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Dingwall Owners Club

#38,961
BurningSkies said:
Not too terribly long ago... 2010. Sheldon came out with a handful of guitar models, but at the time it was probably more than the shop needed to be dealing with (similar to the Dingwall skateboards)... Though Dingwall also made guitars back in the 90s too.

Press release:
Dingwall Custom I Guitar

Dingwall Guitars best known for their critically acclaimed high-end bass guitars are going back to their roots with the Custom I guitar. The first guitar in this series combines the look of a classic rock/blues guitar with the fit, finish, performance and tone equaling the very best of the boutique guitar world. It made its debut at the Montreal Guitar show and received rave reviews.

Guitar designer Sheldon Dingwall concentrated on several key areas such as tone, resonance, lightweight, balance, ergonomics, tuning stability, seasonal stability, feel and appearance.

Resonance, tone and lightweight all can be greatly affected by wood choice and tone chambers. Years of testing have lead Dingwall to a tone that’s warm and full without the typical nasal quality that some tone chamber designs produce. Traditional woods like alder and swamp ash are used for the body because they provide a great platform to enhance through design. Using ultra lightweight Sperzel tuners and leaving select areas of the body solid to create a ballast effect achieve exceptional balance.

The body’s contours have been designed with several playing positions in mind from standing with the guitar strapped high, slung low, seated in a traditional position or hunched over as you would late at night when playing quietly. The scooped out horn and tapered heel allow unhindered access to the very last frets.

Tuning stability is addressed by combining an ultra low headstock angle in conjunction with a custom formula Graph Tech nut, locking Sperzel tuners a Graph Tech bridge and a customized Bigsby tremolo. Sheldon says “It’s hard to tell the difference between the best sounding guitar and the worst sounding if they’re both out of tune. They both just sound bad.” For this reason Sheldon Dingwall takes the “use any means possible” approach to making sure the guitar plays and stays as in tune as possible.

Seasonal stability is not something that’s discussed or advertised much. Due to the extreme mid-west climate a large percentage of guitar repairs that came into Sheldon Dingwall’s repair shop were humidity related. Glenn McDougall of Fury Guitar (Canada’s first electric guitar manufacturer) taught Sheldon many secrets to a stable neck/truss-rod assembly. By carefully matching neck and fingerboard woods, installing a truss-rod designed to minimize thermal changes Dingwall has created a neck that is extremely stable through temperature and humidity changes. The standard neck is a 3 piece maple laminate with walnut as an option for even more resonance and lighter weight.

The Custom I neck carve is influenced by 60’s C-shaped necks. The fretboard edges are rolled in for a played in feel. The fingerboard features a compound radius starting at a very comfortable 7-1/2” at the nut and flattening out to 16” at the bridge.

A TV Jones Classic Plus is featured in the bridge position with a TV Jones MagnaTron in the neck position. The 3-way blade switch is located out of strumming range to avoid accidental selection changes.

The look of the Dingwall Custom I is pure Rock’n Roll. With the gain dialed up on a good tube amp the bridge pickup nails the crunchy yet warm classic rock tone with a distinct almost cello-like character. Through the clean channel the neck pickup tone ranges from sweet and slightly scooped to warm and jazzy.

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Premier Guitar review:
Dingwall Custom I Electric Guitar Review

Older Dingwall guitar pics:

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A buddy of mine has one of the guitars. In fact, that is how we met.
 
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#38,964
ThisYouCanTrust said:
It's certainly interesting to compare this to today's finishes page :)
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13880300_10154408026765948_8749733132115852434_n.jpg
 
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#38,966
been_effected said:
Random question - has anyone put a P-tone in the bridge position?
I'm particularly curious to hear from you if you have a Super. Bonus points for Super PJ owners.
Click to expand...

Yep. I have a P-Tone in the bridge of my Super P. I've also had an FDV in that spot and the P-Tone is a way better fit in my mind.

122097148_3722199351137174_1243679805955785143_o-1.jpg
 
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#38,967
BurningSkies said:
Yeah, there were more pieces on the old message board, etc. I also have a few old HDs that have pics but it's not terribly organized so I can never find what I'm looking for. I did come across that old picture of FRB's Dingwall collection, though I know it's well out of date and he has way more now.
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Kind of a long shot, but that one on the far right looks very familiar to me.
2014-04-10 19.22.35.jpg
 
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#38,968
While we're talking about the variety of Dingwall offerings, wasn't there mention at some point of headless being a possibility in the future? Or maybe I'm just fantasizing because a headless Dingwall would be pretty much my absolute perfect bass...
 
#38,971
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#38,972
ckevinwelch said:
Kind of a long shot, but that one on the far right looks very familiar to me.
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Possible but only if you've bought it from Ed in the past handful of years or so... He's less a seller than a buyer, though he's slowed down in recent times I think.
 
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#38,974
BurningSkies said:
Possible but only if you've bought it from Ed in the past handful of years or so... He's less a seller than a buyer, though he's slowed down in recent times I think.
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I bought it back in 2014 and have always been curious about the history. There used to be one picture of the same bass out there on the internet (there's an identifying scratch in the top). Someone who owned it in the past played it HARD and the pick scratches and wear on the pickup are still there today (pick scratches less so).
 
#38,978
ckevinwelch said:
Kind of a long shot, but that one on the far right looks very familiar to me.
View attachment 4082691
Click to expand...

beautiful bass man.
lucas303 said:
While we're talking about the variety of Dingwall offerings, wasn't there mention at some point of headless being a possibility in the future? Or maybe I'm just fantasizing because a headless Dingwall would be pretty much my absolute perfect bass...
Click to expand...

it’s been a convo for sure. I do believe it’s something Sheldon has considered but not sure if/when we will see it. I was impatient on this and picked up the Ibanez EHB while I wait. If a headless comes up I’ll be in que with the ibby going up for sale immediately.
 
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