Dingwall in Silicon Valley area??

Lowend65 · #1 11-28-2012, 11:25 PM

I'm seriously considering buying a Dingwall Combustion 5-String. But I've never played a Fan Fret bass and can't justify buying such a different instrument without trying one first.

The only CA dealer I see listed on Dingwall's site is in San Diego; a brisk 9 hour drive away.

Does anyone know of a stocking dealer in the Silicon Valley area? Does anyone in the area have one they'd be willing to let me noodle with for 15 minutes?

I've got an illusive TBC AP-400M and would be happy to trade test-drives

rapidfirerob · #2 11-29-2012, 12:14 AM

Seems like it's San Diego or Tempe, Arizona.

joebar · #3 11-29-2012, 12:26 AM

see if a Tber nearby would let u try his?

Sheldon D. · #4 11-29-2012, 08:00 AM

We just shipped two Combustions to Nuts and Saddles in Berkley. Still a bit of a drive but Stephen White who runs the shop is a great contact to have when you need a repair done right.

Lowend65 · #5 11-29-2012, 08:02 AM

Any chance of you guys picking up a dealer in the SF Bay area?
Gelb Music in Redwood City is known for being a High-end bass dealer.
Guitar Showcase in San Jose is more known for Vintage gear, but may be into it

Sheldon D. · #6 11-29-2012, 08:05 AM

We've talked to Gelb before. They seemed interested but that's as far as it got.

DeltaPhoenix · #7 11-29-2012, 08:07 AM

Don't be afraid of the fanned frets. They are really natural to switch to, I think.

Lowend65 · #8 11-30-2012, 09:17 PM

So - does anyone in the San Jose / SF are have a Dingwall I could futz with for a few minutes?

fuzzychaos · #9 02-13-2013, 02:40 PM

AHHHH! zombie thread...

I'm in the same shape here, there is nobody near Dayton, OH that has Dingwalls and I dearly would love to try one. I'm just so intimidated by the fanned frets

My only recourse would seem to maybe find a used Combustion somewhere cheap and try that...I just hate tying up expendable income like that, especially in the soft market we have for basses right now.

Lowend65 · #10 02-14-2013, 11:23 AM

I'm not spending $1000+ on any model of bass I can't demo first... peroid

DiabolusInMusic · #11 02-14-2013, 11:31 AM

Seriously, do not fear fanned frets. You honestly won't need to adjust to them right from the get go. The only thing that takes getting used to is if you do lots of chords/double stops and harmonics, they take a bit of adjusting. Some folks do not how the right hand moves away from the bridge by the B strings because the bridge moves back but that is a personal thing. I personally like it.

I am biased to support a local company but seriously, there is no adjustment time to fanned frets doing standard playing. The reason you saw so many combustions on the used market right after they came out is because a bunch of guys bought them, played them for 5 minutes, and realized they should have got the real deal.

dukeisdog · #12 02-14-2013, 11:34 AM

Wish you were local to me, I'd let you play mine and check it out.

I picked it up after I traded my Stingray 5H for it, and it's a killer bass, looks and sounds awesome, plays even better. The fanned frets really weren't a problem at all, and really aren't noticeable when you're playing IMO, only when you're looking for them.

I'm getting rid of mine strictly for the fact that I'm going all Spector, but that doesn't take away from these basses at all. In fact, my bandmates prefer my combustion 5 to my Spector Euro 5LX, I just prefer the tone and feel of my neck thru Spector over the bolt on dingwall.

I think they're pretty sought after though, they're a cheap way to get into trying dingwalls and the slanted fret system.

I don't think you'd have a problem re selling if you bought one and didn't like it as much as you'd expected.

Lowend65 · #13 02-14-2013, 11:36 AM

It's not just the fanned frets... I'm SUPER picky about neck width on 5-strings.

I absolutely despise ultra wide necks that seem to be all the rage right now

dukeisdog · #14 02-14-2013, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lowend65

It's not just the fanned frets... I'm SUPER picky about neck width on 5-strings.

I absolutely despise ultra wide necks that seem to be all the rage right now

Fair enough..

I definitely do find my Dingwalls neck to be a bit bigger then my Spector, but it's still a players bass which is the main reason I'm gonna try to move it locally. It really is a great bass and it makes me super curious about their higher end models, but I too have a hard time buying basses sight unseen.

Honestly, I probably wouldn't have ever had the chance to try out a Dingwall had one not come up locally, I just got lucky the guy wanted a trade, and I'm glad he did. I liked the stingray 5 that I had but the Dingwall was better suited for what i needed at the time.

Your best bet would be to look up neck dimensions and compare to your other basses, then make your choice. I think the body shape and fanned frets shy a lot of players away but they're great basses and have an awesome 2 band EQ. That TONE!

Lowend65 · #15 05-01-2013, 05:32 PM

Reawakening the thread after a few months.

I'm pleased to say this story has a happy ending. Last month a fellow TB'er was good enough to ping me. He was selling a Combustion, noticed this thread and contacted me with an offer of a no-strings-attached demo.
I drove down to his place the next day, tried out the bass, and surprised both of us by purchasing it from him on the spot.

Outstanding instrument - will likely become my primary.

This will make the third bass I've bought based on recommendations from TB (previously bought an ATK and TBC both were great).
I'm staying the hell out of the Fodera threads