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Dingwall Owners Club

#30,123
EMoneySC2 said:
There is a 2nd low side recessed strap lock location Dingwall does that supposedly makes these stretches easier as well. My square pickup shell NG-2 doesn't have it, but I think all the round pickup shell ones do.
Click to expand...
Slight correction: The Canadian basses have it, the NG's do not.
You can easily add it yourself if you have the tools and courage.
A video showing the process is here:
 
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#30,125
So, there's two "things"
- Reach -- how far away that 1st fret is from your torso
- Stretch -- how far it is from say 1st to 4th fret

The 2nd pin location helps reach directly, and possibly stretch indirectly (the closer the nut is to your torso, potentially the easier it is for you to stretch, but the actual AMOUNT of stretch does not change).

IMO, while more ergonomic, comfortable, and all the other benefits of being behind a Dingwall, the actual stretch from 1st to 4th fret (especially on B and E) is still noticeably more than on a parallel fret 34". There's just no getting around it, the actual amount of space between the frets is increased, therefore, more stretch.
 
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#30,126
Selta said:
So, there's two "things"
- Reach -- how far away that 1st fret is from your torso
- Stretch -- how far it is from say 1st to 4th fret

The 2nd pin location helps reach directly, and possibly stretch indirectly (the closer the nut is to your torso, potentially the easier it is for you to stretch, but the actual AMOUNT of stretch does not change).

IMO, while more ergonomic, comfortable, and all the other benefits of being behind a Dingwall, the actual stretch from 1st to 4th fret (especially on B and E) is still noticeably more than on a parallel fret 34". There's just no getting around it, the actual amount of space between the frets is increased, therefore, more stretch.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about installing the 2nd pin on my SJ. I've got a weird ribcage and every bass moves around all the time. Some less than others, but pulling the bass more to my right would help, I believe
 
#30,127
MarkM13 said:
Reach in the first 5 frets:
I’m wondering if the reach is longer than on a typical 34”. I wish I could play one but, there just aren’t any locally. I played a 35” once and did Not like it. I’m just not sure how the fanned frets on a 37+” scale feels on the B, feels on the 36” on the E etc.

Thoughts?

M
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Most people can cover the 1st--4th fret with no problem. I am not a huge guy and I can make it with ease. With the fan, playing octaves in the lower register will be a little more difficult as is playing chords in the upper register is. It certainly isn't impossible but there is a longer adjustment time with the fancy techniques than straight up, old school bass playing.
 
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#30,128
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Doesn't bother me on any of mine and I don't have any of the new fangled strap button placement. The basses are designed to 'hang' to the right and don't necessarily have an extended reach. I had a much bigger issue when I got my Steinberger and it hangs pretty far to the left and felt way longer than a Dingwall to the point of shoulder fatigue.
 
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#30,129
Selta said:
- Stretch -- how far it is from say 1st to 4th fret
...the actual stretch from 1st to 4th fret (especially on B and E) is still noticeably more than on a parallel fret 34". There's just no getting around it, the actual amount of space between the frets is increased, therefore, more stretch.
Click to expand...

Thank you! This is what I was after. I should have said stretch not reach. I’d have to say it’s something I’ll need to try before I’d commit to. Too much $$$ to take a gamble on.

Thanks everyone for your input.
M
 
#30,130
MarkM13 said:
Thank you! This is what I was after. I should have said stretch not reach. I’d have to say it’s something I’ll need to try before I’d commit to. Too much $$$ to take a gamble on.

Thanks everyone for your input.
M
Click to expand...
I should have chimed in sooner, but my opinions almost always are expressed in someone else's post before I get around to expressing them.

The stretch is noticeable (not uncomfortable)for me. With my style of playing, I didn't typically play open strings, and I shied away from the first fret. Over the course to switching to a Dingwall (the last 6 months) my playing gradually changed so that in play even more in the middle of the fretboard, rarely going below the 3rd or 4th fret. It may not sound like much, but it is a difference. I find I have more options when I'm closer to the middle of the fretboard, and I think it's beginning to open up my playing. The string to string tone on a Dingwall is amazingly more consistent than I was used to, but it seems even more consistent up there, too. Also, playing where the frets are a bit smaller appears to be making me faster and is reducing the effort.

I'm not the best player anyway, and some of these observations might be psychosomatic, so I'm not sure they're consistent with everyone's experience.

In short, the stretch was noticeable, it wasn't a big deal, it slowly altered my playing, but in a way that benefitted me. I couldn't convinced to go back to mono scale.
 
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#30,131
MarkM13 said:
Thank you! This is what I was after. I should have said stretch not reach. I’d have to say it’s something I’ll need to try before I’d commit to. Too much $$$ to take a gamble on.

Thanks everyone for your input.
M
Click to expand...

The only place I find 'stretch' to be much of an issue is playing fretless in first position.
 
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#30,133
MarkM13 said:
Reach in the first 5 frets:
I’m wondering if the reach is longer than on a typical 34”. I wish I could play one but, there just aren’t any locally. I played a 35” once and did Not like it. I’m just not sure how the fanned frets on a 37+” scale feels on the B, feels on the 36” on the E etc.
Click to expand...
Sorry I'm late to the party, but here goes...

Long version:

The stretch difference between 34" and 35" is only an eighth of an inch (first fret to fourth fret), so if you were bothered by 35's, you're going to notice 37" big-time.

On the other hand, fanned frets really help up near the nut because they mimic the natural spread of your fingers as you rotate your wrist. Also, Sheldon's obsessive attention to hanging balance means that it's easier to keep the headstock up, and your hand and wrist in a relaxed position.

Since I got my ABZ, I've transitioned from keeping the whole instrument fairly high across my chest, to a much more relaxed position. I have lowered my plucking hand to belt buckle level, and raised my fretting hand so that the headstock is closer to my shoulder.

I've never been so comfortable, or gotten around the fingerboard so freely.

Important note: try to avoid anything that angles your wrist into an cramped, tense position. @EMoneySC2 has found an accommodation thats working well for him, but he's asking for carpal tunnel trouble in the long term:

EMoneySC2 said:
...I do a lot of 1-to-4 fret on the B string riffs in my band and I get along pretty well.
View attachment 3479158
Click to expand...

Short version:
  • If you wear your basses low and horizontal, punk style, you probably won't enjoy a long-scale Dingwall.
  • If you can adjust to keeping the headstock up and still keep your wrist open, it will be more comfortable than a lot of 34" parallel-fret basses.
 
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#30,134
AB Nate said:
Do you see your lines down there?
Click to expand...

The crux of why I ended up getting the luminlay fretlines. ;) All the harder with eyes that need progressive lenses.

I see them better than I used to now. Not super easy, but not horrible so with some muscle memory, it ain't terrible. By now I'm sort of used to how the fan lays-out from 15 years of Dingwall playing so it's workable.
 
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#30,135
BurningSkies said:
The crux of why I ended up getting the luminlay fretlines. ;) All the harder with eyes that need progressive lenses.

I see them better than I used to now. Not super easy, but not horrible so with some muscle memory, it ain't terrible. By now I'm sort of used to how the fan lays-out from 15 years of Dingwall playing so it's workable.
Click to expand...

Similar here but as you know mine is sans lines. I find I’m in training right now on the first 3 with no lines. I have a tendency to “overshoot” the positioning and land slightly flat of the fret marker. I’m not sure if I had lines it would help on that or not due to angle and visibility. I think just a bit more training is required.

I am thinking my neck is gonna visit no for a few luminlay dots side markers and perhaps dots above the C string from 12-24.

It’s been a great training exercise having a virtually unmarked board but I think to get the bass more “gig friendly” a few markings will be wise.

Back to my original query though, between 1-3, as the fan is most extreme , I find it’s a bit of Attention to hit those tones correctly and wasn’t sure if the lines make a difference or not down there.
 
#30,136
AB Nate said:
Similar here but as you know mine is sans lines. I find I’m in training right now on the first 3 with no lines. I have a tendency to “overshoot” the positioning and land slightly flat of the fret marker. I’m not sure if I had lines it would help on that or not due to angle and visibility. I think just a bit more training is required.

I am thinking my neck is gonna visit no for a few luminlay dots side markers and perhaps dots above the C string from 12-24.

It’s been a great training exercise having a virtually unmarked board but I think to get the bass more “gig friendly” a few markings will be wise.

Back to my original query though, between 1-3, as the fan is most extreme , I find it’s a bit of Attention to hit those tones correctly and wasn’t sure if the lines make a difference or not down there.
Click to expand...

From my viewpoint above the neck, the markings that ride between the D and G strings are covered by the D string. So the front dots are pretty meaningless. The Luminlay lines are great and I really do like not only the side dots but also the 'lines'...and I specifically asked Mo' not to minimize the amount of line that shows from the side.

We do a song that's down in the 0-3 range and the chorus/head is octaves, so that's my 'practicer' in that region. I find the less I think about hitting the note or the stretch the better it is.

The good news is that since the lower frets are farther apart, you have just a little more wiggle room for decent intonation vs. stuff that's up in the 12th fret range where you better be REALLY accurate.
 
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#30,138
AmazingMumford said:
Some people (who shall remain nameless) use a <gasp> NON-Dingwall 34" unmarked fretless. Because 32 years of history.

Going back and forth between 37", 35", and 34" is actually no problem. Or so I've heard. ;)
Click to expand...

This sounds like something that someone would make up obviously. its an outlandish concept. No one would play a non-Dingwall around here.
 
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#30,139
There are two mono basses I still play a fair amount, the LTD B-1005 SE can not be beat with it's warm yet aggressive sound and premium feel- though 34" the B is pretty flubby. And the Steinberger spirit XZ-25, sounds meh, but weighs nothing, comfortable sitting down and chuck it in the car for practice when time is short.
My LTD F-415 is slowly getting forgotten, if the top wasn't so damn nice on it, it would be on the chopping block.

Cool thing about the Dingwall is it shares attributes with these basses only it sounds amazing on every string.

Really wonder if Nordstrand would make me custom big splits or zen-blades that would fit- I would like to warm up the tone a bit- the big splits bite like a pissed off badger.

..... Also, headless combustion?:drool:
 
#30,140
Wyvern said:
There are two mono basses I still play a fair amount, the LTD B-1005 SE can not be beat with it's warm yet aggressive sound and premium feel- though 34" the B is pretty flubby. And the Steinberger spirit XZ-25, sounds meh, but weighs nothing, comfortable sitting down and chuck it in the car for practice when time is short.
My LTD F-415 is slowly getting forgotten, if the top wasn't so damn nice on it, it would be on the chopping block.

Cool thing about the Dingwall is it shares attributes with these basses only it sounds amazing on every string.

Really wonder if Nordstrand would make me custom big splits or zen-blades that would fit- I would like to warm up the tone a bit- the big splits bite like a pissed off badger.

..... Also, headless combustion?:drool:
Click to expand...


Stanley Hacksaw, 12"
 
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