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Dingwall Owners Club
- Thread starter FroggyOne2
- Start date
My assumption is that Dingwall has done enough testing to know the best location on average for each model and has a template for each. I can't imagine the ideal position for a Z is the same as for an AB, for example. There's also considerations like what I encountered where my best guess for ideal position may have conflicted with bridge screws, so adjustments had to be made. Dingwall has presumably worked that out on a per model basis. Regarding John Fox's placement; I'm not sure how he arrived at that location. My guess is he measured some other Dingwall basses in his shop and used comparable measurements. I did it with a suction cup and a length of twine cut to emulate a strap with one end tied to the upper horn strap button and the other tied to the suction cup's hook. I then stood in front of my bed so that if the suction cup or the twine broke free the bass would just fall onto a bed which wouldn't damage it. In the comments on John Fox's video he describes doing the same thing that I did. I then played around with placements until I thought the result was what I wanted. From there I made a couple tweaks to avoid conflicts with the straplock screw and the bridge screws. As mentioned in my earlier post, there was ultimately a leap of faith that had to be made. It worked out just fine but I was nervous when starting to drill.
You know, somehow I never even considered that as something I could do. Thanks for mentioning it.
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/dingwall-owners-club.394482/page-2422
There's a bit of talk on this page about it. I believe @IvanBassist also has both
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,944
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
I have owned several wenge neck MTDs, but no Dingwalls with a wenge neck. I do very much love the roasted ash neck on my AB1 (which has an ebony board). The feel is definitely ash, but the tone is still tight, but a bit more warm than non-roasted ash (meaning, it's still very clear, but not as uncompromisingly so). It seems more balanced than wenge, to my ears.
I use a Dingwall strap. I know Bass Buddha sells them. They will probably ship to France.
Thanks a lot !
Minotaur 4" Bass Wide Padded Strap BK
Strap for Electric Bass High quality, Reinforced strap holes, Extra-soft memory foam, 7.6 mm (0,30") thick shoulder pad, Strap material: Italian leather, End piece material: Leather, Width: 101 mm (4"), Length adjustable from 104 cm (41") to 152 cm...www.thomann.de
Neotech Mega Strap Regular
Strap for electric guitar or electric bass Patented internal Control-Stretch system for maximum comfort without shoulder fatigue, Instruments feel 50% lighter to the touch, Made of soft, durable elastic neoprene with two layers of memory foam for...
These two, both feel great. They are wide so the weight is distributed. I do like the Neotech one more since it's padded but they both feel very comfortable.
Just installed the back strap lock. Before giving my thoughts, a couple things:
- I'm glad I took my own measurements because JFB's #s wouldn't have worked on mine. Different basses, so that makes sense
- I taped up the surface, used a new forstner bit, and there's still a tiny amount of finish flecking off. It's a clear transblack thing, which is very different than solid finishes
- All in all, installation was easy
Review: I'd recommend it. I wear my bass up high with a thick strap, so the reach reducing benefit isn't pronounced but it's noticeable. The biggest improvement is comfort. Without the RRS, the top bevel dug into my chest uncomfortably. With the RRS the discomfort is all gone.
All in all, I'd recommend it.
- I'm glad I took my own measurements because JFB's #s wouldn't have worked on mine. Different basses, so that makes sense
- I taped up the surface, used a new forstner bit, and there's still a tiny amount of finish flecking off. It's a clear transblack thing, which is very different than solid finishes
- All in all, installation was easy
Review: I'd recommend it. I wear my bass up high with a thick strap, so the reach reducing benefit isn't pronounced but it's noticeable. The biggest improvement is comfort. Without the RRS, the top bevel dug into my chest uncomfortably. With the RRS the discomfort is all gone.
All in all, I'd recommend it.
Well Jason (Fret Nation) tells me that my order is ready for production. I’m undecided on body wood for my Z. My prior Z was dual density ash, which I liked as far as tone. I see Dingwall is using Mahogany now. Anyone here own a Mahogany body Dingwall? I guess my main concern is weight. Your thoughts?
Highly recommended. I just got my first custom order through Jason. He was awesome!
Interesting, mine doesn't smell like a wetsuit. Or at least, I never noticed.
Everyone's got great things to say about Jason/Fret Nation, and another option is John Fox (JFB). There are others too, especially outside the US.
The process with JFB was - pay a deposit ($1000 I think?) to get one of his build slots, already reserved. He sends a pricing sheet for all the options you have, you go back and forth with John hashing out what you want. He is the platinum standard for customer service and very knowledgeable! Then you wait an agonizing long time (but not as long as if you didn't have a build slot!) for Dingwall to be ready for your order. You don't have to actually finalize anything, including the model even, until they're almost ready to start. Then you wait another agonizing long time, scouring Dingwall social media hourly for glimpses of your half-finished bass
and then... one fine day... they ship it to John, he checks it out, maybe takes some pics, and ships it to you. 
Somewhere along the line, you also have to pay the remainder! 
Disclaimer, my description's from my own experience two years ago. I've "only" done one custom, others here have a wider range of experience, including with Fret Nation.
I have only seen older Dingwalls with mahogany bodies.
Not from Dingwall experience but I have never kept a mahogany body bass (I have a mahogany body guitar that I really like though).
I would go dual density Ash.
IvanBassist
Commercial User
- Jun 8, 2008
- 3,744
- 11,128
- Disclosures
- Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
My Super P has a Wenge neck and my Super J a roasted ash one.
I slightly prefer the feel of Wenge better. It is faster and it feels smoother while shifting positions. The difference is not huge, but it is there.
With that being said, the wenge neck of my SP might feel slicker due to the amount of playtime it has had since I got it in 2021. I just got the SJ this May.
Both necks feel great, though.
Looks-wise the roasted ash neck shows more grain or to put it differently, my roasted ash neck has a stronger grain pattern than the Wenge one.
Roasted ash is also supposed to be much lighter, easier to source and work with than Wenge.
It's hard to say how much the neck is affecting the tone of both instruments, because they also has different pickup configurations.
If it"s any help, I opted for roasted ash following Sheldon's suggestion.
In the last couple of years Dingwall has done a couple of mahogany bodies. Mainly thru FN IIRC. Zs and Maybe ABs.
Also going off memory, they were stunning instruments but definitely heavyweights.
Not common By any stretch.
I’ve been very pleased with my Ash/alder bodies but really Ash/ash is absolutely fantastic too. You aren’t gonna get much lighter weight then that thru dingwall and I don’t think we want them to start offering basswood.
I should have said, “A nice, new wetsuit.” Not like very funky wetsuits that live in my van.
The smell of fresh neoprene.
Everyone's got great things to say about Jason/Fret Nation, and another option is John Fox (JFB). There are others too, especially outside the US.
The process with JFB was - pay a deposit ($1000 I think?) to get one of his build slots, already reserved. He sends a pricing sheet for all the options you have, you go back and forth with John hashing out what you want. He is the platinum standard for customer service and very knowledgeable! Then you wait an agonizing long time (but not as long as if you didn't have a build slot!) for Dingwall to be ready for your order. You don't have to actually finalize anything, including the model even, until they're almost ready to start. Then you wait another agonizing long time, scouring Dingwall social media hourly for glimpses of your half-finished bass
Disclaimer, my description's from my own experience two years ago. I've "only" done one custom, others here have a wider range of experience, including with Fret Nation.
John is great to work with. I did my Z build with him.
When I first reached out he was super attentive. After a few exchanges he revieled he was on vacation with his family, so I told him I would hold my questions until he got back. However, his customer service was like he was in the shop. Top notch.
Jason at Fret Nation is great as well.
