Once you have had the Canadians, it’s tough to go back. My Z3x 5 string replaced a Wal mk2 5 string. I wouldn’t trade it for the Wal even though it could be sold for something like $12k because this damn bass is the one.
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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
I would definitely not disassemble a bolt on bass of any sort unless it was absolutely necessary. If you gotta travel with it, invest in a really good flight case (Gruv Gear Kapsule or something) and you'll be fine. The peace of mind and safety will totally be worth the extra price.
Yeah I get that, and I agree.
I could easily grab some whatever bass... But it's a main hobby at this point and I don't spend my money on much else beyond chocolate and bass gear, so custom shop it is
Besides, I cannot let another dingwall pass me by and not take it. That would be really bad for my health.
Just need to sell off what I got before I get the green light on another bass. My SO is extremely supportive about this whole thing and we get good many laughs about me being obsessed with basses
Still, the imports are very nice. Minus all the shipping etc involved. Don't like that about them.
@Katoosie I totally understand the urge to upgrade, I've had my fair share of attempts to do this with various brands, but usually it was either not worth the extra cost, or even a downgrade. Right now I just see a bass as a completely individual piece of art / tool. There could be a potential upgrade, and that used to nag at me all the time. Luckily it has stopped. I've had two lines of basses that I tried to upgrade even though the very first bass was already really, really good. But in the back of my head it was like "well, if this thing is so good... how good will the more expensive version be?"...
- Spector Rebop, I tried to get my hands on a US made Spector NS4, that's basically the big brother of my pimped up Rebop. But I luckily did not have to sell it to aquire the NS4. Lo and behold, after about half a year, I sold the NS4 and the Rebop stays with me now. It's the lowest value Spector out of five that I've had. The rest were Euro LX. All were good basses, but that Rebop is just fire. Learned my lesson. This is just my Spector and I'm done trying to "upgrade" it.
- Squier/Fender 60s Jazz Basses: it all started with my first backup bass, a Squire 60s VM in white. A great bass really. I used it lots more than my main bass actually. And after about a year I had the urge to upgrade this bass to a real Fender. So I bought a classic 60s in the same color, just the mexican version of it. And that bass was just the best Jazz bass ever. I've never again played a JB as good as this one again. But. It had those wonky vintage features like reverse tuners, no direkt access to the truss rod etc. On top of this, my strange brain thinking "well if the mex version is that good, how good will a US Fender be?!". So I sold it to buy a US Fender Jazz, and that is the trade that I regret the most of them all, and I've made a share of questionable or outright trades/deals with instruments. I miss this mex Fender to this day. It felt great, and sounded just perfect.
So yeah, the US Fender was absolutely no match. Nicely built instrument, but it lacked the mojo and tone of the mex. I don't own a JB to this day because they all could'nt hold up to the ONE...
Dingwall? The very first NG-2 that I bought is superb and I have zero urge to upgrade this insanely good bass. I would absolutely consider buying a canadian one, but not if I have to sell this one to get one. No way!
- Spector Rebop, I tried to get my hands on a US made Spector NS4, that's basically the big brother of my pimped up Rebop. But I luckily did not have to sell it to aquire the NS4. Lo and behold, after about half a year, I sold the NS4 and the Rebop stays with me now. It's the lowest value Spector out of five that I've had. The rest were Euro LX. All were good basses, but that Rebop is just fire. Learned my lesson. This is just my Spector and I'm done trying to "upgrade" it.
- Squier/Fender 60s Jazz Basses: it all started with my first backup bass, a Squire 60s VM in white. A great bass really. I used it lots more than my main bass actually. And after about a year I had the urge to upgrade this bass to a real Fender. So I bought a classic 60s in the same color, just the mexican version of it. And that bass was just the best Jazz bass ever. I've never again played a JB as good as this one again. But. It had those wonky vintage features like reverse tuners, no direkt access to the truss rod etc. On top of this, my strange brain thinking "well if the mex version is that good, how good will a US Fender be?!". So I sold it to buy a US Fender Jazz, and that is the trade that I regret the most of them all, and I've made a share of questionable or outright trades/deals with instruments. I miss this mex Fender to this day. It felt great, and sounded just perfect.
So yeah, the US Fender was absolutely no match. Nicely built instrument, but it lacked the mojo and tone of the mex. I don't own a JB to this day because they all could'nt hold up to the ONE...
Dingwall? The very first NG-2 that I bought is superb and I have zero urge to upgrade this insanely good bass. I would absolutely consider buying a canadian one, but not if I have to sell this one to get one. No way!
See, and the peace of mind of having the bass with me vs in the cargo hold is part of the reason for this question.
I trust my mechanical abilities more than I trust someone else’s ability to deal with my luggage.
I take things apart/assemble things for a living and often in my “spare” time
that said, an Enki is very close to being ordered up.
Might be worth considering Sheldon's golf case trick? You can buy a hard case for golf clubs that a couple of basses will fit in and they usually get checked for free or get gate checked so they don't have to go on the baggage roller-coaster.
I was gonna send ya a PM but your inbox is full so public it is. If you're travelling anywhere near me you're always welcome to borrow one of my 5's.
If you can afford it, just buy an extra seat. You'll get the middle or aisle seat with your bass strapped into the window seat. It's full price, but it's 100% guaranteed to survive unharmed and arrive exactly where you're going. You're the only person that ever handles it.
It's actually a gold club caddy bag. I did this when moving to the UK for a year. Two basses in their individual gig bags fit perfectly, but I bought a seat for them. They went in the window seat and I had the middle. The cost was worth it to me, because those are two unique, 1 of 1 items on the whole planet.
This line rings the most true to me.
Does my custom Super-J play or sound anywhere near twice as good as my NG-3 or my used AB-1 (each less than half in cost)? I have to admit ... not really! 
Serves a different purpose in the arsenal, that's all. The custom has beautiful inlays on an all-wenge neck, the color is cool, it is pretty thin and light, and I know I'm fortunate to be able to afford it. But 99.9% of the time I'm the only one in the venue who cares or even recognizes what instrument I'm holding.The NG-3, which is completely stock except for Neck Illusions inlays, weighs the most and cost the least, but it's also the "flashiest" and gets the most "oooh, what's that thing?!?" comments. But, if you know exactly what you want and can spring for it, you certainly won't be disappointed with a Canadian!
Thanks for the most gracious offer and the heads up on the inbox. I’ve deleted some history now to make some space.
Hey Club,
Is it okay to use a bit of wood polish/conditioner/wax on the all wenge neck? I usually use that on the rosewood fretboards...
The finish on the wenge fretboard is linseed oil. The finish on the back of the neck is a satin polyurethane...
Thanks in advance!
Is it okay to use a bit of wood polish/conditioner/wax on the all wenge neck? I usually use that on the rosewood fretboards...
The finish on the wenge fretboard is linseed oil. The finish on the back of the neck is a satin polyurethane...
Thanks in advance!
I just use a damp cloth. If I’ve got to remove something A bit stubborn then even just the smith guitar polish does the trick for cleaning.
I wouldn’t use anything that’ll fill the open grain
Yeah I get that, and I agree.
I could easily grab some whatever bass... But it's a main hobby at this point and I don't spend my money on much else beyond chocolate and bass gear, so custom shop it is
Besides, I cannot let another dingwall pass me by and not take it. That would be really bad for my health.
Just need to sell off what I got before I get the green light on another bass. My SO is extremely supportive about this whole thing and we get good many laughs about me being obsessed with basses
Still, the imports are very nice. Minus all the shipping etc involved. Don't like that about them.
Diminishing returns is expected for sure.
It might be silly to put numbers on it but would it be safe to say that a Canadian is better than a Chinese Dingwall but 90% of what your paying for is the looks and finish and 10% is in the bass playability and quality? This is my expectation anyway.
I don’t think so.
An example, if you want to compare a Z to an NG and even went for a very NG looking appearance on the Z, you wouldn’t really be putting the financial effort into the looks unless you really love the lines of the Z that much more BUT, you’d have a significant increase in the quality of hardware, your tone could be affected by the woods used but the ergonomics and playability would be at the forefront of the noticeable differences.
From my experience and being a fan of the thin neck profile of the Z, this is a huge factor and the main factor that sold me on having a custom Z.
I figure since going for the bass design that feels best to me, I might as well try and have a visually appealing bass to match its playability in addition to the more important factors.
Doing my best to insist that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with an import Dingwall, it still has to be mentioned that a Canadian model built in a small shop by well-trained craftspeople and master builders is going to be a more solid and cohesive effort that what will come out of a high-volume factory. This is exactly why a Lamboghini is a better car than a Ford Taurus - both will get you to the grocery store, but the difference lies in the experience of getting there, the standard of performance while getting there, and an appreciation and desire of the craft that makes “A” comparatively better that “B”.
It essentially boils down to the hours of personal attention that go into the build, the quality of the components, and the whole of that being greater than the sum of the parts. The less manual labor that goes into a build, the less it will cost. An inexpensive guitar may take 2 hours to build as a team effort between humans and machines. It might take at least two hours to cut a nut on a premium guitar. Builders like this build up to a high standard - not down to a cost. The difference in quality of the hardware is important - the Canadian builds have premier woods, the finest hardware, and build strategies that are costly. The woods are from the best sources, the finish work is art in and of itself, the electronics are top-of-the line, and the hardware is built where quality is of utmost importance even when it isn’t being made by Dingwall.
Once you expertly assemble an instrument of the best parts made by the best craftspeople, something happens. The lines are tighter, the execution more refined, the tolerances smaller, the quest for perfection gets closer to being met. The end result is a piece of playable art with potential to be an heirloom piece. It becomes more than an object - it’s an effort born of passion and thousands of hours of experience. Players can pick up on this right away. In the world of bowed stringed instruments, the finest orchestral players can hear the and feel the difference between student/intermediate models immediately. There’s a long history of blindfold studies on this. That’s why they commonly pay high 5 and 6 figures for their instruments.
There’s lots of levels of diminishing returns in boutique basses, and we might be only talking about 10 to 15 to 20 percent improvement over standard offerings. Some of of live in that 10-15-20 percent and appreciate it when an instrument can offer it. Some, but not all differences are immediately noticeable, even to a novice or non-musician. I’d cry few tears if a law was passed where I could only play my Combustion or even a Mexican P-Bass. I’ve been doing this a long time and I know most of the tricks to get this instrument to sound its best in an ensemble. Countless great recordings were made with inexpensive instruments. That said, a great experience with a mass-produced instrument can be made into a superb one with a premium quality instrument.
The very best instruments provide that little extra spark of inspiration and make it so I can’t possibly blame the instrument if I can’t play something right. You know you’re in the room with something special, and it’s tough to speak with authority on this until you’e spent time with imports as well as bespoke flagship models to know the difference. All this is easily worth 2-3 times the price of a standard Dingwall build to me. YMMV.
It essentially boils down to the hours of personal attention that go into the build, the quality of the components, and the whole of that being greater than the sum of the parts. The less manual labor that goes into a build, the less it will cost. An inexpensive guitar may take 2 hours to build as a team effort between humans and machines. It might take at least two hours to cut a nut on a premium guitar. Builders like this build up to a high standard - not down to a cost. The difference in quality of the hardware is important - the Canadian builds have premier woods, the finest hardware, and build strategies that are costly. The woods are from the best sources, the finish work is art in and of itself, the electronics are top-of-the line, and the hardware is built where quality is of utmost importance even when it isn’t being made by Dingwall.
Once you expertly assemble an instrument of the best parts made by the best craftspeople, something happens. The lines are tighter, the execution more refined, the tolerances smaller, the quest for perfection gets closer to being met. The end result is a piece of playable art with potential to be an heirloom piece. It becomes more than an object - it’s an effort born of passion and thousands of hours of experience. Players can pick up on this right away. In the world of bowed stringed instruments, the finest orchestral players can hear the and feel the difference between student/intermediate models immediately. There’s a long history of blindfold studies on this. That’s why they commonly pay high 5 and 6 figures for their instruments.
There’s lots of levels of diminishing returns in boutique basses, and we might be only talking about 10 to 15 to 20 percent improvement over standard offerings. Some of of live in that 10-15-20 percent and appreciate it when an instrument can offer it. Some, but not all differences are immediately noticeable, even to a novice or non-musician. I’d cry few tears if a law was passed where I could only play my Combustion or even a Mexican P-Bass. I’ve been doing this a long time and I know most of the tricks to get this instrument to sound its best in an ensemble. Countless great recordings were made with inexpensive instruments. That said, a great experience with a mass-produced instrument can be made into a superb one with a premium quality instrument.
The very best instruments provide that little extra spark of inspiration and make it so I can’t possibly blame the instrument if I can’t play something right. You know you’re in the room with something special, and it’s tough to speak with authority on this until you’e spent time with imports as well as bespoke flagship models to know the difference. All this is easily worth 2-3 times the price of a standard Dingwall build to me. YMMV.
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See, for me, that analogy falls flat because even if I owned a Lambo, I wouldn't EVER drive it to the grocery store.
That being said, I do own a Canadian-made Dingwall and I take it everywhere
See, for me, that analogy falls flat because even if I owned a Lambo, I wouldn't EVER drive it to the grocery store.
That being said, I do own a Canadian-made Dingwall and I take it everywhere
I can guarantee it wouldn't get you home form the grocery store in a Winnipeg winter either
