Dingwall I want one but.....

[IanA]

I played a Dingwall at Bass Direct last week, the neck felt fantastic, really natural to play, the body was unbelievably light, the only thing I could not get was a tone that I really really liked! Prob just down to the pick up combination/electronics and my own personal taste. Clearly these basses are seriously happening!!

 

[Blues Cat]

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!

In response to the Payson Fanned Fret Strings, the PFNS & PFSS's are in stock and ready for immediate shipping. There's even C strings and a special .130T-H (heavy) B string for tuning down and/or a firmer feel and more fundamental. Do you not see the email to order from?

The Dingwall strings are in stock and ready to ship from an authorized US dealer way faster and cheaper than they can ship from Canada.

The PFGWFlats are shipping the week of 8/23. There's nothing under construction for the Payson line regarding websites or models. I've been testing the prototypes for 2 mos now and people have pre-ordered the PFGWF based on my description or their expectation of getting tapered fanned flats for the 1st time.

Dingwall is not going to link recommendations to aftermarket products on their website, but if you go to the Dingwall forum there's a "sticky" of strings Fanned Players have tried and their thoughts.

 

[Infidelity]

Take note that Dingwall Guitars is a small business.. If they would be selling strings one at a time from Canada to US they'd be losing money and of course they need to ramp up the cost of strings which is way more unethical than buying 5 sets at an average price.

Also the reason of keeping the price of Dingwall strings on the average side is to help people see that a fanned fret system wasn't that different from normal ones string price wise.

Shipping is a big factor when it comes to international trade.

The you must contact a local dealer is just there to give you an option. Most dealers will give you free shipping and it will be in your door steps w/o the hassle of going through customs. You're lucky enough that Dingwall doesn't charge MSRP like other builders..

If you do the math 5 people buying 5 sets a month is way better than 25 people buying 1 set at the a time. Man power wise and budget wise.

On the other hand I'm sure Barry/Sheldon can sell you a set of strings..

These are the strings I tried with my Dingwall that fits.

Dingwall Strings
DR Hi-beam LMR5-45
Fodera Diamond Strings(you must call the shop for a custom scale set)

I've read that D'addario long scale set is hit/miss so I didn't bother to try them.

 

[Sheldon D.]

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?

We tried that about 10 years ago. I didn't think the results lived up to our expectations. You've got me thinking though. We've been planning on doing a P. The hold up has been trying to fit it into our lineup which is already pretty packed. This might be an opportunity to revisit a milder fan. We've got 10 years more experience now, maybe we can pull it off. Thanks for the idea Roger.

I'd also like to thank the OP for at least giving us a shot (sorry it didn't work out) and starting this thread.

 

[Sheldon D.]

Re: bassbenj's comments on string availability and the 5 set minimum. You make a good point.

Previous to the store which is still very new it was costing us close to $75 per string order to manually take the order at Barry's end, email, call or fax me the details, manually create the novice, packing list, label, manually call in the credit card, pull and pack the order then drive it over to the post office. Doing things the stone age way was time consuming and expensive. Hence the attempt to try and steer small orders to dealers who are efficient at them and establish a minimum order quantity for direct orders so we didn't lose our shirt on string orders.

We no longer have a 5 set minimum in North America at least. We do not offer prices lower than our dealers though but that's just good business practice. We can't expect our dealers to carry our products if we undercut them on price.

Regarding string selection, we try and provide as much information on alternate strings as possible on our forum.

 

[Sheldon D.]

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.

That's a valid argument. I'll look into how club manufacturers market the two different concepts. Maybe it will spark some ideas that would work for us, maybe were better off staying focused.

 

[Blues Cat]

We tried that about 10 years ago. I didn't think the results lived up to our expectations. You've got me thinking though. We've been planning on doing a P. The hold up has been trying to fit it into our lineup which is already pretty packed. This might be an opportunity to revisit a milder fan. We've got 10 years more experience now, maybe we can pull it off. Thanks for the idea Roger.

I'd also like to thank the OP for at least giving us a shot (sorry it didn't work out) and starting this thread.

Love this mildly fanned WMM version.

 

[Jjango]

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.

Best would be to have the online store keep abreast of what's out there and allow you to buy them in the store.

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.

I'm confused as to why you keep repeating this "you must buy five sets of strings!" business. I already linked you to the Dingwall online store where you can buy single sets. Here it is again:

I just ordered a single set of strings from Sheldon. You do not have to buy five sets, or anything like that.

Here's the link to purchase strings at Dingwall.com: Invalid Link Removed

It's really not that difficult!

 

[Sheldon D.]

Found it. Our FAQ needs updating.

 

[Bocete]

A Dingwall without fanned frets would not sound as good or be as balanced. Period. Dingwalls are about not being afraid to cross the borders of conformity in order to improve; fanned frets are an integral part of that.

Nine chords are very easy to do on a Dingwall. Also, the ergonomics of Dingwalls will let you use the 24th fret on the E string with no problems; not having to fight with the neck join with your left hand thumb is a huge plus for me. As for chords being hard: even if you don't practice, for each chord you might find hard there's a new one that you'll find easy.

And many people who own six stringed Dingwalls do chords easily. Jauqo III-X and FullRangeBass come to mind.

 

[Jeff Roller]

I'll chime in here. Switching back and forth from fanned frets to parallel frets are no sweat, I do it on a weekly basis, sometimes in the middle of a set. I will point out that my preference is fanned frets, and particulary Dingwall. I own another fanned fret bass that sees action when it's an outdoor show in direct sunlight as I know that particular bass is not going to move whatever the conditions. It doubles as a blunt instrument to clear a path to the door should conditions arise.

I will not waste my time with anyone who hasn't tried fanned frets, nor begrudge anyone who tries them and prefers something else. They occupy a specific niche for those of us who prefer them, and thought it may be detrimental to sales of Dingwalls, I prefer to keep it an open secret shared among the enlightened.

I am like most Dingwall players, if you are in a position to try a fanned fret system and live close, you are welcome to play mine to your hearts content, then choose if that is the direction you wish to go, or choose no they aren't for me. I think I can safely say we are a generous bunch of DW owners, eager to share our personal experiences with others.

I don't know of any user group that is that accomodating to other bassists, probably due to the fact that it IS different and YMMV.