Sheldon Dingwall knows what he is talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM4NcwzjvHs
I'm currently playing a 32'' scale Alembic, tuned down to C#, and it sounds incredible. The end.
See, I know what I'm talking about too! ;D
Quote from: uwe on November 29, 2024, 02:49:49 PMSheldon Dingwall knows what he is talking about.how to sell it.
Heck , I usually use short scale basses , and I'm quite happy. I'm an old fashioned four string guy. I have a number of friends that are diehard Dingwall people. Those that like 'em tend to do the deep dive.
He has a lot of very satisfied customers. Nice to see him find some fame.
Thanks for posting that. I enjoyed it. He seems like a great guy.
I get the multiscale thing but not the "longer is better" part. I'd buy his bass if it were 30"—34", not 34"—37".
Me neither. Seems unlogical that the perfect scale length for a B string would be an exact inch size.
Quote from: ilan on December 03, 2024, 11:39:11 AMI get the multiscale thing but not the "longer is better" part. I'd buy his bass if it were 30"—34", not 34"—37".
I don't know about the 'longer is better' part either, but I've played a couple of them and didn't have any issues with the scale length, something with the multiscale/fanning. I usually play 34/35" w no issues, but I never felt like the Dingwall was unmanageable.
Yes, I can confirm that playing a multi-scale bass feels surprisingly comfortable.
Fretless negates the entire issue... :mrgreen:
No it doesn't. :)
I got through about 3 minutes. Clanky tones are the opposite of what I like, and I had to look up Nobby whatever.
The multi-scale principle is valid, if you need or want the amplitude of the high overtones to approach being equal to the fundamental. I don't. It's not what I call pleasing.
More power to those who do. I'll keep playing what pleases me.
I actually do think that his principles make sense for a bass played in a heavy metal band where you have to battle loud guitars and pummeling double bass drums + play a lot of downtuned stuff.
I dislike clanky tones as well, but when I listen to iso tracks of Entwhistle, I'm amazed at how bright and clanky his sound often was. I think "it depends..."
I'm fine with whatever gets you the tone you want. I know a few guys who love their multi-scales. But it's not anything that's necessary.
Quote from: Dave W on December 06, 2024, 02:01:28 AMBut it's not anything that's necessary.
If we went by necessary this forum would never have existed.
Cousin It can get a fat tone from his Dingwall. Apparently he recommends resisting something. I guess a haircut and a shave?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRnpcTHKHqs
I've only played one Dingwall - and old Super J - and liked it but not enough to spend the funds I actually had in my pocket.
It would take *me* a lot of time to get used to playing it higher up the neck, so back to the rack it went.
Nevertheless, it was a well-built instrument in my book.
I played a fretless Super P and was surprised that my intonation was effortless. At the time my main bass was an old fretless P.
I've always wanted to try a multi-scale bass, specifically a Dingwall, just to see if I could get a good fat tone out of it and make it work for me. Modern "metal" is boring computer generated video game music to me, and.most active preamps usually leave me cold, but I'd give it a shot. If the basic tone is there, I'm sure I could find some surplus 70's or 80's Ibanez pickup (who, not coincidentally, have one of the VERY few active sounds that is fat the way I like outside of MM/G&L) to put in it. I beat the shit out of my basses and having more consistent tension across the neck would be a really nice thing for feel. On EVERY bass I have that's 34" scale, the jump to the G string always buries everything else, because technically, every other string IS a short scale and the harmonics really come alive without becoming too bright or brittle. Sheldon has clearly found his market and successfully hitched his wagon to it.