5 string Figured dark woods, walnut... Stainless Steel Mando frets 2 SJ/Mach II jazz PU's

I think Sheldon has recovered from the initial shock he suffered when he saw my Prima Artist order I send him. Now he is trying to find a big strong resonant piece of cork to make my next Dingwall. I have asked him to incorporate a microwave oven to warm me up before gigs or recordings. Oh, the most challenging part of the order is the 7 1/2 strings configuration that I want to have for my next Prima Seriously now, I will keep my lips sealed so I can have Sheldon surprise us all once again!!! But as we know it will be a Prima Artist

I like the colours so much I prefer the Z to the Artist...a passive Z....maybe....yes....orange

[quote="lomo":2yt9vk7n]I like the colours so much I prefer the Z to the Artist...a passive Z....maybe....yes....orange [/quote:2yt9vk7n] I thoroughly appreciate the beauty of the figured woods (not to mention the craftspersonsbhip), but I too, prefer a colored bass.

Huh. I agree too. Right now my GAS-inducing thought is this...A Z2 OR a Z3 (3 pickups, with the double in the bridge slot AND a neck pickup) fretless...with piezo bridge. What I'd like to do though is pretty much let the Dingwall Shop loose on the specs...I'd like to just say "have your pick of wood and build combos to make me the bass that crosses the quintessential Dingwall tonal properties with what we think of as the arch-typical fretless tone. I'd ask for the candy apple green of Lee Sklar's Z2, and as a solid color, it would allow the shop more room to shop for woods that might sound great but not be as pretty as some of the showy Prima woods. Of course, I already do have a "dream bass" in the works from Dingwall...Almost coming to the two year mark, its starting to make me itchy!!! But I've done my best not to bother the shop as I know they've got their hands full these days. I'm not going to re-iterate the specs, but I will say that Sheldon's added an idea or two of his own that I'm pretty excited to see how they play out.

[quote="BurningSkies":2gpnxci6]OR a Z3 (3 pickups, with the double in the bridge slot AND a neck pickup)[/quote:2gpnxci6] Great idea. I was thinking about that configuration for "mine" as well.

Z3---think Dingwall humbucker in the bridge instead

Definitely a Prima Artist 6 string, because even though I like the colors of a Z, this is going to be [u:2kcrzwyb]the be-all, end-all of basses[/u:2kcrzwyb]. ELECTRONICS: I too was just thinking yesterday about a Z3. I would want mine to have a three-way toggle to select which pair of pickup signals to send to the rotary switch. I think I'd have Sheldon install an FD-3.4 in the neck, my extra FD-1 in the middle (bridge 1?), and a Mach II in the bridge. -In addition, I'd go for a Piezo with a blend knob after the rotary switch. -I'd like the 13-pin output jack, so it's ready to rock without a MIDI pickup. -Preamp: OBP-3, 18V of course. -Also bluEQube, because it CAN be useful, though I rarely have it in. -Hybrid treble. -I'd prefer an active/passive switch, rather than the push/pull, because it just seems nicer to me. WOODS: I LOVE the way the Prima Artist in the Bass Player Magazine review looks. To that end, I'd like mine to look similar. -Sheldon's choice of body woods. I don't care what they look like because they'll be well-hidden, if you know what I mean. -The only part of the body wood visible on the face is that Walnut bass-side. Because of that, I want a light contrasting light layer, and a dark top. -Contrasting layers of AAAAA Flame Maple, top and back. -A dark, heavily figured top and back wood. I think that the BPM reviewer had Wenge, but not sure. Whatever it was, it looked awesome. Note: I dislike Cocobolo, because it matches a lot of furniture in my house. I'm buying a bass, not a table. -Matching headstock, pickup covers, knobs, control cavity cover, and battery compartment cover. I'm sure the FD-1 and Mach-II would need to be modified, but if I'm paying this much, I wouldn't mind paying a little more. Neck: -Woods are definitely Sheldon's choice. He knows a hell of a lot more than I do, and I want a ridiculously firm neck. -Neck finish: Oil/Wax. I love that smooth feel. -Definitely want graphite reinforcement. Living in constant humidity changes, it's a must. -As I've seen on some basses with wide necks (read: 6 or more strings), dual truss rods. I don't think Sheldon has ever done this, but I'd like him to try. Fretboard/Markers: -Ziracote Fingerboard -Mando Frets -LED side dots would be cool, but certainly not a must. If not LED, anything easily visible would do, but probably abalone to match the face markers. -Face Markers: Abalone. Bars under the E-string frets 3, 5, 7, 9. "D" logo inlayed at 12th fret. Bars under G-string frets 15, 17, 19, 21, 24. (I find this more functional, because with 6 strings, no face markers, and slanted frets, it's easy to lose my place up high on my ABII.) MISC.: -Also, if you look closely at the next-to-bottom picture on the Prima Artist gallery page, you will notice not one, but TWO D-tuners. That's what I want, and I'm considering it for my ABII already. I have noted to myself that this would only work on a 6-string because of the tuner spacing. -Definitely 24 frets. I don't know why it is, but I just like the look of 24 frets more. It seems more "complete" to me. As you can tell, I spend WAY to much time here.

[quote="Dragonlord":2fjryi3b]So, here's mine at the moment: 5-string Walnut body or walnut/mahogany or walnut/alder (which works brilliantly as well I have to admit) Wenge top and back and matching headstock Matching wenge pickup covers Wenge knobs Wenge neck with thin (warwick-like) finish Wenge fretboard Mando frets Pau Abalone bars (unless they seem out of place with all that wenge, in that case I'll settle for pearl bars) Glockenklang preamp[/quote:2fjryi3b] Forgot to add an onboard headphone amp, so that you can plug your headphones straight in the bass and play (much like Aria Sinsonido, but most probably on a seperate jack).

I'd pretty much take Snotburt's Z (now Fullrange's "brazil") except do a reverse horn and tummy crotch detail from dsincjr's buckeye prima artist.