Dingwall vs Thumb comparison.

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Got a mates Dingwall 5 being stored here as they've just had a baby so he's lost his "bass room". Thought I'd do a comparison recording of it vs my Thumb 6, just to hear the differences in tone. Both flat EQ, direct into the audio interface, no processing at all.

You be the judge. Dingwall first, Wick second.

 

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DiMarco

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Ooh let me switch on the pc for this! Will be interesting.

Funny how nowadays for (metal/prog) Dingwall+Darkglass seems to be an absolute must... And as a result it all sounds the same.
 
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Cool clip! They both sound good, but to me, the thumb is the clear winner! YMMV of course :cool:
I notice it most on the B string, the Dingwall doesn't have any body to the D and E played. Then up the neck on the D and G strings it misses the clarity the Warwick has.

Its a clear win to the Wick in my opinion.
 
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I own both (Dingwall ng3 and thumb 5 bo) and, even if my Dingwall sounds super clear and punchy, my personal preference goes to the Warwick, it sounds more unique in my opinion and It feels like a higher quality instrument in terms of crafting and finish,
Don't get me wrong, I love my Dingwall and i play a lot too, but if I had to choose between these two... I think I'd go with my Thumb :p
 

PaulS

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Yeah Warwick for the win
 

DiMarco

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This afternoon I had a friend bassist over who I hadn't seen for a couple of years.
He checked and compared all my basses (stingray, Sadowsky P (Warwick made), Zon Sonus, Yamaha TRB JP, Thumb NT6, Fodera NYC Empire 5) and had this to say:

"I personally like the Fodera a lot, it is a jack of all trades. The Sadowsky PJ and the Fodera are my faves. But that Thumb NT6 has such a unique sound I can't really compare it to the others - I love it!"

And that is imo exactly what a Thumb Bass is. Unique and iconic. Nothing out there sounds quite like it.
Having both a Thumb and a Dingwall therefore makes sense.
 
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I too have both now. (Dingwall very new) and I don't think they compare. To me the Dingwall is super awesome it really is but it isn't like a thumb. What is attractive to me about the Dingwall is the decent P style tone and a decent Stingray type tone and it's stability at different tunings, they are like a chameleon bass. To me they are a flexible bass that is rock solid and even across the range (and look incredible). If you go heavy handed with distortion or on board EQ I have found that the clank meme gets going so I try and steer clear of that.

What I really love about the thumb is how dynamic it is...It really does have different characters where you play hard or soft and within different areas with your right hand and the upper register chime is truly unique. This is the bass for balls to the wall distortion, huge EQ shifts and giving it a serious pounding.

If anything they are opposite in this regard. The Dingwall really is so much more than the meme bass though and I am glad I took the risk on one. These two basses alongside my Wal style bass have put me in bass heaven now.
 
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This afternoon I had a friend bassist over who I hadn't seen for a couple of years.
He checked and compared all my basses (stingray, Sadowsky P (Warwick made), Zon Sonus, Yamaha TRB JP, Thumb NT6, Fodera NYC Empire 5) and had this to say:

"I personally like the Fodera a lot, it is a jack of all trades. The Sadowsky PJ and the Fodera are my faves. But that Thumb NT6 has such a unique sound I can't really compare it to the others - I love it!"

And that is imo exactly what a Thumb Bass is. Unique and iconic. Nothing out there sounds quite like it.
Having both a Thumb and a Dingwall therefore makes sense.
If I were to have another bass in addition to the Thumb, I'd be more inclined to have a Ken Smith, although the Modulus Quantum TBX is a damn nice instrument as well and something a bit different with the carbon necks.
 

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Had a chance to play a couple of Dingwalls yesterday. Pretty impressed. Surprised how the fanned fret took no time to get used to.
 
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One little detail is the the Thumb clip is louder which will usually make it sound better. Both sound cool though!
 

DiMarco

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I find the Dingwalls sound very generic and lack character. Sorry.
 
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I find the Dingwalls sound very generic and lack character. Sorry.
I must admit the Dingwall has improved in sound now that I've set it up properly. Still not my cup of tea, but its handy to have it here if I feel like recording something a little differently.

It sits well if I run it with the DG AO pedal, or through my pick of a few plugins on the pc, NeuralDSP: Parallax, Darkglass Ultra,
or Helix Native with its Ampeg emulators.
 
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Can't put mine down in honesty. No sorry needed mate we are all cut from a different cloth. In standard tuning I can't stand it it loses so much life because of the high tension (which i hate) but in anything under that it is honestly incredible. I am playing alot of music a full step down and it is truly incredible at this. I have been playing it in standard tuning learning reggae and in passive mode it is perfect for this aswell as the thumb strumming works well at higher tensions and gets rid of any string slap or noise which is what you dont want in that music.
 
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