Fanned Fret basses. Legit or BS?
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2024
- Enter the giveaway here: bit.ly/3e1E7R9
I've always been drawn to strange and innovative new basses - the ones that come loaded with every bell and whistle imaginable!
With their multi-scale design you might think that Dingwall's fanned-fret basses are just another on-stage gimmick, but it's a system that's being embraced by a host of top-name players including Adam 'Nolly' Getgood, Jacob Umansky, Duran Duran's John Taylor and session ace Lee Sklar.
In today's video, I'm going to break down everything I love (and don't love) about fanned-frets, and tell you exactly how YOU can win the Dingwall NG3 I'm playing in this video!
As always, see you in the shed…
Scott :)
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PLEASE READ - It's come to our attention that there are some commenters on our videos who are trying to scam our subscribers in relation to giveaways. None of these comments are official or from us. We will never reach out to contest winners via the comments of a social media channel. We're doing our best to remove the comments and flag the accounts in question.
Now they're trying to get suckers to send them a Telegram message. I saw this on another bass channel too.
But scammers turned my 0.01 BTC into 7 billion BTC overnight! /s
Sorry you got to deal with this type of f@#ckery
It was me they’re trying to scam but before I could contact you to let you know you put this message on and deleted the comment so thank you very much 😃. I could tell it was a scam 🤬
I really hate such individuals and wish them bad luck and may they get strangled with the fatest b string on earth.
For me, I really like the higher tension in the lower strings. I feel like it makes them less “clunky”
It was like that when I first got into 5 string. That low B was really wobbly lol. But you get used to it pretty fast. After about 2 or 3 weeks I imagine I'd get used tho these fanned frets too.
@@book3100 yeah fanned frets can be picked up quite quickly
@@book3100 I think you’d be surprised how quickly you get used to it - pretty much immediately for me!
@@456or7strings I agree with Scott. You really don’t even notice it until you start playing a bunch of chords
The way that it works on multi-scale is to lengthen the string to allow for it to have a larger, more natural vibration wave pattern. You trading that tension for more distance and less constriction on the string's ability to vibrate. Larger gauge strings to eliminate the flop attempt to do the exact same thing that a longer string length does for surface area, but it looses efficiency by reducing the vibration not only in the string but everywhere else too. More stress on your neck, bridge, nut and tuners too. It holds all those things tighter together and severely restricts how they want to vibrate with the string when you play a note, and the vibrational waves picked up by the magnets in your pickups is also much tighter producing a weaker signal for them to produce than a longer wavelength would. If you're getting buzz you don't like due to the string requiring more room to vibrate there's a few things to consider. 1. Technique, how hard are you plucking? Do you really need to be plucking the string that hard? and where are you doing it? There's a lot of times where I actually want a little fret-bite in my notes to give them a little Geddy Lee grit. When that's what I want I'm over my center pickup halfway between the bridge and neck digging hard into the strings. I back that off by showing the strings a little mercy but staying in that area or moving back towards the bridge. If you do that and still get annoying buzz you should be checking your neck relief to adjust your truss rod if needed (the answer is typically yes 2 times a year for that). if it's not the rod your saddles are too low. Raise them until buzz stops, and check all the frets from 5 all the way up. If I'm in standard tuning and my strings feel clunky (which has never happened lol) I'm gonna change my strings. Now if you're down tuning or drop tuning obviously you're gonna get that flippity flop. The real question is do you leave the bass in that tuning or do you go back to standard? If you go back to standard you need to adjust the way that you play in that tuning. If you leave it there you should probably set the bass up to play optimally in that tuning. So do a full neck and bridge set up on it, and you'll probably like the way it feels and sounds a whole lot more. idk if you play a 4 or a 5 but the same applies. Are you always downtuned past a whole step? if this is the case this is when you need to be stringing with heavier gauges. I have a 4 string that I leave tuned in C standard, and really there's only one way to achieve that without any flop. Step 1. replace the nut if you want to be able to go back to a normal sized gauge because the string width is going to be larger than a standard tuning 4 string's nut was intended to be for. If there's no going back you'll need to just carefully widen each notch for the new string size, or you can pay a professional to do this for you, because if you fuck it up you'll have to replace your nut and repeat this part again anyway. If you're careful you'll be fine. I don't pay people to set up my instruments for me. That's a big part of being proficient with it I think. Step 2. get strings meant to be tuned to B E A & D and tune them UP one step for C standard tuning. Step 3 Full neck and bridge set up process.
The string tension and the ease of the left hand, especially in the lower registers makes playing more comfortable. It even has an aesthetic edge over a standard neck.
The string tension difference is definitely something that I notice when I switch to my Musicman or Ibanez. It's absolutely more comfortable, and I find that in the lower registrars that tension advantage is what offsets some of extra stretching work that becomes visually as well as physically obvious that you'll need to adjust to when your instrument has a higher string count than 4. Even though that is the case it's really not going to hinder your playing very much, and after about a week and a half you won't think there's any hindrance at all. fanned frets is less of a big deal than you'd think. When it comes to adapting to the feel and very slight muscle memory adjustments that are required. You'll be surprised at how quickly you forget it was even going to be an issue to begin with. The neck my 6 string has really surprised me with how comfortably and easily I could reach pretty much every fret on every string. I will admit that in order to reach the 24th on the B I have to bring my left hand around to or else I can't.... I also can't think of a song that'd require me to play the B string's highest B note lol. I'm sure that'll be a massive deal breaker never lol. I also agree with the claim that the neck is definitely thinner front to back than your average C-Shaped neck. It has to be, everything is so un-strenuously reachable that anything else wouldn't make sense. When it comes to chords that's where it can get a little tricky sometimes, but I don't think that there's anything you can't practice around to overcome that very specific and miniscule issue. It's most likely as simple as the angle of your hand that you never thought about before because, well... You didn't really need to lol.
Great neck profiles !
Only the Lee Sklar model has mandolin frets. All the other Dingwall models have banjo frets. (The website now calls them "acoustic" size.)
Custom ones you can order with mandolin - banjo is default as I recall though :)
A new leak, new line will have Lincoln-Log frets.
I cant believe that as a guitar player for a year and a half, I ended up watching a bass video and finally understood how fanned frets work 💀 the more you know 🙏🏾
If you put the capo on from the D (G) string side of the neck, you can leave the low B un-capo-ed and still have access to the extra lows
I walked in to a shop about 10 years ago to get some bass strings. They had a couple Dingwalls on the wall and I had wanted to play one for years so of course I gave it a go. I ended up buying the strings… with a Dingwall attached to them 😁
😂😜👏👏💪
Fanned frets got a big vote of confidence from me when I saw your video where Leland Sklar talks about using them.
Yea, Sklar loves it, but still uses his old stuff too. But he does definitely dig the fan frets
his other bass had mandolin fret wire too
I want a 6 string one for soloing so bad
I bought a Dingwall 5 String Combustion after that video
I love my NG3-6. Getting a great tone is easy, the extra tension on the B string allows for thinner strings which sound and play great too.
Built myself a fan fret 4 string a few years back. I did it mainly it of curiosity to just to see what it would be like. Oh my word, Incredible! It felt so natural from from the second I first played it. The tighter E string and looser G works really well too and gives a really nice feel and sound.
Wow I can't even begin to think about how much of a challenge that must have been! Must feel great to play something you've built yourself! 👊🏻🔥
"A Dingwall took my baby." - Meryl Streep
I’m a woodworker in my free time and looking to build a 5 string bass soon, and after seeing Rufus Mann (literally yesterday) I got convinced, so I’m going to be building a fanned fret P Bass soon!
I’d love to see the process and final product. Let us know if you have a build log on some forum!
You posting the progress somewhere?
I’ve been trying to getting into building my own for my small hands. So I’d love to see what you come up with.
@@porqpai7082 I dabble in building myself (that’s why I’m interested here). If you buy the neck pre fretted it’s actually pretty easy.
Guns and guitars here on RUclips has great content to get you started :)
@@ianzimmer1990 I follow guns and guitars. Great dude. Showed me how simple it can be. I have a couple pieces of walnut I'm about to work with. It's the measurements I'm stuck on in adjusting it for my size while still having it sound rich. But I'm mostly playing around.
I don't know if anyone else has this problem but Scott I need the blend of the bass DI to be louder than your mic so I don't just hear fret buzz noises!!
OMG, that battery cover is brilliant!
🔥💯
Thanks for the tuning suggestion. I am going to give that a try.
Dingwalls are awesome but why do people feel obsessed with playing distorted tones on them ? They are incredibly versatile
Because people love that tone, it’s something different. And new sounding. But I do agree with you but I’m guilty of this as well not all the time but I do kick on that Darkglass distortion with the NG lol🤦♂️😜
BECAUSE METAL
@@TheBanana93 😂😂👏👏👏💪🫡 yas sirrzz!
@@bassimprovjams3772 In what way is a distorted bass sound something "new"?
@@SxSxG666 the tone from a Darkglass and a dingwall thats definitely a newer tone that hasn’t always been around, like Nollys tone or “the omnific” these are tones that a lot of metal players are going for , honestly I’m surprised I had to even explain this but oh well
I own an Dingwall ng and I didn’t even notice the fan fretts because of how comfortable it was and so so resonant
Same!
I’ve tuned a 4-string B-E-A-D and a 5-string E-A-D-G-C. I also like tuning my 5-string down a whole step to A-D-G-C-F, which is probably my favorite. This is on my multiscale basses, so the low string sounds great and retains tension.
Ayo, do you know of a flatwound string set that would sound good in an EADGC tuning?
@@PaDamTuts I’ve never played a flatwound set - what I’ve done is buy a 6 string set and use the highest 5 strings for E to C tuning. Flats are pretty pricey - Scott had a coupon for 50% off Dunlop strings for members, so I almost bought some flats last month, but didn’t pull the trigger.
I have a fret less tuned ADGC. I also tried BEAD on another bass. Gets me out of my comfort zone and also get’s me thinking differently when I pick up a 5 or 6 string
Nice Bongo! Ever since I stumbled across Omnific I've determined that my Stingray needs a buddy lol. Those Basses sound pretty amazing.
@@Slave10110 loved my Bongos. Had the 4 strung BEAD numerous times. My 5 string Bongo stayed in standard. I’d love to try out a Myung model.
Black Forest green is the color. The new celestial blue color is great too.
Cool! Thanks for the tuning trick! I've got the Spector equivalent :)
The frets are actually Banjo sized, only the Sklar model is mandolin fretwire
Admittedly, I am a Dingwall fan boy. A few things about fanned frets that should be considered:
1. Many good quality conventional basses are just fine down to the E string. Some have a decent B-string, too. A four-string Dingwall J or P Bass is only 1/4-inch longer than a Fender on the E-string, but the G-string is 2 inches shorter. (A 5-string has a 35-inch B) This gives a slightly tighter bottom and fuller tone on the top.
2. The fanned frets really shine on the non-Fender styles of Dingwalls, which have longer scales over all. The B-string is 37 inches, and the G-string is the same as a Fender (34 inches), the C-string is 33.25 inches. The B-string is noticeably better - especially if you prefer a clean tone without effects.
Edit: The bass in this video has the full Dingwall scale lengths from 34" G to 36.25" E-string.
3. Not all fan fret basses have the same design. So, you can’t judge them all by one bass. Some brands are just fanned enough to be called multi-scale, and they keep the scale lengths short enough to accommodate regular strings, so there’s hardly any improvement over their conventional basses. Different variables in the multi-scale design make a huge difference. Mainly:
A: How long are the longest and shortest strings? And B: What are the angles of the nut and the bridge?
This is where Dingwall has become pretty much the standard for multi-scale basses. If you had a straight nut (perpendicular to the strings), the bottom frets would feel normal, but the high frets would be extremely slanted. If the bridge were straight, the opposite would be true. The bottom frets would be ridiculously slanted, depending on the difference between the longest and shortest strings.
Dingwall chose angles for the nut and the bridge that put the middle of the fan at the 7th fret, making the most usable area of the fretboard the least slanted. This also allowed them to have a B-string a full 4 inches longer than a typical bass while still being playable.
Well said, sir. I was considering building a multi scale 6 string Kiesel. Still need to sit with one first before I commit to a build
Yep. All that. 100% correct. With Multiscale basses I'd love to have a 4, but when it comes to 4 strings multiscale is not a feature that's all that important to me. 5 or 6 string is a very different story though. I think that's where the benefits of the system are really noticable.
A four string Dingwall tuned BEAD is pretty much my dream bass! Hope I end up winning it!! Great video!!
Wish I could find a baritone bass player lol. I have a LOW voice.
Heads up! There's a warning on a giveaway scam posted here a few hours ago.
@@dennishickey7194 I am trying to reach them about their car's extended warranty :-P
Finish looks like a metallic teal. Its beautiful.
Black Forest Green is what they call it.
In or around 1990, I re-strung my Jimmy Moon 4 string custom with B, E, A, D stringing. Loved it and used it that way for around 20 years playing original material. When I joined a band playing mostly covers, I got a 5 string to give me the G string back.
Did you have to file the nut to accommodate the B string? And did you have to adjust the truss rod after the conversion?
good explanation Scott. thank you it is very hard to play fast chords on that fanned frets especially if you are playing inversions. youll get tangled up unless you have a high level mastery
It does take time to train yourself higher up there took me a couple weeks for it to feel more normal
I have a rickenbacher strung up as
b e a d. One concern is that in some basses you will have to file the nut to fit the B string. I solved that problem by purchasing "ultra light" D Addario strings which are a small guage. The other concern is that the difference in strings will change the tension on the bass and a truss rod adjustment will be necessary. Believe it of not, the B string actually puts less tension than a G string, cuz it's not as tight, so if it causes the neck to bow it will make it convex, which is perhaps better than concave because it lowers rather than raises the action. So if you do this, just do it and wait to see if you start getting fret buzzes, in which case take it to your local luthier and have the truss rod adjusted if you are like me and would rather not even attempt that on your own.
I’ve got my 5 string Combustion in April. My first 5 string. I love it. Play it every day.
I’m rhythm Guitarist for small NYC Metal bang called G.M.S(Glass Metal Stone), and this is the best tones I’ve ever heard from a Bassist. Great video!
🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Late to this reply, but check out Jacob Umansky, another Dingwall player and the bassist for Intervals. He literally has the most flawless tone for metal bass there is.
For 4 strings, I don't think it matters a lot... but I love it for 5 string. I've been playing Dingwalls since 2012, and a 37" B is great.
Not really for a 4, but with a side by side comparison you will be able to tell the tone difference. It's just not as easily discernable as it is on a 5 or 6 string. Dingwall 6 string basses are excellent candidates for the super low low set up of F#BEADG. I say set up and not tuning because that's a specific 6 string set they offer, and you really can't tune back into the typical BEADGC agan once you switch . You could try, but I don't think it'll end very well lol. With those strings either. You need to either have your existing nut modified to widen the notches, or you can just replace it all together because I think that they sell a replacement nut made for the low F# stringing..
I built myself a 33.75"-36" multiscale j bass style axe a few years back, went for multiscale just cause i could but was acc quite surprised by how different it plays. The extra tension makes it a lot easier to play fast on the lower strings while keeping them only light gauge which helps with slap stuff.
I think for 4 strings its definitely more about feel than tone
Awesome work, you have always been my favorite bass channel, you helped me learn so much bass!
Thanks dude! 👊🏻
Yes chords high up takes a lil getting used to but now I have adjusted to it and it’s just fine you just gotta take a lil time to learn how you have to reposition your hand and arm,
Love your videos. There is something I’ve noticed you tend to do. When you’re comparing the sound of pickup configurations, your fingers change to pluck over top of the relevant pickup. So it actually makes it harder to compare the sound because then it becomes a question of “how much of the difference in tone is attributable to playing closer to the bridge vs setting the pickup closer to the bridge?” It would be easier to compare if the other variables remained consistent. Just something to think about.
Thanks for the feedback! We'll make sure to pass this onto our content team to be considered for future videos.
Awesome tip with capo, thanks!
I've played BEAD for years, best decision I ever made. I never could play a 5 string, and didn't use the g string often
🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
I loved the breakdown of this bass. Need to do some more videos doing just this
Loved that shortscale riff dude!
I got the 5 string NG 3 about 4 months ago. It’s an amazing bass to play. My band mates really love the sound of it in the mix. It was mentioned before that all the videos are of heavy metal players. However, it sounds great with all other types of music. We play mostly classic rock and it fits nicely in the mix.
Great tip. I can turn my Ibanez into a B bass then use a capo! I already play short scale, and I sometimes want a lower note, this way I can just remove the capo for some songs. I was going to just drop the tuning to d then use a capo on my 32" Precision but my 34" Ibanez I can put the capo on the 5th fret and have a short scale as well as an extended lower end. I'm doing this as soon as I get the strings.
I have a collection of Canadian Dingwall basses and play them exclusively now. Nothing else comes close on the low B or E. You have to respect the extreme low and high ends as the frets are angled quite a bit, and palm muting is a bit tricky with the angled bridge saddles, but it’s worth persevering. They don’t feel or look like a Fender but I can get very, very close to a P, J and MM sound, although sadly not from the same bass. There’s a lot of tonal difference available from the P tone, Super Fatty, FDV and neo FD3 pickups. I have one passive bass and the rest are active as I feel the Glock preamp gives some tonal flexibility and adds a bit of punch and presence. The only downside is that exchange rates and shipping costs are pushing the Canadian basses out of most people’s reach here in the UK.
If you're going to tune down that far, you should use proper B,E,A, and D strings, and get the bass set up again, including a nut adjustment. Otherwise, you will get the floppy rattle like in this video. This is not what a typical Dingwall sounds like.
I was going to say the same thing myself. Use the proper gauge or you're not really showing the bass at its true potential. I've got 2 Dingwalls, and neither of them sound that clangy!
I picked out a Dingwall Combustion 5 this May and haven't turned back since. It's been such a joy to learn on and play. It sounds amazing too.
🔥🔥🔥
I highly recommend looking into:
ESP LTD B-1005 Multi-Scale Bass Guitar - Natural Satin
5-string Electric Bass with Ziricote Top,
Swamp Ash Body,
5-piece Wenge/Purpleheart Neck,
Multi-Scale Pau Ferro Fretboard,
2 Nordstrand Big Splits Pickups
This video comes perfectly right before I wanna get to Thomann in germany in 2 weeks to try out the differences between "normal" basses and fanned fret/multiscale. Dingwall is on my list! I'm so excited!
Your gunna love it!! Especially if you get one and spend more time with it
I play a 5-string NG2 and I am absolutely in love with it. So smooth to play (and it just looks sexy)
Yes Stu! 🤘🏻
I own the NG3 5 string in that exact colour, Forrest green. I can say without a doubt it is the nicest bass I’ve ever put my hands on, even with the fodera and f basses that were in the store didn’t feel any better playing. I truly believe they are the best value you can buy with your money even though they are still expensive. They play like a $7000 bass, it really comes down to how much you like the tone and the fan frets. I personally feel the fanned frets offer better tone, better string tension when de-tuning and the best sounding b-string in the business. It’s impossible to hear how much better a fanned b-string sounds after playing a regular on another bass unless it’s from a premium builder. I couldn’t be happier with the purchase.
Initially I was hesitant about them when they first came out but have since changed my mind and really dig them. I would like to see and play a narrow string spaced 6 stringer ala the older Yamaha John Myung signature spec
How about his signature bongo aye now that’s tight spacing ! I want it!
I've been playing my bass tuned BEAD for about 6 months now and I absolutely love it! Being able to reach those low notes when I need them is fantastic, and I don't miss the G string at all.
The only time you'll ever hear me say that is when it comes off of her and gets thrown on the floor. 😎
Get you a 5 though. You'll come to appreciate having your full range back at your disposal once you have the option again. extended range = more notes, more creative possibilities, and above all else more fun. I made the jump from a 5 to a 6 not too terribly long ago when I got the 6 string version of this bass. I'm not looking back either. That jump opened the door to so many cool things that weren't otherwise possible. Fully voiced chords and spicy low to sky high and back down again fills are just too much fun. There's also the added bonus of having your instrument forcing you to correct bad habbits that you may not have been too aware of. The more strings you add the less forgiving it will be with technique that's not on point.
🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
You are a mad man.
@@Slave10110 Like a 4 has unlimited range though, if you think about it.
Right now my bass arm is sore, my shoulder, my fingertips are throbbing and callouses too thick to type without making a clacking sound.
This is what happens when u play for like 4-5 hours a day sometimes.
cant wait to get my dingwal D roc 5 i ordered few months ago Blue/purple colorshift
I was just looking at that exact model last night!
@@456or7strings good choice my friend the problem is it's like a 14 month wait or longer 😢😢😢😢 had no idea before ordering one that they take so long i even live in Canada.
@@cavetroll666 should have hit up bass central in Orlando Florida lol but shipping and you went right to the source🤘
Been playing Dingwalls almost ten years. My ABZ6 is the bass I was looking for for years. It’s perfect for me in every way. My NG3 5 string is the gig bass. It took the place of my American made Modulus Q5 and outdoes it in every single way. Sheldon has really started something special.
Like any bass, if it works for the type of music you're playing, it's 100% legit.
Some people think these basses are really just good for metal, but with a little bit of understanding of how to set your EQ to compliment the pickup configuration you're using, and more understanding of proper technique within the style you're playing. it'll work for literally any type of music. They're not just good for metal, they're amazing for metal. Innovative designs are more often than not supposed to achieve the goal of versatility of use. Even if the concept of multi scale instruments can truly be considered innovation. I'd say that it's more of a realization since Pianos and harps have always taken advantage of the varied string scale length concept.
@@Slave10110 They sort of became synonymous with metal. They were marked a metal brand, just like Jackson because they were most used amongst metalheads.
I’m old fashioned and p-bass works for everything.
@@Morphoidism I get that, and that's exactly why I bought one lol. What I'm saying is that it's pretty far from ALL that they're good for. Which is the misconception.
@@smelltheglove2038 They can. Except for when you're playing something written on a 6 string. Dingwall has a pickup specifically for the neck position In the NG or combustion basses called the P-tone pickup. I'm planning to mod My NG3 with a Rotary switch upgrade, and also one of those pickups. The tone they produce matches what it claims to match very well.... P-bass if you haven't gathered lol.
Had my Dingwall Z3 for nearly 7 years now.....an amazing versatile instrument and have the bottom B hipshotted to a low G!!...because the low strings can handle it... infact, I've been GAS free for 7 years.
I'm playing a 6 string fan fretted bass for a year now. At the beginning I was a little skeptical but nowadays it's my first choice when I leave the house for practice or a gig. ;-) However it requires me to give more attention, or concentration, when I switch to the 6 string fretless as the finger positioning is a little different. But this keeps the brain fresh when you get older. 😀
Sometimes thats the only reason to mix it up. Please dont tell me youre 35 talking about being old.
Exactly man
@@npunk42
No I'm 61 😊 and a student again. But this is another story...
I have a 6 string NG3 Dingwall that is in F#BEADG .. that tension and consistency idea work 100%, even on the extended low tunings.
F#! Wow, bet that sounds monstrous! 🤘🏻🔥
The sustain on 7:00! 🤤
That's actually a wild sustain
It's *still going* at 7:20 when he finally puts his hand on and mutes it! 🤣
I went out for a bite and when I came back the D string was still sustaining.
Rockin’ all the Canadian made basses! (F and Dingwall). I might seemed biased but great quality. Maybe Godin next? 😉
I had a Godin fretless A4. I regret selling it. Very nice tone and feel. I have not had a chance to play an F bass but I want to. They sound incredible.
@@pgmorrow - I rented a semi hollow fretless Godin several years to see if I could actually play it with proper intonation. I did. Thank you muscle memory! Now I have a 5 string fretless F. Plays like ‘butter’! My experience. At they say, results may very haha
@@hadmyfill8179 Just going by RUclips videos, I prefer the sound of the F Basses over Fodera and Sadowsky. (Though I wouldn't mind having one of those.)
🤘🏻🇨🇦
fantastic electric bass. I enjoyed the full range of timbres and versatility taken from this beautiful instrument. forgive me, I don't speak English, but I admire your channel and I'm still impressed with several videos of these wonderful basses ! 🇧🇷
Thanks for checking the vid! 🤘🏻
I’d love one of them if someone is getting back into playing again after a long hiatus from my years as jazz bass player
abssolutely in love with my NG3. Incredibly versatile and that low B is so tight. The precision of sound on each string is remarkable, it sounds so clean!!!
Agreed. The tone is just... 🤤
@@devinebass how's the intonation on fanned fret?
that D string sounded slightly flat to me 🤔
thanks for the awesome content and community #sbl4life 😎✌🏾
I encourage all bassists if you have an extra bass guitar to tune it to B Standard. I've been doing it for years & it's supa fun!
Honestly, I’m the 5 5 strings I’ve bought at multiple price points, my Ibanez fan fret headless is THE BEST I’ve ever played. It’s light, it’s matte with the roasted fretboard and neck, and it’s just perfect in every way imo
The only problem I find with that bass is the design of the body. It looks a bit odd.
I've always wanted a Dingwall since I first found out about em. Also helps they're Canadian made 😎💪
There are Canadian and Chinese Dingwalls. The Canadian models are much more expensive than the Chinese.
Some people might whine about chord play and having to slightly adjust your muscle memory, but I will NEVER go back to single scale basses. I can dial in my preferred string gauges, my preferred tension, and the sustain and low-end clarity is just nuts
I have the NG3-5 in this same color - it is "Black Forest Green" according to the paperwork. Lovely bass and super versatile in sound, superb low B, and yes chords are the trade off.
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The thing most people kinda gloss over when talking about fanned fret systems is that you achieve the higher tension while using a lighter gauge of string, which means you don't have the same issues a lot of people run into when they just throw thicker and thicker strings on to accommodate lower tunings for example. At some point the string's got all these windings, it's losing flexibility, it's harder to intonate, and it just doesn't sound like an extension of the instrument. Fanned fret solves this issue especially for lower tunings by allowing the thicker strings to sound naturally like a lower extension of the same instrument.
I had a Dingwall Super-J 5-string for a few years and I found that my right hand had to play on a massive diagonal to get the strings to sound balanced, so I'd play closer to the neck pickup on the high strings and closer to the bridge pickup on the low strings. Eventually I swapped it for a 6-string Roscoe Century and I'm telling you, if you want the best B-string in the business, get a Roscoe. All that said, I now actually play a passive 4-string Jazz Bass because I've finally, after 20+ years of playing, reached adulthood!
Thanks for trick about 4 to 5 with capo. I play only 5 strings. But its nice to now, in a case of emergency))
Colour looks like teal to me. Nice video Scott!
Cool tip on 4 string to 5 string then back to 4 string bass conversion!
Tested Dingwall in a shop, was so surprised that came back next day and bought it. Combined with Darkglass its a perfect metal machine dropped in A.
I have an NG-3 6 string. I hate admitting this, but I like it more than My US StingRay Special. Did they change the specs on the NG-3 recently? The reason I ask is because of 2 things you mentioned that I didn't think were correct, but also not really the biggest deal in the grand scheme of things. The body wood shouldn't be alder, the non NG-3 Combustion body should be Alder, and the NG-3 should be Ash. The NG-3 has the nicer wood since it's the upgraded model Combustion bass. The frets should also be banjo frets. Maybe they switched to using mandolin frets since I picked mine up. I just remembered an interview I watched with Sheldon Dingwall talking about why he specifically liked using banjo frets. I wouldn't really know the difference between one or the other anyway though lol. I just know that I really like the frets that they use because it feels a lot faster and requires less pressure to fret properly.
The absolute best thing about any dingwall is the note clarity. My 6 string has the clearest B string I have ever heard, and it's high C string sounds like it has much more mid range completeness so it doesn't sound thin like I've heard some other high C's sound. I have heard other people describe their tone like this too, and some people didn't like this, but it's definitely my favorite aspect of it's tone. Every note you play on it has this ring that's very reminiscent of the sound of a piano. If you read the whole thing about the multi-scale/Fan fret system on their website it was the idea behind the system in the first place. So it's pretty cool that implementing that idea in the design actually gave the tone that same characteristic. Their basses will break the bank, but if you're gonna break it that's the best way to do it lol. Totally worth it.
Yea I believe your correct especially about the wood , you are correct about the frets if you remember he also said it has treble not high mids
@@bassimprovjams3772 as far as the tone capsule is concerned the EQ is definitely Low mid, high mid, and bass. It's definitely a little different, but I have to say that I'm definitely a fan. If I didn't have this aversion to modding my Stingray I'd definitely find another tone capsule EQ to slap in there. They have a ridiculously strong input signal, and made me understand why getting a good compressor was a necessary addition to my pedalboard.
@@bassimprovjams3772 The standard Combustion bass model has an EMG 3 band that's the standard high mid low configuration. The highs can get a little bit brighter sounding, but the advantage of the tone capsule is going to be the massive mid scoop that it provides which is going to really allow the full brute force of your tone to cut through the mix. Boosting mid high is a better boost than just a high knob in my opinion. High can tend to get a little on the piercing side with the treble too quickly. The High mid that the tone capsule has will definitely get your trebel up to that point too, but you're going to want to stop well before that point because it's more of a warmer more balanced boost to your high end that allows you to actually take a more "less is more" approach to pushing those describes until it sounds nice with plenty of sparkle without the eardrum stab lol.
@@bassimprovjams3772 the vast majority of the time I'll typically just leave my knobs in the flat detent, and put my pickup selector in the 2nd position for bridge and middle pickups (what everyone calls Musicman mode lol). I just let my instrument to amp chain do all the work. I love the tone I get, and I have a stupid amount of possibilities between just switching my pickup configuration or adjusting my pedals a little bit. I like a lot of progressive metal, and the tone I like sitting at really lends itself to that, but all I need to do is just dial back my drive, boost, and compression style and in/out levels (I use an MXR M87 set at 20 or 12 occasionally for my usual preferred sound, but for dialing back I like using 8) and to go from a good level of dirt seasoning to a more squeaky clean with lots of depth I'll back off on drive, but not as much as you may think because backing off on boost just a little bit has a significant effect. From my bass to my amp I go through an MXR M87 to a Darkglass harmonic booster, and then a Tech 21 SansAmp YYZ to the amp's input. All my other effects live inside the loop. My bass to amp input chain pedals are always on all the time, and are just seasoned to taste depending on what I'm going for. I can go from crushed hard into the dirt to deep and squeaky clean (but when you go in hard there's still just a hint of dirt.).
I love my Dingwall 5, but one thing I never see addressed in reviews is the fact that you need to modify your right hand technique to account for the different scale lengths (or at least I felt the need to).
If you move your plucking hand from the low B to the high G in a 90 degree angle to the strings, you end up plucking much closer to the bridge on the G than where you started on the B, making for an uneven tone. To compensate, I try to follow the angle of the pickups with my right hand while I play.
Thanks for this, it's great to hear your take on new basses! One small request (hopefully small), for videos like this where you want to show the tone of the instrument, is it possible to mic the cab or use an amp sim? For some reason, it was really difficult to hear the bass tone in this vid? When you went through the PU selector I couldn't tell much difference because I was hearing the acoustic sound of the base too much over the amplified sound (at least that's the perception I had). It wasn't until you used the capo that I could hear more of the amplified tone. Cheers :)
Hey Benson, thanks for your feedback man. I'll pass this onto our team to take on board for future bass demos! 👊🏻
That’s preamp has bass, low mid , high mid not treble and I absolutely love it. Love what you do
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Thanks for this video, Scott! I've been tossing around ordering a multi scale fan fret, but I do like to play lots of chords above the 12th fret, so I'll try to get my hands on one in a shop before pulling the trigger. Or, I mean, you can just select me to win this one... 😂🤘
First time I played a ding wall ng3 five string I kind of spaced out while noodling and thought the low b was an e for a hot second. Not sure how much the tone was affected but the string tension was unlike any other b I’ve felt since.
The color is forest green, I’ve been drooling over the ding wall selections for the better part of a year now. I’ve been saving for about 8 months and I might be able to get one with in the next 2 months. I can’t wait!
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The amount of sustain you get from a Dingwal is insane! I like to run it with flats and oh boy the mellow tones you get! 🤌🏾
For a hot second, I thought it was an Adam Neely signature bass (0:18). LOL
Love fan frets. I have a six string and it’s awesome. You really don’t notice after a few minutes.
That said ,the best B string I have is on a 34” stingray special. Guess it was just made right.
Hello Scott & crew! I've really enjoyed your content on dingwall basses, Nolly's bass approach etc. It would be really nice to see some more "extreme" metal bass players featured, not necessarily because the audience will love the music style but because they often possess such incredible technical skills. If you could get any possibility to film with any of the following, it would make my day! (It would likely also garner a _sizeable_ amount of views, because hq footage of these players' technique is difficult to come by).
-Evan Brewer from Entheos, The Faceless, Animosity and recently Fallujah. A legend who takes the Wooten style thumping to an extreme level.
-Rickard Persson from Soreption - He has next level fingerstyle playing, especially his 3 finger technique which stands out in the genre
-Mike Flores from Origin. Widely regarded as the (probably) fastest finger player on the planet. His mastery of the single finger strumming style allows him to keep up with their insane tempos often times above 300bpm (16th notes).
Keep it up, cheers!
Hey! Thanks for the checking the video, I'll get this suggestion passed onto to our content team! 👊🏻🧡
well, there's the timbre and playability consideration to make fanned fret instruments at the first place, not to mention that piano/harp notes have different length and such.
Execution matters as much as fanned vs parallel frets. I have a Canadian Dingwall ABZ 5, and it's a keeper. I also have a mid-scale Ibanez EHB1005SM, and while the headless ergos are great, it's not a patch on the Dingwall, feel-wise or sonically.
Medium metallic blue. Under stage lights, it'll be magnificent !
It was a complete game changer for me When I discovered fanned frets
I tune BEAD & when I think about the time I wasted trying to get the right tension strings or the right thickness not to mention mixing and matching sets and dealing with compressed and non-compressed roundwound and groundwound and flatwound and everything🤯 and then I encounter the cheapest ass crappy bass on eBay which had fanned frets which totally kick the ass of everything else I ever had previously!
My search IS over.
Awesome dude! Glad you found a solution!! 🤘🏻🔥
@@devinebass yep!
It freed me to stop dicking around & actually solidly PLAY😉
I string my 24-fret Ibanez BEAD with 55-110’s. Useful for that occasional song where I need the low B, but without the fat neck of a 5 string.
Fanned frets are amazing. Equal tension across the entire board. It's just easier to play from an ergonomic stand point. Ibanez neck profile is rediculously thin making it even easier.
i don't find the 37" scale quite "ergonomic" tbh
I had a local luthier build me a fanned fret bass, Great system. Think of the construction of a piano, smaller strings on the treble side gradually increasing as your notes get lower, same concept here. If anyone is worried about changing from straight frets to fanned and back.. Don't be, you can play both interchangeably with little to no difference.
Glad its working for you Brandon! 🤘🏻
The color is black forest green.
I have two Peavey G-basses (US-made, graphite neck, 35" scale, pretty cool instruments) that I modified with EMG Music Man style pickups and electronics to sound as much like my US Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling basses as they can for downtuning. One uses the same strings as my Music Man basses (.040-.100 DR Fat Beams), but is tuned down one full step. Feels like a normal bass, just lower. The other is strung and tuned like a 5-string. It's never occurred to capo it, I might play around with that!
I've heard that Lee's bass with the mandolin frets would need to be refretted due to them wearing out more easily. What about the banjo/acoustic frets. How long would they last? I like the idea of restringing a 4 down to BEAD. I've also thought about cello tuning, anyone else try that? (Besides Red Mitchell on his upright)
We’re talkin years homie not something that has to be done every couple years and think about how much Lee playes it compared to the average person
My Frankenstein bass has Mando frets. We built it in 1974 and I am on my third refret and do not plan on new frets for a long time. They do not wear any quicker than any other fret as far as I have found.
Love my Ibanez Bass Workshop SRMS800 Multi-Scale Bass. I do want to mess around with changing the electronics one day, but absolutely love the way it feels when i play it
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they may have nice advantages but im happy with my medium scale jag bass. i get all the tones i want out of it.
Whatever works best for you! 🤘🏻
I would say the color is a metallic Pelham blue? It’s a beauty. Modern and simple which is the key things for bass
Dingwall calls this shade "Black Forest Green"
I've kept my primary bass, a fretless four, at BEAD for always. The only trouble is learning a new song. Having to transpose up and over can be tough, but that's what my EADG fretted four is for. Learn a new song on that and transpose over to the fretless afterwards. Fan frets seem interesting except as said I also bet those upper registers get tweaky with re-angling your entire arm to get the 24th.
I have a Ibanez headless 5 string with fanned frets. Looks cool, but I find it to be a pain in the ass . String tension is tight, and its easy to get lost past the 12th fret.
Got an combustion 5 to my hands.
Its sooooo great.
Would buy it again and again
@Scott's Bass Lessons
Check this answer please. Can't believe it to be true
I love mine. Only “standard” scale basses I own these days are my fretless and my fender acoustic.
Nice dude! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
Ah! I have an old 4-string Squire that I tune like that I restrung with the B as the lowest. That was my solution to not owning a 5 string. The B on that Dingwall sounds fat!
The NG basses are crazy good. The Canadian made stuff in even better.
This is correct..... Unfortunately I've only been able to afford the crazy good though lol... The term "afford" might also be questionable depending on whether you ask me or my wallet lol.
Eventually I'll put together a Afterburner II fretless 6 string. I need to find a good sturdy tent though, because I'm pretty sure that after I get that beautiful bass I'll never be able to afford a house. Houses are kinda overrated though lol ;)
See above, not all Dingwalls are Canadian made, most are made in China. The Canadian Dingwalls are much more expensive than the Chinese models.
@@PSA955 who are you replying to? I'm fully aware that my NG is made in China. It's definitely the nicest thing I've ever had that was made there though. "Made" is sort of a how you want to look at it kind of thing though. All the materials and electronics are produced and selected in US and Canada, then it's assembled in China, but before they sell any of them every single NG and combustion bass goes back through the Canadian shop and is completely disassembled and rebuilt as part of their QC process. My bass feels and plays just like a US produced instrument. I have a Stingray special as well, and tbh I like my NG more. My Stingray is definitely a lot lighter, but it's a 4 string. My NG is a 6, so the extra weight is to be expected.
I'm replying to the thread above and as you said, the Canadian made stuff is even better. I try as much as possible to stay away from Chinese made products. It's not a quality issue, it's the hypocrisy of the world especially in the US that are all about social justice when China blatantly uses slave labor and has one of the worst human rights record in the world.