MTD strings on a Dingwall?

[waytoodeep03]

I emailed Sheldon about this but didnt get a great response. Maybe because Im asking about a competitors strings

Mike Tobias says his strings are 37.5 inches. I know for a fact that this wont fit on the B string of my afterburner. What about the other strings? Also What is a good B string that has .135 gauge on them?

Also do you think the regular MTD 4 strings(eadg) would work on a Dingwall?
I like the MTD by the way because of its smooth piano like tone but I love Dingwall basses because of the fanned frets.

[fullrangebass]

Originally Posted by waytoodeep03

I emailed Sheldon about this but didnt get a great response. Maybe because Im asking about a competitors strings

I cannot speak on behalf of anybody else but myself only.

From my communication with Sheldon (for almost a decade) it is unfair to make such assumptions. I am not endorsing any product; I pay my money and I speak my mind. And I can comment on Sheldon as a long term customer. To the best of my knowledge, he never had a problem talking about a competitor's product (definitely he never puts down anyone); in fact he really praises other people's work and achievement and I have personally heard that for many people in the business (Michael Tobias included).

I can only assume Sheldon Dingwall is busy trying to catch up with all currently running projects; and if he is not fully aware of a specific application of another person's product on his basses or oher products, he does not jump into conclusions (like you probably have done right now).

Your question should probably be directed to yourself, first of all. Check the working length (winding) of any given string and compare it with the given length of the specific Dingwall bass you are looking at, and see if it fits (adding the length from the ball-end to the bridge contact point too)

And if I am not mistaken, there are many threads on alternative strings in the Dingwall forum

As I said before, I am only speaking my experience as a client of some luthiers that I had the pleasure to deal with; and amongst them, both Micheal Tobias and Sheldon Dingwall, that I truly admire and respect both and I only have to say very good words about

[waytoodeep03]

Originally Posted by fullrangebass

I cannot speak on behalf of anybody else but myself only.

From my communication with Sheldon (for almost a decade) it is unfair to make such assumptions. I am not endorsing any product; I pay my money and I speak my mind. And I can comment on Sheldon as a long term customer. To the best of my knowledge, he never had a problem talking about a competitor's product (definitely he never puts down anyone); in fact he really praises other people's work and achievement and I have personally heard that for many people in the business (Michael Tobias included).

I can only assume Sheldon Dingwall is busy trying to catch up with all currently running projects; and if he is not fully aware of a specific application of another person's product on his basses or oher products, he does not jump into conclusions (like you probably have done right now).

Your question should probably be directed to yourself, first of all. Check the working length (winding) of any given string and compare it with the given length of the specific Dingwall bass you are looking at, and see if it fits (adding the length from the ball-end to the bridge contact point too)

And if I am not mistaken, there are many threads on alternative strings in the Dingwall forum

As I said before, I am only speaking my experience as a client of some luthiers that I had the pleasure to deal with; and amongst them, both Micheal Tobias and Sheldon Dingwall, that I truly admire and respect both and I only have to say very good words about

UMM wow.

This was not at an attack on you whoever you may be or Sheldon. I was simply stating when I asked the question on the lengths of his strings and if MTD would fit he said I dont know and look on the forum.

Well I went to the forum and that forum is beyond dead. I saw the thread about alternate strings but guess what? None of them answered my question about specific MTD strings.

Instead of typing a long drawn out paragraph crying over a sentence I said about Sheldon you simply could have stated answered my question or skipped the thread all together.

[fullrangebass]

No offense and no personal attack here, waytoodeep03. I have dealt with a few of the high end luthiers, one way or the other. I have placed orders with some, I have not dealt with some other people (no bad words though).

In fact, the way I got to know Michael Tobias was through his strings (that says something). And I have had the pleasure dealing with him through a custom order MTD (which was a perfect success).

To imply that Sheldon would not want to answer because it's a competitor's string I find it disgracing, knowing Sheldon for almost a decade, as a very demanding customer really. This is the reason I decided not to let false assumptions go around, by replying.

It looks like nobody, in the forum, has tried MTD strings on a AB 4str (they would fit a super J for sure), that's why you found no answer relevant. On the other hand, the general consensus for the DW strings is that they are bright and balanced, leading to an assumption that not many people would be looking to try other bright strings, considering the fact that Sheldon has fine-tuned his strings for his basses (you can read that Sheldon has gone through a lot of trials to finalize his choice of strings specs, but still looking IIRC).

Maybe a 4str AB owner could just fit a set of MTDs and compare the sound to the original. Unfortunataly I do not own a 4str AB as yet.

[Sheldon D.]

Originally Posted by waytoodeep

Well I went to the forum and that forum is beyond dead. I saw the thread about alternate strings but guess what? None of them answered my question about specific MTD strings.

Unfortunately the string section on our forum doesn't deal specifically with MTD strings. As you mention it's not the most active, but it doesn't need to be. Strings don't change much and the overwhelming majority of our customers are happy enough with our strings they don't feel a need to experiment. I think if you dig deeper into it you'll find it's pretty informative. It was my hope that at least one of the descriptions of alternate strings would resonate with what you are looking for in a string. Failing that you can always buy our single B's and string the other 4 with MTD's.

[fullrangebass]

Today I placed a set of MTDs on my US Masters EP55 and just out of curiosity, I roughly checked if they would fit one of my Primas. The B does not fit, the rest would do. If you follow Sheldon's suggestion (a Dingwall B and a 4set MTD), i'd like to hear the outcome to your ears