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Dingwall Owners Club

#55,804
Actually, it seems like the four string don’t have string trees at all.

upload_2024-1-27_19-12-48.png


Interesting.
 
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#55,805
bass08053 said:
Not a Dingwall owner but have been admiring for years. I’ve been into Sklar basses for a while but can never find good videos of them with anyone but Lee playing. Obviously, he’s the best to hear, but I want hear how other players sound. Just like if I wanted a NG, I want to hear what a totally different player than Nolly would do with it.

Also, this Chalk color is fire.
View attachment 5329752
Click to expand...
I think I can answer that one for you. Of course we all know tone starts with the hands, and no two players sound identical. Lee would sound like Lee playing a $100 import starter instrument.
Now with that said, I first heard Lee playing his sig bass in Phil Colllin's videos, and although great, post production can influence a lot of things. Then I saw Lee with Toto from the front row, and could hear his stage sound and it was the same as I heard in the videos I had seen, but again, it's Lee sounding like Lee. Being a gear hound, I looked up build specs of that bass, and they were pretty intriguing to me. Being half alder, half ash, and of course the mandolin frets was something I had never encountered. I chalked the whole thing up to a very cool idea, which I would probably never experience, let alone own.
One day I was at a local show, and the bassist was playing a Z3, again something I had never seen close up. When I asked him about it post show, he handed me the bass, and to my surprise said, sit down and play it a bit. I plucked an open B string and felt something I had never experienced before, the note resonating through the bass, my body, and through the folding chair. This was unplugged mind you! From that moment I knew I had to have one. So now the exploration began. Being enamored with Lee's live tone, I started delving into YouTube videos of every person that was playing a Sklar Sig, and there was a common thread. Again while no one is Lee, that tone that had me hooked, was there with other players as well. The one that finally did it for me was this clip. That was it, that same beautiful tone I heard from Lee's bass was there with someone else playing along with one of Phil's songs.
I was content with my main bass at the time, an incredible Alleva Coppolo. It truly was the best instrument I had ever laid my hands on. Then the pandemic hit and gigs came to a halt. Like many others I spent a lot of time surfing during the down time. I came across a Sklar Sig that was on consignment at a shop on Long Island. Curiosity got the best of me, and I pulled the trigger. It took mere minutes to know I had found the one for me. I loved that Alleva, but knew it wouldn't get the love and let it go. Within months, everything except for an inexpensive spare, was gone as well.
So my advice, listen to as many YouTube videos as you can using a nice playback so you can really hear what's going on. Hopefully like me, you will soon see the similarities with others playing that model. If you are on the fence, the one thing you can be assured of, with the wait time for a custom build, and the scarcity of finding one used, you will never lose money should you decide it's not for you, and the sale will most likely come quick. I hope this helped..
 
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#55,806
Jerry Ziarko said:
I think I can answer that one for you. Of course we all know tone starts with the hands, and no two players sound identical. Lee would sound like Lee playing a $100 import starter instrument.
Now with that said, I first heard Lee playing his sig bass in Phil Colllin's videos, and although great, post production can influence a lot of things. Then I saw Lee with Toto from the front row, and could hear his stage sound and it was the same as I heard in the videos I had seen, but again, it's Lee sounding like Lee. Being a gear hound, I looked up build specs of that bass, and they were pretty intriguing to me. Being half alder, half ash, and of course the mandolin frets was something I had never encountered. I chalked the whole thing up to a very cool idea, which I would probably never experience, let alone own.
One day I was at a local show, and the bassist was playing a Z3, again something I had never seen close up. When I asked him about it post show, he handed me the bass, and to my surprise said, sit down and play it a bit. I plucked an open B string and felt something I had never experienced before, the note resonating through the bass, my body, and through the folding chair. This was unplugged mind you! From that moment I knew I had to have one. So now the exploration began. Being enamored with Lee's live tone, I started delving into YouTube videos of every person that was playing a Sklar Sig, and there was a common thread. Again while no one is Lee, that tone that had me hooked, was there with other players as well. The one that finally did it for me was this clip. That was it, that same beautiful tone I heard from Lee's bass was there with someone else playing along with one of Phil's songs.
I was content with my main bass at the time, an incredible Alleva Coppolo. It truly was the best instrument I had ever laid my hands on. Then the pandemic hit and gigs came to a halt. Like many others I spent a lot of time surfing during the down time. I came across a Sklar Sig that was on consignment at a shop on Long Island. Curiosity got the best of me, and I pulled the trigger. It took mere minutes to know I had found the one for me. I loved that Alleva, but knew it wouldn't get the love and let it go. Within months, everything except for an inexpensive spare, was gone as well.
So my advice, listen to as many YouTube videos as you can using a nice playback so you can really hear what's going on. Hopefully like me, you will soon see the similarities with others playing that model. If you are on the fence, the one thing you can be assured of, with the wait time for a custom build, and the scarcity of finding one used, you will never lose money should you decide it's not for you, and the sale will most likely come quick. I hope this helped..
Click to expand...


thank you so much for this detailed personal experience. It does help a lot! I’m coming from F Bass/Modulus/Wal/Fender world but i feel like I need to test the Dingwall waters and this testimonial temps me even more.
 
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#55,807
bass08053 said:
thank you so much for this detailed personal experience. It does help a lot! I’m coming from F Bass/Modulus/Wal/Fender world but i feel like I need to test the Dingwall waters and this testimonial temps me even more.
Click to expand...
I don’t miss my former Mk 2 5 string Wal, at all. I sold it, bought my Z and pocketed a good amount of $.
For me, my Z3x is way more playable and I love the tone.
 
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#55,808
Jerry Ziarko said:
I think I can answer that one for you. Of course we all know tone starts with the hands, and no two players sound identical. Lee would sound like Lee playing a $100 import starter instrument.
Now with that said, I first heard Lee playing his sig bass in Phil Colllin's videos, and although great, post production can influence a lot of things. Then I saw Lee with Toto from the front row, and could hear his stage sound and it was the same as I heard in the videos I had seen, but again, it's Lee sounding like Lee. Being a gear hound, I looked up build specs of that bass, and they were pretty intriguing to me. Being half alder, half ash, and of course the mandolin frets was something I had never encountered. I chalked the whole thing up to a very cool idea, which I would probably never experience, let alone own.
One day I was at a local show, and the bassist was playing a Z3, again something I had never seen close up. When I asked him about it post show, he handed me the bass, and to my surprise said, sit down and play it a bit. I plucked an open B string and felt something I had never experienced before, the note resonating through the bass, my body, and through the folding chair. This was unplugged mind you! From that moment I knew I had to have one. So now the exploration began. Being enamored with Lee's live tone, I started delving into YouTube videos of every person that was playing a Sklar Sig, and there was a common thread. Again while no one is Lee, that tone that had me hooked, was there with other players as well. The one that finally did it for me was this clip. That was it, that same beautiful tone I heard from Lee's bass was there with someone else playing along with one of Phil's songs.
I was content with my main bass at the time, an incredible Alleva Coppolo. It truly was the best instrument I had ever laid my hands on. Then the pandemic hit and gigs came to a halt. Like many others I spent a lot of time surfing during the down time. I came across a Sklar Sig that was on consignment at a shop on Long Island. Curiosity got the best of me, and I pulled the trigger. It took mere minutes to know I had found the one for me. I loved that Alleva, but knew it wouldn't get the love and let it go. Within months, everything except for an inexpensive spare, was gone as well.
So my advice, listen to as many YouTube videos as you can using a nice playback so you can really hear what's going on. Hopefully like me, you will soon see the similarities with others playing that model. If you are on the fence, the one thing you can be assured of, with the wait time for a custom build, and the scarcity of finding one used, you will never lose money should you decide it's not for you, and the sale will most likely come quick. I hope this helped..
Click to expand...


Excellent playing as well! The video didn’t load when I originally responded. Sounded clear and precise through my AirPods.
 
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#55,809
Rolled back by the booth today and met Dann Glenn! Super cool dude. We rapped for like 20 minutes, easy.. If you've checked reverb anytime over the last month, the bass should look familiar! Sheldon was cool enough to jump in a pic with me too!

420530091_881692570366506_9086158598670489146_n.jpg 422776617_764375958394181_7757119544715807872_n.jpg 20240127_124938.jpg
 
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#55,810
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#55,813
bass08053 said:
thank you so much for this detailed personal experience. It does help a lot! I’m coming from F Bass/Modulus/Wal/Fender world but i feel like I need to test the Dingwall waters and this testimonial temps me even more.
Click to expand...

I think you should sell that Koa BNF-5 to some Canadian and use the funds to jump into the Dingwall world. :)

Seriously, I was in the same place as you last year.

I kept seeing Dingwalls and always thought fanfret was a solution to a problem that was never a problem. Then I saw Sheldon on a Scott Devine video and it struck me that the bass sounded much better than I thought it should.

So...I thought I would try one out, prove to myself that I was always right about fanfrets, and flip it.

But, as with all brands I try, I did want to give it the best chance possible. I decided to get the best specimen I could find/afford, without losing money. Canadian Z3's seem the way to go for my tastes. Then the shock came...

I didn't realize how much the Canadian models were in demand (2 1/2 year wait when i was looking) and the associated cost. Even though I'm somewhat local, I had to look all the way to Denmark to find one.

I had zero expectations. Plugged it in and....F-Me Jeebus!!

This bass is as good or better than any Fodera, Ken Smith, or FBass I own. It's not going anywhere.

Dingwall basses are absolutely the most delightful bass find for me in the last decade.....Dingwalls are that good!

I landed on this one. It checked all the boxes for me:







 
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#55,817
Kmrumedy said:
So...I thought I would try one out, prove to myself that I was always right about fanfrets, and flip it
Click to expand...
I did exactly this, all the way through to flipping it. The B did of course sound great, but not miraculously better than other well-built basses with properly tensioned strings I've tried and own(ed).

But then I started remembering how good that tapered neck profile felt, and just how unreasonably good those FDVs sounded, so I bought it back :laugh: I've come to appreciate Dingwall not as a one-trick gimmick but as an end-to-end vision. The only way this ABI is leaving is if there's a significant upgrade.
 
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#55,819
teopatl said:
I started remembering how good that tapered neck profile felt, and just how unreasonably good those FDVs sounded...
Click to expand...

Right!!!?? Me too. I was thinking "what is this witchcraft...it shouldn't sound and feel this good".

The best compliment I can give Dingwall is I played the bass for an hour...

It wasn't until I put it away that I suddenly realized I hadn't even noticed it had fanfrets. I was just focused on the tone and playability. It was that natural.
 
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#55,820
Kmrumedy said:
I think you should sell that Koa BNF-5 to some Canadian and use the funds to jump into the Dingwall world. :)

Seriously, I was in the same place as you last year.

I kept seeing Dingwalls and always thought fanfret was a solution to a problem that was never a problem. Then I saw Sheldon on a Scott Devine video and it struck me that the bass sounded much better than I thought it should.

So...I thought I would try one out, prove to myself that I was always right about fanfrets, and flip it.

But, as with all brands I try, I did want to give it the best chance possible. I decided to get the best speciman I could afford, without losing money. Canadian Z3's seem the way to go for my tastes. Then the shock came...

I didn't realize how much the Canadian models were in demand (2 1/2 year wait when i was looking) and the associated cost. Even though I'm somewhat local, I had to look all the way to Denmark to find one.

I had zero expectations. Plugged it in and....F-Me Jeebus!!

This bass is as good or better than any Fodera, Ken Smith, or FBass I own. It's not going anywhere.

Dingwall basses are absolutely the most delightful bass find for me in the last decade.....Dingwalls are that good!

I landed on this one. It checked all the boxes for me:







Click to expand...

ha! I think I know just the Canadian too!
Another great testimonial. You guys are killing me. Your Z is an absolute specimen. I feel like if I played that, I’d probably hand over some basses in a heartbeat.
 
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