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Education time.
They only make two models in China and they only differ by their preamp and colors. They do charge less for them than all their others that are in the $3,000-$10,000+ range, the China ones are around $2,000.
Also unlike the stereotype of made in China these are not quickly just cut out, slap some paint and frets on them then out the door. Dingwall pays for the Craftsman to build these, there is no gap at all where my neck meets the body, the pocket is tight.
The Frets are very smooth, not a sharp or out of place section anywhere. Fit and finish in my opinion is better that the US Fenders and many others that I tried, and did not buy. In fact Mr. Dingwall has shipped back full shipments of these basses because they did not fit to his standards. He apologized for the delay to customers that were waiting but he could not let them go out the door with his name on them.
Once they are built in China they ALL go to their little shop in Canada where they get their necks and frets worked as needed to get them even better than when they arrived, full set up then out for sale.
Instead of getting hundreds or even 20 basses a day from their China line inspected, do finishing work and be completed to go out to dealers and such, they complete only three or so basses a day because quality means that much.
This is why they are not $500-$1,000 basses, and you can feel it.
Watch this video, and notice that it is not an assembly line cranking out instruments.
having grown up in the 80s, it really does suck to know how underappreciated they were back then by the musical community at large.....except for CS-800s; every PA had at least one
At the end of time, there will be four things remaining: roaches, Hostess Twinkies, Keith Richards, and CS-800s...
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I was told that stores who carry Fender cant sell G&L at least it use to be that way so maybe thats why there are few G&L dealers.I would say G&L is the most underrated versus volume. I think it's mostly because they don't market well or haven't grown their dealer base wide enough. I live in the DC / Baltimore metro area that has a pretty high median income and there are no G&L dealers. I guess there are no Sadowsky dealers either. Jive Sound is the closest, but it's a bit of a hike and I haven't had the best experience there. Maybe it was just a bad day.
How are Gretsch Basses? I see their guitars all the time, but like never see a Gretsch Bass.
Additionally I like the Ibanez GSR200 as a stary bass. Peavy Milenium sounds like poopie, but you run over it with a Semi Truck and it'll still make noise.
Back in the day I had a Guild B302 and a Steinberger. Our sound man loved the Guild and hated the Steinberger!Thank you!!!
Guild stuff rocks. They have all sorts of designs, whether you're into a more classic vibe or into the flamey, quilty stuff. They play great, they're well-built from any era, even the new ones that are built overseas. Guild rules!
My favorites:
The Starfire series:
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The Gibson Ripper-esque B302 Bass:
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