the preamp on my AB I so I can boost its output to match my Z2.
Once the planets are aligned, I can easily go from one Dingwall to the other. The AB I still gets plenty of play due to the fact that its pickup locations allow me a better facsimile of the classic P-bass tone, while the Z2 is very MusicMan-esque.
I love them both.
Glad to see this forum -- these basses deserve to take over the world...