They do have very thin necks, which a few people find uncomfortable.
However, I have larger than average hands and find them comfortable, so I assume for the average person, an Ibanez SR will be very comfortable to play.
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Dingwall I want one but.....
- Thread starter taurus1
- Start date
They do have very thin necks, which a few people find uncomfortable.
However, I have larger than average hands and find them comfortable, so I assume for the average person, an Ibanez SR will be very comfortable to play.
Yeah, a Dingwall is absolutely great. So great you "owned" one! If it's so great why ain't you playin' it now?
I"m also part of the "I want a Dingwall...but" crowd. In my case I found one in the TB classifieds. Looked fabulous. I had the money. I didn't think fanned frets would be a problem. I was ready to pull the trigger. And then I decided to do a bit of practical research. Owning a 35" Modulus 6 string I KNOW what a string-buying hassle is!
A quick check of the internet showed the problem: basically NO strings available. Dingwall mostly blows you off and says go get strings from a dealer. No dealers near here. Tried a few on line with no results. Dingwall NOW has an improved website store that lets you buy string sets provided you'll fork $150 or so (for 5 sets actually a good price!) and you can get them in any style you like so long as it's uber bright fret-chewing stainless steel rounds!
So remembering the hassle I went through trying strings on my "normal" 35" scale Modulus It's suddenly became clear to me what Dingwall is all about. It's a one-trick pony. And it's a GREAT trick. And if you love the trick you'll be happy forever. And if not, you'll be one more of those people who "used" to own a Dingwall! So I backed off. Maybe some day...
First of all, he said it was a 355. The 300 series basses aren't all that high of quality.Whoa, slow down. I love the SRX series much more than the SR series. MUCH more comfortable to play. Not a good example of an Ibanez? It's an Ibanez isn't it
The SRX basses have a particular sound to them, the SRs offer a wider variety of tones.
And I find the SRs to be much more comfortable. More curves.
Or get a Circle K traditional tension set. Works just as well and cheaper (and they aren't super bright finger-chewing steels either)
For most basses I recommend the balanced tension set, but for Dingwalls, the traditional sets give you the best balance.
bassbenj said:
No problem getting strings, not for a 35" scale bass either. Might have to change to a non taper wound. But strings weren't an issue. I bought mine from a pawn shop about 10+ years ago it was beat up and they called it "the thing" because of the fretboard, and how beat it was. It was rootbeer metallic with lots of big chips. I picked it up for $500. Played it for about a year, fixed it , replaced a few frets, had it repainted black and sold it for $2500 to the guy that replaced the frets. To me dingwalls are kind of like warwick thumbs. You need to really know how and when to play things on them to get the most out of them. They really cut through the mix and wasn't really the tone I was looking for in a death metal band. That was about the time I became a Spector junky. I fell in love with their tone and sold the dingwall to get a US Spector. That dingwall was Definatly in the top 3-4 of basses I have played or owned though.
Man there's 3 different string models that are designed specifically for 37"-34" Dingwall's besides the OEM Dingwall strings. Google Fanned Fret Bass Strings.
With the Nickel Steel, SS and the new Flats that are fixing to drop there has never been a better time to own a Dingwall.
Jong at Jive Sound can get the Dingwall strings to you if you like the extra lite SS strings.
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So not being able to find strings for a Dingwall is simply not true.
It's interesting to me how subjective string feel is; my Dingwalls are the reason I re-strung my parallel fretted basses with custom sets.KingRazor said:
During my brief tenure at Guitar Center, I was reading the back of a D'Addario XL package.
On a 4-string set, the tension would range from ~38 Lbs on the E and G and up to 60 Lbs on the A and (especially) D.
That struck me as odd, and it explained why (on my non-Dingwalls) I had to change up my attack so much from string to string.
So, I figured out what gauges would make for relatively even tension, bought the individual strings, and tried them on my old P-Bass.
That was 5 years ago, and I haven't bought prepackaged string sets since.
I checked out why there weren't commercially-available balanced tension sets, and D'Addario said that they had tried to market some, but they never took off; people thought they felt weird.
So, that might be another reason the Dingwall felt "off" to you -- along with the goofy frets, the strings are non-standard!
Past that, yes availability of strings is a concern, especially if you don't like the bright stainless steel roundwound Dingwall strings.
But, you can do what I did and assemble a custom set from JustStrings -- although I've gone back to the stock Dingwall strings.
I tried a fanned fret bass once, was awkward for the type of chords I like to do. Wasnt a fan. The main thing I dislike about dingwalls though is the fretwire, I like jumbo or at least med jumbo frets for nicest playing to me and their little banjo frets are just not gonna be found on any bass Id get. So even if they did a std frets bass it'd still not get on my list of basses to concider. They are nice basses, but the frets are a no go for me. For both size and being fanned. I would however love to get a torzal twist bass. But not a fanned version. lol.
I recommended Circle Ks because you don't need to go through the trouble of buying individual strings, you can just buy one set and get balanced tension.
Circle K makes string sets that are extremely balanced in tension. However, these are meant for standard basses with a single scale length and parallel frets. If you get a "traditional" Circle K set on a multi-scale fanned fret bass, it will be the same as getting a balanced tension set. You have to take in to account the different tensions of strings at different scale lengths.
Talk to the guys at Circle K, they know their stuff and their strings are amazing.
I played mainly Fender, Musicman basses for over 20 years and picked up a Dingwall ABI about 2 years ago and couldn't be happier.
Adjusting to the fanned frets was instant for me, so much so that I have since sold all of my other basses and am currently saving for an ABII or a Super J, as others have said the fanned frets are much more comfortable to play but only a very small part of what makes Dingwall's so special.
Adjusting to the fanned frets was instant for me, so much so that I have since sold all of my other basses and am currently saving for an ABII or a Super J, as others have said the fanned frets are much more comfortable to play but only a very small part of what makes Dingwall's so special.
I just ordered a single set of strings from Sheldon. You do not have to buy five sets, or anything like that. Nor was I "blown off" in any way, shape or form. Also, Sheldon and Barry are two of the nicest, most sincere guys in the business, and the idea of them blowing anybody off is frankly unfathomable.
Here's the link to purchase strings at Dingwall.com: Invalid Link Removed
Also, as Blues Cat pointed out, there are numerous other Dingwall-fitted strings besides the OEM strings.
Fanned-frets are only part of what we bring to the table but since they are the most visually noticeable they tend to define us. We've talked about doing parallel fretted basses and how we'd probably sell more basses if we did. I'm not going to lie to you life would be a lot simpler if we just went with the flow, but we continue to stick to our guns.
Upper fret chords are the most common complaint from people trying our basses for the first time. In truth some voicings will be more difficult, some easier and some new voicings will become available. For some players this becomes an adventure for others it's an obstacle. In both cases your viewpoint controls your outcome.
These basses were designed with gigging bass players in mind. It's my opinion that the majority of bassists make their living below the twelfth fret. I would argue that there isn't another bass out there that has as consistent a feel from string to string, as consistent a tone from string to string and as consistent a tone up and down the neck as what we offer. All this consistency adds up to a bass that's easier to dial in a tone that allows all the notes to cut through a mix (both monitor and FOH) not just some of them.
Consistency is about as un-sexy sounding a feature as you can get and really what does it mean in the real world? Well, over and over we hear from engineers how easy our basses are to record, we hear from drummers how much tighter the band is now the bass can be heard more clearly and we even hear from singers who feel they can sing more confidently because they can reference pitch off the bass more easily. To me these advantages far outweigh any learning curve.
In the end it's up to the individual to decide if their ability to cut through the mix or their chording better serves their band and their music.
Upper fret chords are the most common complaint from people trying our basses for the first time. In truth some voicings will be more difficult, some easier and some new voicings will become available. For some players this becomes an adventure for others it's an obstacle. In both cases your viewpoint controls your outcome.
These basses were designed with gigging bass players in mind. It's my opinion that the majority of bassists make their living below the twelfth fret. I would argue that there isn't another bass out there that has as consistent a feel from string to string, as consistent a tone from string to string and as consistent a tone up and down the neck as what we offer. All this consistency adds up to a bass that's easier to dial in a tone that allows all the notes to cut through a mix (both monitor and FOH) not just some of them.
Consistency is about as un-sexy sounding a feature as you can get and really what does it mean in the real world? Well, over and over we hear from engineers how easy our basses are to record, we hear from drummers how much tighter the band is now the bass can be heard more clearly and we even hear from singers who feel they can sing more confidently because they can reference pitch off the bass more easily. To me these advantages far outweigh any learning curve.
In the end it's up to the individual to decide if their ability to cut through the mix or their chording better serves their band and their music.
Dingwall is a bass that I would kill to try, the fanned fret makes much sense to me, just loom you left hand and see how it twist in order to play one fret per finger, since I dont look at the fretboard 99% of the time , fanned frets should not be a problem to me, money is.
Great post Sheldon!
I owned a Dingwall for a little time and let about 3-5 gigging musicians play it and there's one thing they would tell me the first time they played a lick. "Hmm.. That's weird it does feel natural."
Then after a while of grooving they will start to solo(going to upper frets) and say "That messed me up a bit but all in all I think I can live with it."
I would love to own one again but I just can't afford it..
I owned a Dingwall for a little time and let about 3-5 gigging musicians play it and there's one thing they would tell me the first time they played a lick. "Hmm.. That's weird it does feel natural."
Then after a while of grooving they will start to solo(going to upper frets) and say "That messed me up a bit but all in all I think I can live with it."
I would love to own one again but I just can't afford it..
Question for ya Sheldon. I get the part about sticking to your guns, it's what makes a company unique and their products sought after. But, I was wondering if you have ever experimented with a neck where the frets don't fan at as much of an angle as a typical Dingwall? Maybe something that is halfway in between?
Sheldon why can't you do both? tradition frets aren't going away and neither are fanned frets. it's like golf clubs, some people play cavity back game improvement clubs, some people play traditional forged blades. all club manufacturers make both types, everyones happy.
Not true? Man you exaggerate more than just a tiny bit! I notice the post (not an ad in a string store) about the grounds was this JUNE and they were PROTOTYPES then! The website doesn't seem to work at all and you are expected to buy them through Facebook? Sorry I don't do Facebook! Sounds like you have to know the secret word to by these strings!
How about you check the DINGWALL STORE? All I see are 4,5,and 6 string STAINLESS strings for purchase! And note I wasn't buying this bass yesterday.
Which does make an important point. The situation is really getting much better and soon may even be acceptable. If Payson finally gets an online site with a shopping cart (and NO Paypal if you please!) , yes that would be a HUGE step forward fer sure!
So in surfing the net just now I have to agree that things are looking better and better, even if they still aren't quite there, so who knows, I may go fanned fret yet...
I don't get the exaggeration point.
The links are all to the Dingwall forum Gear FS section. Dingwall players have been using it securely for almost 2 years now. Just use the pm option as a registered user.
You don't have to have a FB acct to see what's going on with Payson Fanned Strings.
I just ordered a single set of strings from Sheldon. You do not have to buy five sets, or anything like that. Nor was I "blown off" in any way, shape or form. Also, Sheldon and Barry are two of the nicest, most sincere guys in the business, and the idea of them blowing anybody off is frankly unfathomable.
Here's the link to purchase strings at Dingwall.com: Invalid Link Removed
Also, as Blues Cat pointed out, there are numerous other Dingwall-fitted strings besides the OEM strings.
I have no idea how nice a guy Sheldon and Barry are and I'm sure they are sincere. But I didn't make this stuff up!
Allow me to QUOTE THEIR OWN WEBSITE:
"Where can I buy strings for my Dingwall bass?"
"Please contact the nearest Dingwall Dealer for the purchase of Dingwall strings. Or if you prefer you may purchase strings directly from us in quantities of 5 or more sets in our online shop. As with buying basses direct, we charge the same amount as our dealers for strings."
FIRST CHOICE: Go away kid and bother a dealer!
SECOND CHOICE: Well if you MUST have strings for your bass you can get them from us if you buy 5 (OR MORE) sets at a time.
NOTE: We charge the same as dealers so no volume factory discounts.
And how do you define "numerous" So far I've only found Payson (on facebook with website under construction with some strings at least seeming to be "prototype") and supposedly Circle K. I don't know. They seem to make a zillion types of strings so I'm not surprised they also make Dingwall sets, but I couldn't find those sets in the listings on their website. Plus the stainless factory jobs, natch.
Obviously strings for Dingwalls are still a matter of double secret probation! It's great that the cognoscenti have found the place to push on the walls to find food and ammo (and Dingwall strings) but it's clearly not so easy nor widely available.
Here's my beef. Not so much with the Nice Guys Sheldon and Barry but with their website. I sincerely suggest that if a company is selling expensive basses that use weird string sets, it just might help sales if the website went out of it's way to solve the problem of replacement strings for the owners. Best would be to have the online store keep abreast of what's out there and allow you to buy them in the store. Next best might be links to places (known by Dingwall to be reputable) that have strings. In other words provide some support for owners and potential owners. Just saying stainless steel take 'em or leave 'em 5 sets at a time, is not what I'd call conducive to potential sales. In actual fact it KEPT me from buying a Dingwall.
But the assertion that Dingwall strings are "numerous" is about on the level of GC saying they stock "many" 6 string sets (They stock exactly ONE kind, (34") take it or leave it)
Have a nice day!
