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Refinish or leave as is?? Dingwall Fretless ABII

#21
It's your bass and your budget, so 100% your call.
But compared to the fretboard leveling and coating, refinishing a bass that's already beautiful will provide minimal "bang for the buck".

Consider Dingwall's advice to you:
This bass was custom built to the specs of a different customer.
The shop got to see how that combination of woods looked together before the finish was applied - and chose a finish that would tone down the area where those three woods are visible together.
 
#22
I agree with this. I don't think Dingwall would "hide" imperfections with a burst color, it would be rejected. The burst would have been the customers choice to add it. I'm willing to be corrected but I think all X-tops are just clear finished unless otherwise noted.
WorbyBass said:
The other thing though, is that this is a custom build. So someone made this choice on purpose!
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#23
WorbyBass said:
Dingwall tech support is awesome. They did some checking with guys in the shop and said the only possible anomaly would be in the Walnut (if it is there at all). Well that is just the back and sides. Also, I love wood weirdness. Under a very bright light, I couldn't see anything odd under the stain

The other thing though, is that this is a custom build. So someone made this choice on purpose! I know if I was having a custom build done and they showed me some glitch I didn't like, I'd want them to start over with better wood. I know from all my reading that Dingwall will remake a whole bass for someone if they got it wrong. Now maybe they gave the original purchaser a discount.


I have actually never had anything refinished in my life. I am SOOOO nervous about things like that! But Ziricote is SOOOO nice in clear stain. Their are natural colour variations and beauty there (pic below from an acoustic). Honestly, I would ask if the guys at Dingwall would do it. Some of them do work in the factory after hours on their own stuff (such as Simon and Paul). I would be VERY picky about who touches it... let alone sands it.

Ziricote in all of its clear finish beauty.
View attachment 7431100
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I get it. I have an early 80s BCRich Eagle made of Koa with maple stringers. It was originally solid blue, but came to me already stripped. The Koa has a light streak which blends into the maple. I'm sure that's why it was chosen to be painted a solid colour. I finished it with Tung Oil.
IMG_4924.jpeg
 
#24
Just wondering, looking at the Dingwall Custom Shop if they would offer an unlined ebony fretless.
Anybody have one?
Beautiful instruments!! And are the of the necks the ergonomic, asymmetrical profile?
See they offer this:

Screenshot 2026-02-12 at 9.23.05 AM.png
 
#25
Dirk Diggler said:
First just play it as is. It looks great and has honest wear.

Second would be, how is multiscale fretless?
I've built and played plenty of multiscale fretted basses but never dared doing a fretless multiscale.

Third is why would you ignore Dingwall's suggestion to not refinish?

And lastly you do realize the cost and effort required would be close to 1k?
And no guarantee of outcome.

Even if you did it yourself you're talking some major time to sand off the old, prep for new.
Then you have multiple coats of whatever finish you choose.

Good luck whatever you choose to do with it, I think it looks most awesome as is.
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Re fretless: A huge advantage for me would be that I have only played Dingwall for the past 3 years now. So then my muscle memory is already pretty good. I've heard from several fretless Dingwall players that it really isn't that hard. That being said, I haven't touched a fretless for 30 years!

I looked at this as a good investment. If I can't get on with fretless, I'll have mandolin frets installed. That's what I did to the Yamaha TRBII I bought 30 years ago on a KILLER deal. That is long gone now though. Fretted, these ABII's tend to go for a pretty penny.

NEW INFO -Turns out, this probably WAS a fretted bass at first. Dingwall said they have no records of it being fretless. Also, they said they would typically epoxy coat a Wenge fretboard. That is probably why the fret lines are raised, maple and wenge won't move the same.
- They also said that if there is any wood anomaly, it would be in the Walnut. Well I don't mind that. Honestly, I LOVE wood weirdness because wood can be weird.

I do realize it could cost a lot. I also expect it would increase it's value. The Flamed maple layer is an up charge and it is almost totally hidden. If the Walnut is horrible, I could have the back done dark, but leave that maple and ziricote to shine. However even under a really bright light I can't see any flaws in the Walnut. I think the original purchaser just wanted it this way. Either way I won't do this myself. I would want someone at Dingwall to do it (some do work after hours in the factory).

For now I will knock down the high maple fret lines myself and play it. Dingwall gave me some tips from the shop on how to make it smooth without a lot of hassle. I need to make up my mind about fretless or not and a few other things before I hand it off. I want to get to know it first. I actually never knew how much easier fretless is on the fretting hand. I barely have to press down at all! But MAN is there ever a lot to adjust too... but then SOOO many more tones and expressions you can add. Thanks for your reply!
 
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#26
dazmond said:
I'm a huge ziricote fan as well so I vote refinish! The maple being visible will also highlight it even more. Worst case scenario, have it refinished the way it was.
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Right! If you know Ziricote, then you know what I mean. I have loved it for decades.

New info, Dingwall said if there IS any oddity, it would be in the Walnut. Well the front it all you see 99% of the time! But I love weirdness. If there IS a horrible thing, I would have it taped off at the Maple line and the back done darker. Or some light to dark stain with the maple taped off (like below).

However I think it would be beautiful all natural.

Dingwall Maple.jpeg
 
#29
For sure raised lines would bug me. Coating the fingerboard would be something I'd likely want to do unless the Dingwall tips help significantly. Personally not a fan of the body color, but it's very pretty.

After 30 years, welcome back to the slippery side. It's quite liberating. Couldn't imagine NOT having a fretless in my stable.
 
#31
DeltaPhoenix said:
If you cann't get Dingwall to do the work, I would suggest connecting with Maurilla "Mo" Mina. He has close ties to Dingwall and has done some customizations to one of mine and I am still pleased 2 years later. I can share his contact info with you if helpful.
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Thanks, I'll keep it in mind. I'm only 2.5 hours from the Dingwall Factory, so I'll start with those local guys first and work from there. First I will get more familiar with the bass and decide all I want done. Just got it last week.
 
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#32
For fingerboard leveling time.

jesterbass

Thread 'Even fretless fingerboard levelling tips'

Hello everybody,

I have this nice medium scale (32") Warwick neck which I thought would be very cool as a fretless so I did the big leap and removed the frets. Removing the frets was a tough job as the wenge board is extremely hard. After removing the frets I placed some medium viscosity ca glue around the fret slots to keep chips in place and as a guide as to when I should stop sanding afterwards. The plan was to remove as little wood as possible afterwards and count on the factory levelling for a nice fretless board. After initial hand sanding with something like 400-grit sandpaper if I...
 
#33
Element Zero said:
For sure raised lines would bug me. Coating the fingerboard would be something I'd likely want to do unless the Dingwall tips help significantly. Personally not a fan of the body color, but it's very pretty.

After 30 years, welcome back to the slippery side. It's quite liberating. Couldn't imagine NOT having a fretless in my stable.
Click to expand...
The Dingwall tips would be a temporary fix IMHO. I'm guessing the woods will continue to move at different rates. Maple and Wenge are quite different, need to lock it in at some point.

I need to decide if I want to stay on the slippery side. So far the benefits are interesting. A lot less pressure needed with the fretting hand, I wasn't expecting that. I use a lot of vibrato, but I am used to bending for that on fretted, although sometimes I wiggle side-to-side. The side to side fretless technique is quite different. Again, MUCH lighter touch than I anticipated. The different ways you can add texture to a note is so interesting, so much more expression available. I'll a 6 string fretted Dingwall, so I can give myself a lot of time with the fretless and not lose my mind! :D
 
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#36
If you refinish it, good luck with getting it to look THAT good around the edges of the F-hole(s). I would just gratefully accept it and leave it as is, the way that the universe has decided to give it to you, and use it's vibe to play away on it like a madman would. Feel free to maintain it, but never regret or try to change the amazing gifts that are bestowed upon you! Enjoy!!!
 
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#38
ryco said:
Just wondering, looking at the Dingwall Custom Shop if they would offer an unlined ebony fretless.
Anybody have one?
Beautiful instruments!! And are the of the necks the ergonomic, asymmetrical profile?
See they offer this:

View attachment 7431126
Click to expand...
You can definitely get unlined. I really like the version where there's a little bit of freight line on the bass and the treble side. But you can see in this other picture that you can have it with nothing on the front.
IMG_6450.jpeg

IMG_6449.jpeg
 
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#39
JoeyFab said:
If you refinish it, good luck with getting it to look THAT good around the edges of the F-hole(s). I would just gratefully accept it and leave it as is, the way that the universe has decided to give it to you, and use it's vibe to play away on it like a madman would. Feel free to maintain it, but never regret or try to change the amazing gifts that are bestowed upon you! Enjoy!!!
Click to expand...
For sure. If I was to get this refinished, I would actually want it to be done by a person who works at the factory. Some of those guys do after hours work in the very same factory. And yes, Jesus blessed me. Now I did a lot of research, I did my due diligence with the seller (awesome guy!) and I spent my money. But I trust Jesus to work out the details that I can't control.
 

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