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The DONG

I’ve long wanted a good four-string bass with a bit of a prog tone - something with lots of EQ controls and light distortion.

One of my favorite basses has been a friend’s Dingwall NG ADAM “NOLLY” GETGOOD SIGNATURE. It has an incredibly thick tone with amazing built-in distortion that sounds extremely natural. Here’s a picture of me playing it, with a cone on my head.

The only downside to that model is the price - 30,290 SEK (€2,699)… That’s a bit more than I can currently spend on a bass.

So, my thought was: can I build a bass that sounds somewhat like a Dingwall, but at a lower cost?

Here’s my reasoning: What makes the Dingwall NG ADAM “NOLLY” GETGOOD SIGNATURE so nice to play?

String length is hard to replicate on a cheaper bass, so that’s a factor I’ll just have to live without. But string spacing is easy to replicate - just use a four-string bass. And as it happens, that’s exactly what I wanted. So, no problem there.

I also want a bass that can go down to a low D, which I think is the lowest note that still sounds good in most contexts. That’s just two semitones lower than a standard four-string bass. So my plan is to tune the whole bass down two semitones.

Dingwall’s pickups aren’t available in “normal” form factors. They’re made specifically for Dingwall’s string spacing and angled mounting. But fortunately, another manufacturer - Nordstrand Audio - makes a model of pickups called DINGSTRAND NORDWALL. These are soapbar pickups designed to emulate Dingwall’s, but in standard form factors.

Finally, there’s the preamp. The Dingwall uses a Darkglass Tone Capsule, which isn’t Dingwall-exclusive and can be purchased separately.

The Plan

My plan was the following:

Choosing a Bass

To easily swap in DINGSTRAND NORDWALL pickups, I needed a bass with pickups of the same or larger size. Unfortunately, standardization isn’t really a thing when it comes to bass pickups. Even if pickups are the same type, that doesn’t mean they share the same form factor or dimensions.


Luckily, Nordstrand Audio is one of the few pickup manufacturers that actually lists the dimensions of their pickups on their site. Why this isn’t standard for bass makers, I really don’t know…

The DINGSTRAND NORDWALL comes in two versions:
One wider, based on the Bartolini BC shape, which is 101.35mm x 32.6mm, and a narrower version based on the EMG 35, which is 89.41mm x 38.35mm.

I found a bass that already had EMG35 pickups: the Harley Benton TB-70. The only downside is that… it’s kind of an ugly bass.

So instead, I looked at a number of basses that I guessed had similarly-sized pickups and emailed Thomann to ask for measurements. Let me just say: Thomann’s customer service is fantastic. This project wouldn’t have been possible without them.

Since basses with soapbar pickups are hard to find at lower price points, I selected a few models with dual humbuckers, as they seemed closest in size. I also included some five-strings since I hadn’t yet decided whether I wanted four or five strings.

These are the dimensions I got back from Thomann:

Pickups that are a couple millimeters too small should still fit just fine, as the cavities are likely about 1.5mm wider than the pickups themselves on each side. Worst case, I could file the cavities slightly.

In the end, I went with the Marcus Miller M2 TBK 2nd Gen, since it seemed to match the dimensions closely and - bonus - I think it looks the best of the bunch.

Install Preamp

Strings

I want to tune the bass to D standard (DGCF). My first thought was to just buy the thickest set of 4-string bass strings I could find - Daddario EPS230, which has a 0.110” E string. I figured that would work for tuning to D.

But when I tuned down to D standard, everything sounded terrible. A lot of the string tone was lost, and the strings got too loose to play with any usable action.

Then I realized something: heavy strings actually suit my playing style well. I play pretty hard, and the heavier strings gave a better tension, which I liked.

So, my next theory: could I take a light 5-string set, and tune the lowest four strings up to D standard? That way, I’d retain the tension of the EPS230 set.

Here’s a graph showing the thickness of Daddario strings versus their intended pitch (blue). Using curve fitting, we get an equation for those strings (green), and apply it to the D standard tuning frequencies to get ideal string gauges (orange).

This isn’t a perfect analog for required thickness, since tension varies between brands and strings. But ideally, I’m looking for Pro Steel-like strings in gauges around 0.117”, 0.099”, 0.081”, and 0.063”.

There are a number of sets on Thomann that match. You can browse in the category 040 5-String Electric Bass Strings and filter for gauges 040 - 120. I chose to try a set called DR Strings Drop-Down Tuning DDT5-40, which seem made exactly for this kind of tuning. The advantage is that they’re designed for drop tuning, so if my idea works, I can use the E, A, D, and G strings from the 5-string set and just tune down.

Cost

Here’s a breakdown of what I bought:

Item Product Price
Bass Marcus Miller M2 TBK 2nd Gen 4,077 SEK
Preamp Darkglass Tone Capsule 1,999 SEK
Strings Daddario EPS230 Strings 319 SEK
Total 6,395 SEK

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