COMBUSTION OVERVIEW
The Combustion is a break-through in terms of performance per dollar. By combining North American sourced materials and components with Chinese manufacturing we now offer many of the Dingwall tone and performance advantages at an extremely affordable price. Final setup and inspection is done in the Dingwall shop in Canada so you know the basses will play great right out of the box.
OVERALL RATING 
(31 VOTES)
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from the sound clips this bass has good quality sound all the finishes look great from the dingwalls i have tryed the price is better but flared frets take some getting used to
What a great finishing and shape.The price and the tone colour pushed me to go for one but i pray i will easily get used to the frets configuration.
I have had a fanned-fret Dingwall for about 10 years. It was a very short adjustment time. I think it actually makes more sense on a visceral level to have the spacing change with pitch. The extra length on the B string makes all of 5-strings sound like ;loose rubber bands. It is so incredibly nice to have the tension so much more even from string to string, a far bigger benefit you can feel immediately and is much more noticeable than the fanning.
Have mine now about 4 months, and love it, the fan frets are no problem getting used to, and what a tone, especially the low B with an even tone across the other strings , try and you will buy, and what an after sales service, just email sheldon with a question and you do get an answer very quickly, in my case it was 5 mins.
Bye, bye, Spector!
Played a Combustion at BassNW in Seattle – the whole staff ROCKS, btw, guys really dig the jobs – and from the moment you play one of these, it’s over. Have YET to find anything that can match the “Buster” for weight, ultimate bass “slam” and looks.
More of a P-bass neck kinda guy, this is the first (and ONLY) J-inspired neck I’ll even CONSIDER.
Afterburner 2 purchased sept 2010
Has a very light feel to it,fanned frets don’t take long to get used to.
I find you don’t need to look at the neck to see where you are as often as you would on a conventional neck.
Very comfortable to play.
Very good overall tone,I am useing the Eq. in the flat position after making the mistake of boosting the bass initialy which leaves the G sounding a bit thin.
Superb looks and very well built.
Attention to detail is immaculate. Priceing is spot on. I’m yet to be convinced that a padded bag gives more protection than a hardshell case. I am willing to be corrected though. Keep up the good work Mr. Dingwall [Sheldon]
I luv Combustion!
I buy the combustion bass without a try,
I trust in power of a scale length,
everything in this bass is almost perfect
finishes,fret work,setup
hope that I can get more of Dingwall in the future.
XXX
from Thailand
By far the easiest bass that I’ve ever played. No compensating for different string tensions means less left hand pressure fatigue. I don’t look at my lips when I speak so I don’t even think about the fanned fret configuration as I’m exploring the sonic pallette of the instrument. It just makes way too much sense. What an amazing bargain!!
One of my students just bought a Combustion -great design, fantastic price, excellent B string!
My Combustion is unlike any other bass in my arsenal — and I have 8! The Combustion providesa hi-fi sound and calrity that is unmatched. Adapting to the fanned frets is very easy butI do find myself having to check my left hand position when using the C on the B String — 37″ is a long way!
No one should worry about getting used to fanned frets. If you can play a bass guitar you can play a Dingwall bass guitar. I remember when I got my Afterburner I 5-string I brought it to my buddy’s rehearsal to show it to him. He plugged it in and played a full set with it and didn’t have a problem. It may have taken a week for me to feel completely comfortable with it, but no more than that. The inconvenience is brief and minor but the benefits are priceless and permanent. If you are considering buying a Dingwall bass, you are ready for a Dingwall bass.
I’ve had more compliments on my sound than with any other bass I’ve owned over the years. My Natural Alder Combustions not only sounds fantastic, looks sharp, it plays great as well. Virtually no adjustment period required to get used to the fanned frets. Best bass I’ve ever owned.
Received my Combustion about a month ago. Very clear and tight B. Great construction and finish. The transparent white alder body and pickguard give it a vintage vibe. Very comfortable to play and the super support from Dingwall is a plus. I’m very happy with this purchase.
is it good for progressive metal sound?
Played the Combustion while checking out an new amp @ my favorite bass store….The Bass Place in AZ, and I liked the bass enough to buy it also. What a great bass! Love the sound, nice action, and overall quality. Current favorite in my house.
All Dingwall basses are excellent for prog metal. They really provide a solid foundation and are so transparent they can be mixed louder without drowning out the guitars and vocals.
I just bought my Combustion 5-string yesterday. I can’t stop playing it! When I was looking at basses yesterday in the store, I tried other ones but I kept coming back to this one. What else is there to say? I’ve been playing music for over 45 years and I’m totally impressed with it.
Sheldon,
I played a 34 inch B string on an Alembic Epic and the B string on the combustion blows it away. What I havent heard anyone mention is that the fanned fretboard is perfectly suited to correct bass technique. If you are one of these thumb over the fretboard cats you will have a hard time adjusting. I find that the low positions especially are MORE ergonomically correct than a straight up and down fretboard…..if you just point your thumb in the same direction that the frets fan the playing is almost automatic and ergonomically better for your hands than using a thumb straight up and down on the back of the neck. I have been workin some Bach solo cello suites up on the Dingwall and they seem to flow better on the fanned board. Maybe I’m just a better player now than when I first touched the Bach 15 years ago. Probably the fretboard!!! Gotta Run.
Mike Chapman
I’ve been wanting a Dingwall since I first heard about them back in the Zebra/Voodoo days. Thank you for making an incredible bass that’s financially within the reach of the common man. I’ve had my Combustion for eight months and in that time I haven’t touched any of my other basses. To echo others here, the fanned frets are absolutely nothing to be concerned about; you’ll find very quickly that they make more sense than parallel frets.
Played one today for the first time. Best sounding bass I’ve ever played….. the pretty pennies shall be saved for many months until i have one or four!
After reading about the Dingwalls in Bass Player, and having never seen or played one before, I’d found a natural finish Alder Combustion for a reasonable price on the Bay, and acquired it in mid November. Practiced with it when able to get acclimated to it, then had my first gig with it the night before New Years! Amazing tone and depth, blew me away with it’s capability, clarity, power and depth, as well as the other people in the band also! I can’t even imagine how the other basses sound in their arsenal if this is just their entry level bass! VERY PLEASED!
What puzzles me with people when they balk at the sight of fanned frets, is the following adjustment time: It takes LONGER for you to go – and adjust to – from regular 4 string to 5 string basses, than it takes to get adjustet to any fanned fret. The “spread” you make with your fingers is about the same as on a regular fretless bass since you have to press down where the actual fret wires are supposed to be. And yet people are wary, and complaining. But whenever they play it, they come up with all excuses. I find out that their main complaints is that they’re going from a regular 4 string with straight frets, to a 5 string with fanned frets, and it’s the 5th string that buggers them more than any fanned fret thing. It’s like, they THINK it’s the fanned fret thing, but in reality it is the 5th string added on top of the fanned fret, that they getting used to. I find this peculiar. However, my Combustion wipes the floor with all similar 5 string in the same price range, AND quite a bit above.
esse baixo é realmente espetacular …..nunca vi nada igual no BRASIL…
gostaria de saber o preço de um instrumento desse..e talvez quem sabe realizar meu sonho de ter uma obra de arte como essa…..DEUS abençoe vocÊs
I’ve been using this bass for over one year.
The fanned frets took about 20 minutes (max) to get used to.
Overall, it is an exceptional instrument with incredible intonation,solid/punchy and very well balanced sound everytime you plug it in. This is a solid instrument that will more than likely give you years of trouble free pleasure.
I have owned and played on many different instruments from major well known makers over 25+ years and this is by far the absolute best value for your money “hands down”.
Sheldon and the entire team at Dingwall have got themselves another winner.
Update from previous post. I’ve now OWNED one for a month in a half, it still makes me drool when i play it!!