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Fretless Dingwall
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
IMO a multi-scale fretless is a bad idea. Even with the lines it's obvious how hard it is to keep good intonation. It's more fighting the instrument rather than playing it.
that's more or less my take, too, but i haven't played one to know any better. just to look at the board: it doesn't look as 'automatic' as i picture my fingerboards --- of course, i'm indoctrinated by a lifetime of habit/routine.
but it sounds good, and it's fretless!
I don't see a problem with multi-scale fretless. Yes, it's physically different than a traditional fretless. But with the proper practice and innate skill with the instrument, there's probably not much difference in playability. This is coming from a player who plays fretted multi-scale very often and currently does not play a fretless.
Bones
Bones
i haven't played a multiscale fretted either. i'm trying real hard not to be a GOF on the whole idea (because it's unbecoming!
), but i just don't have an experience that broadens my non-existent POV --- total ignorance!i see them, hear them, read some descriptions/discussion and generally move on just because i have no experience and no informed opinion --- they just look odd to me, and maybe i'm a little 'fearful'....if not already set in my ways.
and maybe if i wasn't so old, and if i wasn't so thoroughly charmed by my current axes, i'd give a fretless multiscale a spin.
bottom line for me: i just like to check out doc's threads --- always something new/entertaining/thoughtful/real/fun.
When it comes to multi-scale, if you are predominately playing between the 5th and 12th frets, the frets are relatively close to being parallel.
My first exposure to multi-scale was at a GTG here in Seattle some 10 years ago. I tried one and found it very natural to play. Additionally, The Bass Shop is an authorized dealer for Dingwall. When they got a shipment of some of the first NG-2's, I bought one. As it turned out, more important to me than the fanned frets, was the pre-amp. The Darkglass Tone Capsule has a cool take on bass EQ. The three band is bass, low mid, and high mid. I ended up selling the NG-2 to fund an NG-3 (I liked the flexibility of the three pickups compared to two).
Just recently I acquired a Dingwall Afterburner I that took around 19 months to build. This one has the Glockenklang preamp which is a subtler preamp compared to the DGTC but equally functional. Build quality of the instrument is phenomenal. It's super fun to play. Again, more so than the fanned frets, it's the electronics that give the bass amazing tonal flexibility.
A fretless Dingwall in the right hands will sound awesome because Dingwall knows how to make basses really well. I would never go there, though, because I suck at fretless
.
Bones
My first exposure to multi-scale was at a GTG here in Seattle some 10 years ago. I tried one and found it very natural to play. Additionally, The Bass Shop is an authorized dealer for Dingwall. When they got a shipment of some of the first NG-2's, I bought one. As it turned out, more important to me than the fanned frets, was the pre-amp. The Darkglass Tone Capsule has a cool take on bass EQ. The three band is bass, low mid, and high mid. I ended up selling the NG-2 to fund an NG-3 (I liked the flexibility of the three pickups compared to two).
Just recently I acquired a Dingwall Afterburner I that took around 19 months to build. This one has the Glockenklang preamp which is a subtler preamp compared to the DGTC but equally functional. Build quality of the instrument is phenomenal. It's super fun to play. Again, more so than the fanned frets, it's the electronics that give the bass amazing tonal flexibility.
A fretless Dingwall in the right hands will sound awesome because Dingwall knows how to make basses really well. I would never go there, though, because I suck at fretless
.Bones
I wondered for awhile if the fanned frets (or whatever you want to call them) on a Dingwall would be like to play. But - - I played a couple of Dingwalls at the NAMM show about 10 years ago and any concern that I had was immediately put to rest. They felt super-comfortable and literally after a few seconds, I could have easily played a gig without any warm-up. The neck and the height of the strings was perfect and as you hear in this video, you can tell the low B is rock solid. I'm actually shocked I haven't bought a Dingwall yet, but its at the top of my want list. I want a Canadian-made one!
I could answer that but it'll develop into a ping pong match. It's only IMO. You may hold a different one. I'll just ask that: can you hear an intonation problem in the above clip?
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Oh, no aggression intended at all, I assure you. My point is that I see it as the same argument as lined vs unlined. It all comes down to familiarizing oneself with any particular instrument. The notes are where the notes are. Just as players of unlined single-scale basses (I have one) need to learn where the notes are, so do players of lined multiscale basses (I have one) need to learn where the notes are. It all comes down to practicing.
Pitch accuracy is an aural characteristic, not visual. If you have learned to play a fanned-fret bass you should likewise be able to learn to play the fretless model on pitch. It only calls for expending time and effort and listening.
When you practice you should gaze at the neck only long enough to teach your hands/fingers what to do. Once they’ve been trained you should practice and teach yourself to play the song while looking away, say, toward an audience. Audiences like musicians who look back at them. As a musician who’s not reading music on stage should engage the audience as much as you can. When you’re on stage with your head down the impression is that you don’t really know the song.
If you can’t do it, hit the woodshed until you can. Get better!
When you practice you should gaze at the neck only long enough to teach your hands/fingers what to do. Once they’ve been trained you should practice and teach yourself to play the song while looking away, say, toward an audience. Audiences like musicians who look back at them. As a musician who’s not reading music on stage should engage the audience as much as you can. When you’re on stage with your head down the impression is that you don’t really know the song.
If you can’t do it, hit the woodshed until you can. Get better!
It's all fun and games at home until you get on the gig. No thanks!
You would near an ear. I’d give it a try. I don’t think it would be as difficult as we think. Maybe the upper register stuff would be tough.
A fretless is a challenge, a fanned fretless is adding to the challenge...
i'm sure some familiarity and appropriate practicing would go a long way to help a player tame a fretless multiscale!
but: i chose my ax because i thought it was easy(er) to play...i'm not sure i want to add any 'hurdles' at this point in my musical life. most of my practicing is dedicated to maintaining what i've got left: i'm not pursuing new frontiers with my playing. and then there's the expense of a new ax...i just don't need the expense....or any new axes for that matter!
i've got too many as it is:
If looking helps a player get in tune or stay in tune, I see no problem with that. I play an unlined fretless and I can stay in tune without looking, but when I need to look, I look, big deal.
I say that playing a lined and dotted fretless for several year was key helping me develop an ear that allows me get around pretty easily on unlined fretless today. When it comes to the Dingwall, I agree that a player would simply need to put in the work to learn how to stay in tune on the bass.
Hi Ronen,
Yes I agree, I hear intonation challenges in the original clip. However, I think that is more an issue with the player, not the bass.
I've owned a few fretlesses over the years, both lined and unlined, and at the end of the day, I just realized I don't have the precise ear to really make it work. I think a player who is accomplished at traditional fretless would have little trouble moving on to a multi-scale fretless, especially a lined version. The key component, the ear, is still the same. It's just the bass that is different.
This has been a cool thread. Some very well thought out points of view.
Bones
Yes I agree, I hear intonation challenges in the original clip. However, I think that is more an issue with the player, not the bass.
I've owned a few fretlesses over the years, both lined and unlined, and at the end of the day, I just realized I don't have the precise ear to really make it work. I think a player who is accomplished at traditional fretless would have little trouble moving on to a multi-scale fretless, especially a lined version. The key component, the ear, is still the same. It's just the bass that is different.
This has been a cool thread. Some very well thought out points of view.
Bones
