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Dingwall Owners Club

#34,481
Jerich said:
ordered my ABII end of November 2018. At November 2019 order was confirmed and 8/10 weeks delivery expected (told by reseller)
Now asking info told me will reach in April.
Guys, these instruments are beautiful but for THAT much paid 1.5 years, waiting is a way long TOO much.
Now should be almost done, but I wouldn't do it again.
Click to expand...

I would assume your seller may have underestimated wait times. For the last 2 plus years it has been readily known that the wait has been about 18 months. 2015-16 it was closer to 12.

the dingwall team is working full steam ahead to keep up but it’s the troubles of making some of the finest instruments in the world. Everybody wants one and they can’t just poop them out.

be happy you got in line when you did as the difference now is the price will have gone up once or twice. :)

I’d happily wait in line for a 4th time.....
If I had the scratch. That said, I’d do the same for any other builder if I loved their work the same way and decided to invest.

I completely understand the anxiousness but in the end it’s been worth it every time. Hopefully you’ll feel the same way once you have yours in hand! ;)
 
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#34,483
Charlzm said:
Wait time on my Chinese Combustion has been 13 months and delivery is expected in May, so... 16 months.

Seems a bit long for the "mass market" version, but I knew it going in, so it's on me. I won't do it again, though.
Click to expand...
I do agree that it's a long time. The reality is that the long wait time is because of Dingwall's high quality standards. Sheldon is simply not willing to ship out something to a customer that is anything less than perfect.
He told me the figures on the percentage of defects that get caught in the factory, and then the follow-on figure for defects that get caught in Canada during final inspection. Those issues have to either be fixed, or if not fixable, the bass becomes firewood. (Luckily, it's cold up there a lot of the time, so they can use the extra firewood!) [I am making up the firewood part, but guessing I'm not far off from the truth.]
I worked in manufacturing, and specifically in Quality Control, for my first couple of jobs out of college, so I have a good understanding of "the cost of quality". Companies have to find the sweet spot, balancing between production rates and acceptable defect rates. Lower defect rates translate directly to either higher costs and/or longer production times, there is simply no way around that. Sheldon's business choice is to focus on maintaining quality even if it means a longer wait. I personally feel that his business decision to do that is why Dingwall basses have the reputation and following that they have. Having owned a whole bunch of them, both Canadian and Chinese, I can attest to the fact that the results speak for themselves.

Or, to say all of that in far fewer words, "Good things come to those who wait." :-)
 
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#34,484
Charlzm said:
Wait time on my Chinese Combustion has been 13 months and delivery is expected in May, so... 16 months.

Seems a bit long for the "mass market" version, but I knew it going in, so it's on me. I won't do it again, though.
Click to expand...
xnewyorka said:
There are a couple of other options to keep in mind:

1. Sometimes dealers order custom basses that they spec out, and you might get lucky and find one in the dealer's stock that is close enough to your dream bass to grab it. Or maybe you grab it and then find out that it actually is your dream bass! :) New customs don't often stick around for very long in dealer stock, so you have to check often.

2. Sometimes dealers have custom slots reserved in the build queue and they don't have a customer's name attached to them yet. If you happen to catch the dealer shortly before construction starts, you might be able to shorten your wait time. Timing is critical, because if you catch the dealer too late after construction starts, then it will turn into option #1 above. So the lesson there is to stay in contact with your favorite dealer(s) on a regular basis.
Click to expand...
If you have the means, the used market has the best bang for your buck. You can buy/flip different basses to try out the different configurations and models. Thanks to @xnewyorka for the Z and Super P he sold me. A little shopping can find imports that are available right away, or in a few months. I bought my NG3 and Combustion from an in stock dealer right away. My D-Bird was on order already with Michael at Sho-Me Music. I put a downpayment on it and had it in my hands 6 months later.

My favorite method is to find a dealer waiting on an order they submitted months before. This is what I did for my AB1 (see avatar). Thanks to Jason at FretNation for letting me take over his order. He changed the whole thing so I could order a custom bass built to my specs.

Bass and Guitar Strings, Amps and More from Fret Nation
LoMax Bass
https://www.johnfoxbass.com/dingwall
 
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#34,486
xnewyorka said:
"Good things come to those who wait." :)
Click to expand...

I get it. I'm just considering this one of (if not my last) bass order from anyone, ever. I'm getting older, I need to watch my money and I don't want to wait that long again. I already have two Dingwalls (a Canadian and a Chinese) and that's why I bit the bullet on the long wait for this one. Their basses are the best I have ever played, and I've played a pretty good amount over the last 38 or so years.
 
#34,490
Jerich said:
ordered my ABII end of November 2018. At November 2019 order was confirmed and 8/10 weeks delivery expected (told by reseller)
Now asking info told me will reach in April.
Guys, these instruments are beautiful but for THAT much paid 1.5 years, waiting is a way long TOO much.
Now should be almost done, but I wouldn't do it again.
Click to expand...


Mine ended up being a 22 month wait, wasn’t enjoyable but now the bass is here I’ve forgotten that. And being pleased with the result I’d consider it again if there was something else specific I wanted.
 
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#34,491
Jerich said:
ordered my ABII end of November 2018. At November 2019 order was confirmed and 8/10 weeks delivery expected (told by reseller)
Now asking info told me will reach in April.
Guys, these instruments are beautiful but for THAT much paid 1.5 years, waiting is a way long TOO much.
Now should be almost done, but I wouldn't do it again.
Click to expand...

I get it, trust me. I ordered my ABZs 7 months BEFORE you(Jason at Fret Nation. It was still Bass Strings Online when I put my order in). I ordered 4, canceled 1(went to @johnsonabq), and I've received 2 of the 3, so, I'm still waiting on a bass that I ordered almost 2 years ago. I knew that going in. Sounds like your dealer woefully underestimated the lead time or somewhat mislead you about lead times. As was stated earlier, the lead times have been pretty consistent for the last few years, 12-14 months on imports/18-24 months on customs.

Trust me, nobody understands your frustration more than I do, but If you want a custom Dingwall bass, you gotta have an abundance of two things: money & patience. ;):thumbsup:

xnewyorka said:
There are a couple of other options to keep in mind:

1. Sometimes dealers order custom basses that they spec out, and you might get lucky and find one in the dealer's stock that is close enough to your dream bass to grab it. Or maybe you grab it and then find out that it actually is your dream bass! :) New customs don't often stick around for very long in dealer stock, so you have to check often.

2. Sometimes dealers have custom slots reserved in the build queue and they don't have a customer's name attached to them yet. If you happen to catch the dealer shortly before construction starts, you might be able to shorten your wait time. Timing is critical, because if you catch the dealer too late after construction starts, then it will turn into option #1 above. So the lesson there is to stay in contact with your favorite dealer(s) on a regular basis.
Click to expand...

This is exactly right! You can hit up johnfoxbass.com or Bass Direct and see what customs they have available, since that's probably the only places you'll actually find custom Dingwall's hanging on any wall. The #2 option is what you'll want to look for if you want your specs on a Canadian bass and, hopefully, cut down your wait time. I'm sure John has open slots, and I know Jason at Fret Nation has open slots.

Flabzilla said:
Mine ended up being a 22 month wait, wasn’t enjoyable but now the bass is here I’ve forgotten that. And being pleased with the result I’d consider it again if there was something else specific I wanted.
Click to expand...

And you got a BEAUTY! I agree 100%! Every time a bass has shown up, I've been pleased! The hard part is the bass I'm still waiting for is the one I need the most, LOL! But, it'll be sweet when it gets here. I also wouldn't have an issue ordering another Dingwall. I know it's probably gonna take 18 months, minimum, and it'll be awesome when it shows up.

It's all about perspective. I really didn't mind waiting, it gave me plenty of time to pay for all those damn basses...:thumbsup:;):D
 
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#34,492
pbass6811 said:
Trust me, nobody understands your frustration more than I do, but If you want a custom Dingwall bass, you gotta have an abundance of two things: money & patience. ;):thumbsup:
Click to expand...

The best way to survive is to already have a Dingwall at hand to play and distract your mind from your custom order. My first was a custom AB-I, but I had what I thought were killer (mono-scale) basses to play at the time. They were all sold long ago. It's been seven years since I ordered my last custom. Back then the gestation time (for my AB-I and Supers) was the same as for humans - nine months. The wait has always been worth it for me. :cool:
 
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#34,494
spiritbass said:
The best way to survive is to already have a Dingwall at hand to play and distract your mind from your custom order. My first was a custom AB-I, but I had what I thought were killer (mono-scale) basses to play at the time. They were all sold long ago.. :cool:
Click to expand...
My home-made bass had 40-series EMG’s in it, wired VVT at 18 volts.

Since the square-shouldered Dingwall pickups were EMG-sized, I killed some of the time while I was waiting for my build by grabbing a pair of used Combustion pickups. I think I paid $50 for them?

I bought a cheap rotary switch, figured out the contact pattern, and threw them into my old bass, wired for series coils.

It was just an experiment at the time, as I suspected that they might not give good coverage on a parallel-fret bass. However, they sounded amazing, and killed my interest in active pickups.

Once my ABZ arrived, that bass became surplus to requirements. Seven years later, a buddy is still playing it, and loves it.
 
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#34,499
packrat said:
Please @Sheldon D. , it would be awesome if Dingwall continued to do photos for all custom builds. WHile some of them may not be amazingly unique from Dingwall's perspective, they're all pretty important to their owners who have in most cases been waiting over 18 months for them.
Click to expand...
I am sure taking photos is a time-consuming burden for @Sheldon D., but I had an idea: Taking photos of every custom would be a very cool part-time job or internship assignment for a USask student who is a Studio Art major:
Studio Art - Admissions - University of Saskatchewan

I concur with @packrat's sentiments.
 
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#34,500
Yeah, I'm certain it's a time/effort issue. Even if it takes let's say (a very quick) 20 minutes to photo, process, and upload (or email) the photos per bass... that's hundreds of man-hours per year. That's on the optimistic side of a guesss. While I understand wanting photos, I'd personally rather deliveries happen sooner.
 

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