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Hey Dingwall Players

Snowglo

Snowglo

Pro Aris et Focis
Supporting Member
Nov 15, 2013
2,368
3,471
Orygun
Disclosures
U.S. Military endorsement since 1984
#1
I have always been a big fan of P basses. Owned a couple, and for one reason or another have sold them all. I do however, have a sweet Fender seafoam green P/J body in transit…..a story for another time.

Anyway, the older I become the more I realize one bass is more than enough. Especially since my only gig is a straight forward rock-n-roll band. I’m very much considering becoming a one bass dude in the next couple years. A killer P is currently top of my “one bass and call it good” list. So, the last couple weeks I’ve been reading a lot about Dingwall’s Super P’s. Watching every YouTube video I can find. These basses appear to be “the” P bass to play. The tone, solely based on videos is exactly what I’m looking for. 1.65” nut width = perfect. Unfortunately, the nearest Dingwall dealer is 4+ hours away in Seattle. No way for me to try one of these baby’s out anytime soon.

I’ll get to the point; how difficult are the fanned frets to get used to? Also, it appears the overall width of the neck doesn’t increase much from nut to heel. Somewhat like a Rick. Which I absolutely love. Or, it’s an illusion caused by the fanned frets.

For those of you who own or have played a Super P, how do these compare to like boutique P’s?

Have to include this video….the tone, OMG!!!

 
#3
I've only had Dingwall experience with their AB-1 model, but the angled frets aren't as intimidating as they look. It seems it would be a little easier to transition to a Super P from a regular bass because it doesn't have the extreme B string scale length that the AB-1 5 string does.
 
#5
Snowglo said:
This is good to hear. Especially the part about never wanting to pick up a standard fretted bass.
Click to expand...

It's stupidly easy to get used to.

When I got my first DW, an ABZ5, I'd been playing 4 strings almost exclusively for several years (I had flipped a couple of low quality 5's in that time span). I ripped it out of the box and instantly got to jamming. If you're not even making the transition from 4 to 5, then straight to fanned fret is going to be no big deal.

The quality is absolutely as good as Lull, Sadowsky, Fender CS, etc. Maybe even better, and instead of being made in the USA, they're built someplace even better... Canada.
 
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#6
J Posega said:
If you're not even making the transition from 4 to 5, then straight to fanned fret is going to be no big deal. QUOTE]

Never been, nor will ever be a 5'er guy. The Hipshot Detuner which appears to be almost standard equipment on the Super P 4's is all I need for the couple tunes I play in drop D.
Click to expand...
 
#9
Unless you play chords above the 12th fret, IME, you'll be totally cool with it within an hour or so, and if you close your eyes, the acclimation may be even quicker. The longer scale models are a different animal, though.
 
#11
So sexy!
Super P Fiesta Red.PNG
 
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#12
I didn't like the AB1 5er I owned a few years back as I do play up high using chords, double stops, octaves, etc. and the B string was also too much for my small hands.

I also didn't like the passive setup I had. The active Dingwalls are much better sounding IMO.

Sheldon is a great guy to deal with and a fellow Canadian but fanned frets just weren't for me. I don't like shortscales either, so it is just personal preference.
 
#15
Snowglo said:
I have always been a big fan of P basses. Owned a couple, and for one reason or another have sold them all. I do however, have a sweet Fender seafoam green P/J body in transit…..a story for another time.

Anyway, the older I become the more I realize one bass is more than enough. Especially since my only gig is a straight forward rock-n-roll band. I’m very much considering becoming a one bass dude in the next couple years. A killer P is currently top of my “one bass and call it good” list. So, the last couple weeks I’ve been reading a lot about Dingwall’s Super P’s. Watching every YouTube video I can find. These basses appear to be “the” P bass to play. The tone, solely based on videos is exactly what I’m looking for. 1.65” nut width = perfect. Unfortunately, the nearest Dingwall dealer is 4+ hours away in Seattle. No way for me to try one of these baby’s out anytime soon.

I’ll get to the point; how difficult are the fanned frets to get used to? Also, it appears the overall width of the neck doesn’t increase much from nut to heel. Somewhat like a Rick. Which I absolutely love. Or, it’s an illusion caused by the fanned frets.

For those of you who own or have played a Super P, how do these compare to like boutique P’s?

Have to include this video….the tone, OMG!!!

Click to expand...


The Dingwall Super P's are as good or better than any other P bass I've played in every category.

I switch back and forth between my Dingwall's and Spector NS-2's regularly, little to no adjustment necessary, and the Dingwall necks are among the most stable and ergonomic in the industry.

You can find all of the Super P specs here: Dingwall Bass Specifications | Side by Side Comparison | Dingwall Guitars
 
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#17
I play Sheldons basses 1 time a year LOL
And that's at NAMM and I never had any issues.
I had to make some adjustment to higher register cord work but that was it.
 
#18
I've had an ABZ-5 for a few years now. Lovelovelove it. I've had more problems adapting to the extra string than the fanned frets. Don't let the fanned frets scare you away from giving the Dingwall a go. Too bad you're in Oregon. If you were nearish Atlanta, I'd let you try mine out.
 
#20
Are you contemplating a 4 or 5-string? I've only tried a couple 4-strings and they felt really easy to play and were really nice. I have 5-strings and I like them a lot. Like others have mentioned, the only difficulty with fanned frets is playing chords above the 12th fret. I don't play chords and don't often venture up high on the fretboard, so that's not a problem for me.
 

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