Dargie Tone

[Nitrix]

I'm sure the answer to this question is implied in several Dargie related posts, but I will venture forth with it anyway.

I have an opportunity to purchase a 4 string Dargie Stingray. It is on the way to the local store, so I haven't been able to try it yet. I have two 4 string Rays, one rosewood board and one maple board. I also have a 5 string with a 5 string with a maple board.

The Dargies look cool, of course, but so they sound much different? I believe the Dargies have ebony boards, so does this make for a tangible tonal difference? Or do they just look REALLY cool?!?

I would appreciate any opinions from forumites.

P.S. I still owe Robelinda pix! I just never seem to have the time!! Sorry. If I get the Dargie, I will post!

Nitrix

 

[bovinehost]

If it's a Dargie 2.0, it has the ebony board. The first-run Dargies had regular boards (rosewood, etc).

I either imagine I hear a difference (possible) or there really is a difference with the ebony board. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that I'm insane, but there is some extra snap (real or imagined) with the ebony board.

Jack

 

[Caca de Kick]

To me ebony has more snap and brightness when played acoustically on the couch. But plugged in it's hard to tell. But under your fingers it sure feels good.

 

[kevins]

ebony is harder than maple so i hear its the step up from ebony. its also the same wood used on upright basses and violins too.


however i always thought, and this is just me, that the maple fretboards carried a more smooth, sweet and tight tone where as the rosewoods were dark and deep.

 

[oli@bass]

I either imagine I hear a difference (possible) or there really is a difference with the ebony board. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that I'm insane, but there is some extra snap (real or imagined) with the ebony board.

You're not insane.

 

[RaginRog]

I have a new one, and really can't tell much of a difference between that and my other StingRay Slo with a rosewood fretboard. Like Mike (Caca de Kick) said...maybe acoustically, but not plugged in.

 

[bizmarckie]

I've tried a few side-by-side at GC, going back and forth from maple to ebony to rosewood, and the ebony does sound "snappier" to me. I'm sure they all sound different to everyone because we're musicians and probably all deaf in certain frequencies

 

[five7]

What did you say?

 

[Psycho Ward]

The color of a bass is very important and has a huge effect over the tone. I've said this for years. This is why they discontinued the white bongo, it just didn't work for acid gospel, and the high standards at EBMM dictate that all Balls MUST cover every form of music.

 

[Laredo]

Well...................

The Ebony may be brighter acoustically (not amplified), as some other's have mentioned, but the looks did it for me..................The DD II Ebony and inlays are killer! I really like the feel and finish of the Ebony boards. So much so, I sold my Dargie I basses, and only kept the Dargie IIs!

 

[bizmarckie]

What did you say?

Hahaha!!!! Well played!

 

[five7]

I couldn't resist telling an old sound man joke.

 

[DaddyFlip]

I'm willing to entertain the possibility that I'm insane,

Jack

You have almost 15,000 posts on an internet message board! I would continue to entertain the possibility! Just playing... your input is invaluable and entertaining- I appreciate your sacrifice to the cause and your effort.

So as not to hijack- I tried a plethora of DDII's (Ray fretted and fretless, SLO, Bongo, Sterling and AL) at TPB and liked the ebony, but not as much as I liked rosewood and pau ferro. I prefer the beauty and richness of grain and texture the rosewood provides. For me as a (beginning) player, if there was a difference in sound to my untrained ears (hard to judge over a few hours in the store), it wasn't enough to overcome my personal preference for the brown woods. How I love my 25th BFR so!

While I don't have the personal experience or the chops to prove it, I would be willing to bet that with today's technology, any unique tonality produced by one fretboard wood could be reproduced on another with minor EQ adjustment. I think you would have to try very hard under controlled conditions to consistently hear a difference, and then, this difference would be of little value in the real world. To me, this would not outweigh the factor of what looks good and what feels good.

 

[Nitrix]

Thanks!

Thank you everybody, for all of your replies. I was hoping that there was a drastic difference in tone so as to immediately justify the purchase of the Dargie! I think I am really going to like the sound of green!

All kidding aside I think the points about how it feels under the fingers is probably the most valid from my perspective. I have a BFR Petrucci KOA with an ebony board, and it feels very different under the fingers than my rosewood or maple boards. I can't remember the last time I played a bass with an ebony board. Should be a lot of fun when it gets here.

To make matters worse, the local haunt is also getting a Big Al. I think they said it was burnt orange. Orange, of course, sounds much different than green - so i guess I gotta have it too!

 

[MrMusashi]

The color of a bass is very important and has a huge effect over the tone. I've said this for years. This is why they discontinued the white bongo, it just didn't work for acid gospel, and the high standards at EBMM dictate that all Balls MUST cover every form of music

hehe.. at least you didnt claim the leftys sound better because the vibrations goes the other way through the bass

a while back someone posted clips of one bass where he exchanged necks between rosewood and maple. and you could hear the difference in the sound, so i also dont think you are dreaming. different wood=different vibration=different sound. perhaps not by much, but still different

MrM

 

[Psycho Ward]

hehe.. at least you didnt claim the leftys sound better because the vibrations goes the other way through the bass
MrM

I'm actually right handed but learned to play lefty to take advantage of this phenomena.

 

[keko]

Any wood change must affect to the overall sound in final and that's for sure!

Even two "same" basses, the same model, the same color, ...etc., sounds different, just because of slight wood difference!

And that's all magic of life, there's no two same persons in the world and there's no two same basses in the world!

 

[ZiggyDude]

Though I don't have a Dargie (yet) - I do have several basses with ebony boards. I would say that you can feel, or at least sense, the extra hardness. Sometimes maybe a bit "clackier" while fingering. So, not a review of two identical basses in sound but an overall difference in feel. As far as a bass that sounded different - you would need all the wood different really. Such as the banter in the "Dream Bongo" thread.

Hey Psycho Ward - "Acid Gospel"? Huh. Is that the church in the Billy Idol "White Wedding" video????

 

[oli@bass]

To make matters worse, the local haunt is also getting a Big Al. I think they said it was burnt orange. Orange, of course, sounds much different than green - so i guess I gotta have it too!

Green, orange... it's quite the same... you need both!

 

[mynan]

Dargie Tone Kicks @$$...

I sold my 08LE Bongo5 HH to purchase my DD2 Bongo5 HH and was a little disappointed with the way that it sounded. It sounded good, but not as good as my 08LE. I changed strings for the first time last weekend and Holy $#!+...the thing came alive! Good-bye disappointment and hello thrill!