www.basstasters.com is a good resource that has ABII sound samples and MTD. The ABII samples are pre-FD3-MII, so the bridge pickup will not sound as mid-present or "burpy" as current versions.

Hey, on the wait...if you're getting an Afterburner I or Afterburner II, you can expect to find them readily at most Dingwall dealers, or a fairly short wait from the Dingwall shop (a matter of weeks, possibly months). If you're looking at a more custom Z, Prima, SJ, etc. you're looking at a wait on the far side of a year...it could be in the realm of 2 to 3+ years, unless the que has gotten quicker as of late.

FWIW, I would suggest sticking with Dingwall and not going to "another custom bass maker". Sheldon just gets it right. A Z will be perfect, but you'll wait for well more than a year. You'll find ABs in stock though. Maybe place a Z order and look for a used AB to keep you busy and happy during the wait...

[quote="Dragonlord":2oygrmj9]Maybe place a Z order and look for a used AB to keep you busy and happy during the wait...[/quote:2oygrmj9] Yes, that sounds like a good plan. You'll need a mininum of two Dingwalls to be satisfied. Or is it three? Four, maybe? Mark

[quote="Sheldon Dingwall":3c00hk84]www.basstasters.com is a good resource that has ABII sound samples and MTD. The ABII samples are pre-FD3-MII, so the bridge pickup will not sound as mid-present or "burpy" as current versions.[/quote:3c00hk84] Wow, that was a *great* resource, thanks! I compared the AB with the MTD and I really preferred the AB -- the MTD had a... how do I describe this... somewhat closed, somewhat dark sound. The AB really impressed me with the clarity and openess, if that makes sense. What originally drove me to check out Dingwalls was that someone told me they didn't use Barts, which I'm not partial to. Those FDs sound nice. Double nice the new ones have some 'burp', because I'm a mid fan. This sound comparison is kinda funny -- I prefer the look of wenge, but I like the sound of maple better... so I should've preferred the MTD. So the ABII wins on both fronts. That Bubinge top/wenge board test bass they used is exactly the look I'm going after! Anyone know what a similarly equipped ABII would retail for? Thanks, Jay edit -- just before I hit submit I realized I was responding to Sheldon. PS -- the other thing that's drawn me to Dingwall are the owners... I don't think I've stumbled upon a more fanatical, obsessed and happy group of players. The only ones that come close are Stick players. I've spent hours going through reviews and there are a few 'boutiques' that quite often get slammed for what I consider serious quality control issues. Dingwalls invariably get scores of perfect 10s.

[quote="swartzfeger":26zyl30t]the other thing that's drawn me to Dingwall are the owners... I don't think I've stumbled upon a more fanatical, obsessed and happy group of players.[/quote:26zyl30t] Have you read the Rick forums? You can't get much more "fanatical," "obsessed" and "happy" with their flavor of Kool-Aid. But, yeah...Sheldon and his basses are a 10 in my book and I don't even have my AB anymore! One of these days...

Hey, I'm a Dingwall, Stick *and* MTD/Tobias owner, does that make me the friendliest and most helpful of all? My Dingwall is a slightly older mahogany body, bubinga top ABII5 with the original FD-3 pickups. I'd say the basic sound of the bass is warm, but it has a clarity and tightness that makes it extremely versatile and fun to play. A friend of mine has an older Ken Smith and the sound of the ABII is really quite similar, just a little more modern. Hard to compare it easily to my MTD, as it's an ash body, ash neck model, with a fairly aggressive tone. The sound is a lot more big and open than the ABII, more suited to rock and funk gigs. I expect it would be easier to compare a Z2 to an ash/ash MTD, but I suspect the Dingwall would still have a tighter sound. Cheers, EG

I've owned 2 MTDs so far (while I've played more than 8 in total), while I've played more than 10-15 Smiths in the past 15yrs One of the MTDs was a custom order from me to Mr Tobias (535 ash/maple top with maple neck and board). As soon as I received my avatar Z1, I sold the MTD As far as the Smith comparison, I totally agree that the AB II (old style) is in the same ballpark, but with a more modern twist

I owned an two MTD's. A 5 string and a 4 string. To me the 5 string MTD neck was uncomfortable for me to play so I went to the 4 String MTD which was a joy to play. However I did want to go back to a 5 string. I heard allot about Dingwalls from a friend and he had a friend who had one (Lee Sklar) and said it was the best 5 string he ever played. The string spacing on the Z and Prima Artist is narrower than the MTD was so sight unseen I bought a Prima Artist. It was the best move I ever made when it comes to basses. I waited two years for it and I'm glad I did. The neck plays very close to my MTD 4 string but the tone is so much better and the fanned frets just feel natural to me. Didn't take any time to get used to just closed my eyes and played. Little more adjustment in the higher registers but I don't play up there that much any way. As soon as I got my Dingwall I sold both of my MTD's and ordered a Z3 which I should be receiving end of August according to Sheldon and that is about 18 months after purchase but it is well worth the wait. I would go for a Z if you can't afford a Prima or don't want to wait that long. I believe a Prima is 3 to 4 years unless that has changed. Check with Dingwall Sales Lamb. Reason being is Sheldon himself builds the Prima's and as you can imagine he is extremely busy. You won't go wrong with a Dingwall which ever model you decide on. All the best. David