“True wisdom is knowing what you don't know.” - Confucius
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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
“True wisdom is knowing what you don't know.” - Confucius
hopefully this makes your hair stand a little
johnsonabq
Watch out where the huskies go...
One of my basic beliefs is that the more I know, the more I know I don't know.
johnsonabq
Watch out where the huskies go...
- Sep 3, 2006
- 4,358
- 6,117
- Disclosures
- Authorized dealer for Dingwall, Genzler, Phil Jones Bass, Cort, Traynor, Yorkville Sound
Yeah...It is only when we realize just how much we don't know that we can truly kindergarten begin to understand anything.
boy oh boy that open string!
That tone is mean dude, nicely done. Also, hope you made it through the typhoon OK - friends in HK told me it was really something to see.
I have an honest question for you dingwallers.
How would you guys feel about playing a fretboard like this with bare minimal markings?
Just simple answers.
I feel i would love to try it but am concerned that I could get a bit “lost” without any reference points on the “fan”.
Perhaps the more you play it the more familiar it would become
Or
Just having fretlines would take the stress out of the built in concern of being “on”.
It certain live setting where hearing yourself could be a bit difficult is where I would worry the most. Anyways. There’s my take. I’m curious to hear yours.
How would you guys feel about playing a fretboard like this with bare minimal markings?
Just simple answers.
I feel i would love to try it but am concerned that I could get a bit “lost” without any reference points on the “fan”.
Perhaps the more you play it the more familiar it would become
Or
Just having fretlines would take the stress out of the built in concern of being “on”.
It certain live setting where hearing yourself could be a bit difficult is where I would worry the most. Anyways. There’s my take. I’m curious to hear yours.
If I was going to go fanned fretless, I would want lines. Even if I was doing standard, I would want lines.
I once had a regular fretless without lines, and while it looked great, having the lines would have been very helpful, especially since I didn't play much fretless.
I play the beeeeg fretless (DB) which is a chore but builds up your ear and muscle memory.
based on that, where the stretches/hand position should be the same for every string, I would think a fanned fret blank-plank fretless would blow my mind. But that's just me.
Still, it would be fun to try once (can you borrow/rent first?)
based on that, where the stretches/hand position should be the same for every string, I would think a fanned fret blank-plank fretless would blow my mind. But that's just me.
Still, it would be fun to try once (can you borrow/rent first?)
I wish. I have a feeling there is not many in existence currently.
This is a photo from the website.
I played an unlined Zon and that being parallel fret contrasted from my normal dingwalls through me off quite a bit. I feel switching from Dingwall to Dingwall would be easier but still....
I’ve seen some where the lines are only visible up close. Like ebony board and just a shade lighter grayish lines. From the audience perspective looks like unlined.
Yes. Same here. Honestly, My question is raised less due to asthetics and more so due to the concern of the lines becoming audible due to dissimilar materials responding differently.
I’m leaning to the idea of I’m fine lookin at them and will actually have more comfort in playing with them there as an aid vs not having to deal with any concerns that could arise due to the issues they could present as the bass climatizes.
Perhaps a solution for this would be to epoxy a lined board....
I don’t think it’s truly a MAJOR issue (especially in my world). I don’t play a lot of long slow notes but I do think it’s a valid concern.
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The picture shows line markers on the top of the neck, that should be good enough. I never see the fingerboard when playing, only the top of the frets on the side of the neck as that bass shows. Though not a fretless player that would be good enough for me as that is all that is seen anyway.
For me personally, I find lines plus dots to be too busy and confusing. My ideal fretless has easily visible side dots only on places where there are normal position markers, but the side dots should be on the fret lines not between them. I don't much care if it's lined or not, since that only matters when you're playing sitting down or hunched over the bass. I'd rather trust my ear than my eyes. Using your ear makes you a better musician in the long run.
That said, I have no experience with a fretless Dingwall, and I do have a suspicion I'd be lost without lines simply because I am only a part-time Dingwall player. I think it's fairly likely that if I had trained my muscle memory strictly for fanned frets by playing Dingwalls exclusively, I would probably be fine with it unlined. But that is pure conjecture, since I have never tried it, so it's not even worth the paper it's printed on. If I were buying a used one, I would buy it whether lined or unlined. If I were ordering a new one, I'd order it lined, and would request that the lines be made of a material that has moisture properties as similar to the fingerboard as possible if I wanted to minimize the risk.
Three more things to consider:
1. Adding epoxy coating certainly overcomes the concern about "hearing the fretlines" when sliding. However, it also drastically changes the tonality of the bass, making it much brighter and crisper, adding a slight degree of raspiness to the tone if you have the action super low for maximum mwah. So you would need to want that type of tone, or you won't be happy. I have one such fretless, so I know this from experience.
2. If you have an untreated fingerboard, you really should be keeping it fully hydrated with lemon oil anyway so it doesn't dry out. And if it's fully hydrated with oil, then there is no room for moisture to get into it. Therefore, it is going to be very stable, and won't appreciably expand or contract anyway, thus making your concern about "hearing the fretlines" a non-issue.
3. Even if you had an untreated fb and you failed to keep it hydrated, and the fingerboard shrunk from dryness faster than the fretline material shrunk, so the fretlines end up protruding a wee bit, then how closely would you (or your audience) need to be paying attention in order to actually be able to "hear the fretlines"? If this is a high quality, very hifi solo recording with bright settings (like Damian), then OK, maybe you could hear them. Maybe. But again, if this happens, it's because you failed to keep the fb properly hydrated with lemon oil. Go back to item 2.
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On any multiscale I would absolutely want lines. Monoscale, not necessary. I play an upright.
