You'd have to live in Sadskatoon.Brilliant, now I have something very compelling to put on the resume I'll be sending to them
Just sayin'.
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why fan-fretted basses?
- Thread starter twinjet
- Start date
Just sayin'.
Yes, in both cases the body has a resonant frequency that's causing it to vibrate sympathetically with the string. In an electric bass, that means that it's absorbing the energy from the plucked string causing the note (or at least, the fundamental frequencies of the note) to die out. In a bowed acoustic instrument, the bow is continuing to provide energy to the string so the note gets louder due to the sympathetic vibrations.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
A B string shorter than 37" will get wolftones, it is just a matter of physics. Super J/P's do indeed get wolftones. A 36" scale may be enough to remove wolftones, I have no experience with this scale length.
Wolftone seems to be the most commonly used term for it but there are other terms I have heard, it is not the same as a dead spot. Essentially, a wolftone is when the note doesn't ring true, you get all the unwanted overtones with it. Hit an average B string at the 15th fret, I find that tends to be the worst spot on most basses. You will notice how there are tons of overtones even though the pitch is spot-on. This does not happen with a 37" scale.
I've never heard those called wolf tones, personally, and as I understand it that phenomenon is primarily a problem with magnetism from pickups being too close to the B string and interfering with the vibration. Or sometimes I have had it happen with taper- or exposed-core strings that leave too much of the exposed core on the wrong side of the bridge saddle so the overtones don't ring clearly. (This doesn't usually happen with taper-core strings specifically made for a particular bass, such as MTD strings on MTDs or Lakland strings on Laklands...)
I have no problem with it on my 34" Curbow, once I just went with the right strings.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
When I received my Carvin LB76 it had bad overtones so I took it down to Dingwall's shop to get some help. Sheldon and I tested a couple of things, including adjusting the pickup height (this was done with some fancy machine and the pickups were lowered far below where most would set them) as well as testing out a number of different strings. We did not find any benefit from string-thru or top load but thin core strings seemed to be slightly better, Dingwall strings are one of the thinnest cores available. However, both Sheldon and I thought the difference was so minuscule that we were probably just having a placebo effect.
In the end, it came down to scale length. The only way to get a B string that rings true and clear all the way up to the end of the neck if to have the added length. Sheldon explained this is why the Dingwall B works out to 37".
With that all being said, most players never play above the 5th fret on the B string and you can get a killer open B at 34". My Carvin does not get wolftones until the second octave, which is pretty good for a 34", but since it has a killer open B it works fantastic for my needs. I never play my B string that high.
@Radio Face I have never seen a Dingwall that neck dives. There may be one but for the most part they are well-balanced.
@BassoP fanned frets do help with intonation.
Okay, now we know what you're referring to. Whatever may be the cause of this, it will never be a problem for me as I never play that high up on my B strings...
Good balance is high on the list of Sheldon's design criteria. I've never heard (or read of) a player stating that their Dingwall dives...
No. Well balanced, light and very appropriately sized. Very comfortable to play.
I don't think it would be necessary but it might prove challenging. The side dots would give a reference to the B-string but you'd then have to adjust the fingerings for other strings according the slant at that particular place on the neck. The slant changes directions at the 7th fret and the angle is different for every fret. Not being a fretless player I can't really say how difficult it might be to adapt to something like that. I'd imagine it would come down to just purely muscle memory.
Given how hard it is to play an single scale unlined fretless well, I'd venture a guess that a multi scale unlined fretless would be pretty insanely difficult
I don't think it would be difficult since a regular unlined fretless bass is a snap. Muscle memory would have it covered in short order. I listened to Dingwall low Bs played on youtube and they don't sound any better than a Modulus 5 I once tried in a music store so, I don't see what the big deal is. If one wants more clarity in a low B, there are always 41&1/2 scale e.u.b. 5s or traditional upright 5s available.
