Shweet bass, EG. The guys at BNW are indeed great to deal with. They retailed my Z3, and the whole experience was flawless. So, now the burning question is...are you ready for Dingwall #2 ? Mark

Sweet bass. I own one like this and it absolutely sings!!! Congratulations on your new baby and officially joining the club of Ding-aholics. Mark is absolutely right; are you ready for your 2nd Dingwall???

My similar ABII is #3530 and it has FD-3s.

Yep, pretty sure they're FD-3s.

Cool, I didn't think it would be old enough to have FD-1s. Had a great time playing it last night, really impressed with the range of sounds and general top-notch playability! Every component and build-feature is so well chosen and practical, I've never had a bass that is so well engineered before! Yes, that is a good question - when and what will be my next Dingwall purchase? Given that this one is already giving my MTD 535 a good run for it's money, I might even have to continue the parrallel-fret selloff and order a SuperJ5.... EG

Congratulations EG - thought you'd love it. Good choice BTW: what I should have done in the first place. Cheers Ross

Hi EG! My name is Jeff and I work at the Dingwall Shop. Your bass shipped from our shop July 2/2004. It does indeed have FD-3 pickups.

Congrats, EG. My ABII is about the same vintage and I couldn't be more pleased with it. Enjoy! John

Thanks guys, really happy to be here officially, not just lurking. Had a funk cover-band rehearsal with it last night and gave it a decent workout. Man, what an easy bass to play and throw around, it's fantastic! The action reminds me of my old U.S Peavey Cirrus, but the pickups sound far better and the balance is probably better too. In practice, it doesn't quite have the same "push" as my MTD, but that could just be the light string gauge. (Or maybe the ash on the MTD.) Will see if there's a heavier gauge I can try or maybe my 36" scale Fodera Diamonds will fit on it. Not to say it *should* sound like the MTD, but it plays so effortlessly, I'd like to use if for *everything*! Ross - I wouldn't be doubting your ABI too much, I bet it sounds just as good with the Glock, just different! Jeff - thanks for the confirmation, my baby is four years old! Cheers, EG

[quote="evilgus":46xk9qeg] In practice, it doesn't quite have the same "push" as my MTD, but that could just be the light string gauge...[/quote:46xk9qeg] EG, one option would be to put a Mach II pickup (or it's switchable cousin, the FD-3 4L) in the bridge position. The Mach II bridge and FD-3 neck in series really kicks. It's my favorite setting on the ABII.

So EG, how are you liking the ABII + Thunderfunk combo? Big thumbs up here

Really nice bass EG! Congratulations!

Just done a better setup on the bass and it's really brought out the tone better and improved the string consistency. Those pickups seem to be fairly sensitive to string heights, but it's so easy to adjust everything that it doesn't take long to get it right. Will read up on the Mach IIs again and see if I think it's worth the change. I'm particularly liking the rear pickup with a bit of bass boost for fingerstyle and slapping, so if the MachII is just a touch fatter sounding, it might be worth it. Have just been listening to a rehearsal from the other night and it's amazing how different it sounds! Very much like a fretless sound without the bad intonation, hahahaha. Cheers, EG

[quote="John H.":3dy6lpok]EG, one option would be to put a Mach II pickup (or it's switchable cousin, the FD-3 4L) in the bridge position. The Mach II bridge and FD-3 neck in series really kicks. It's my favorite setting on the ABII.[/quote:3dy6lpok]Hey John, I think I will do this, how much difference does it really make? I want a bit more thickness out of the rear pickup and also more tonal variety. The current FD-3 bridge pickup sounds great with a good bit of bass and treble boost, but even then, it can still be a bit scooped and light on upper mids. I don't know how much of this is due to the mahogany body, but if the switchable MachII gives me more tones, I'll be happy to lose the Blue EQube switch. Cheers, EG

Just been reading up on the Hybrid Treble Control, sounds like I need one of them too! Have often been using the Blue switch and then boosting the treble back up, so the HTC should accomplish that part and a lot more. EG

[quote="evilgus":aknz4eka]Just been reading up on the Hybrid Treble Control, sounds like I need one of them too! Have often been using the Blue switch and then boosting the treble back up, so the HTC should accomplish that part and a lot more. EG[/quote:aknz4eka] You'll love it Gus. It really helps with reducing string noise w/ finer control over it.