Dingwall Basses

Currently I am playing Dingwall basses, built in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada by Sheldon Dingwall and his talented crew. These instruments feature the Novax fanned fret system and varying string lengths to deliver a consistent tone across the entire fretboard.

Voodoo Prima ('96)

Voodoo Prima

This beautiful instrument just arrived. I will post a review in short order, but here are a few pictures to get you started. This particular bass was built in 1996 and I feel very lucky to have come across it.

Beautifully quilted and bookmatched maple facings over a walnut core.

Handmade in Canada, exactly as the label says.

The craftsmanship is amazing!

Yes, those are Sperzel locking tuners!

Each instrument is signed by Sheldon Dingwall.

The obligatory art shot...

I will only say one thing about this bass, for now. It leaves me with a mental image of Sheldon hitting a block of wood with a mallet for many, many hours to get it to sound just right. Sand it a bit, then hit it again. And again. It seems that he got it right...

Finally, the whole family together.

Dingwall Afterburner II

This Dingwall Afterburner II with bubinga facing is currently my "number one" instrument. Dingwall takes the Afterburner model to the next level with exotic woods and an active Aguilar preamp. This particular bass also features the signature "bearclaw" scroll and tone chambers.

As with the Afterburner I model, the quality, fit and finish are top notch and truly a credit to the excellent work of Sheldon Dingwall and his crew. This bass features a walnut body wood with a premium bubinga top, 5 piece bubinga neck and a wenge fingerboard. However, because of the tone chambers, this bass still weighs about the same as the ABI model, below 8.5 pounds.

This model builds on the Afterburner I model by adding active electronics. The electronics package in this instrument includes an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp (the latest version has a Glockenklang preamp). There is an active/passive switch with hybrid treble (active boost and passive cut) and the bluEQube switch. Controls provided are: volume, pickup selection (bridge pickup only, both pickups in series, both pickups in parallel, and neck pickup), BluEQube and treble. The tonal characteristics are extremely flexible and provide amazing versatility. Yet despite the seeming complexity, it's very easy to dial in a wide range of usable tones from extremely aggresive and growly to downright sweet and jazzy.

This has quickly become my favourite bass due to its versatility, light weight and tonal consistency. Dingwall scores another five stars out of five.

Dingwall Afterburner I

This Dingwall Afterburner bass is currently one of my two main gigging basses, along with the Afterburner II model. Until very recently the Afterburner I model was the budget bass in the Dingwall lineup.

Dingwall instruments are proudly crafted in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, right here in Canada. One gets the impression that the same amount of care went into the building of this bass as the high-end Dingwall models. Extremely impressive. The fit, finish and quality of materials is similarly excellent, especially considering the cost of this bass.

I'm going to have to weigh this instrument properly, but my impression is that it's at least two-and-a-half pounds lighter than anything else I own (including the 4-stringers). Beautiful balance. Did I mention the light weight???

But what impressed me the most are the "electronics". Unlike my Wal basses (and so on), there's not much to adjust here and yet this passive instrument is extremely versatile. Yes there is volume, a passive tone control (treble roll-off) and a slap contour (bluEQube), but the real magic is in the pickup selector. Position one, the bridge pickup only, is to my ear slightly MM-like and reminds me of a Sterling, or perhaps the bridge pickup of a Fender Jazz. Position 2 is both pickups in parallel and it is very much a Jazz-bass tone. Postion 3 is both pickups in series; very active sounding but I haven't come up with a valid comparison yet (think expensive boutique basses). Position 4 is the neck pickup solo which has a wonderful P-bass punch. What more would one need? Active? I don't miss it on this instrument.

Clearly a great deal of thought and effort has gone into creating an instrument that maintains a precise consistency of tone, balance and sustain across the whole fretboard. Astonishing! The varied string lengths, which for the most part are unique to fan-fretted basses, would be a major contributing factor. The 37" B-string? It's the best I have ever heard or played and sustains nearly forever.

In summary I would rate this instrument very very highly, which is especially amazing for an instrument in this price range. It's only my personal opinion, but I would not hesitate to recommend a Dingwall wholeheartedly (and to include a very high level of praise indeed).

Five stars (out of five).