cLepto-bass Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 For a long while now I have been thinking about going down the fan fret system route and particularly interested in a Dingwall Combustion. However, I am a high C 5 string player so was just wondering if anyone had any advice on how that might work out on the fan fret system. As always, input greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 What's the scale lengths of the 5-string Dingwalls? And are there EADGC sets available for them? I think that the Dingwall Combustion Basses are designed to get the best out of "conventional" BEADG stringing and you may find that even if there is a suitable E-C set made the high C will be too high tension and consequently rather brittle sounding. Certainly my experiences with a 34" scale 5-string bass strung E-C, a 30" Squier Bass VI tuned EADGCE, and a 28" Baritone guitar tuned B-B is that 30" scale is for me the optimum to get a nice feeling and sounding high C string. That doesn't mean that the fan-fret design is a non-starter for E-C stringing, just that you might need to look at alternative scale lengths to what is normally available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebroad Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 I currently play a 4 string dingwall combustion. I would say dingwall isnt the best route as they focus on longer scales for lower strings. If you’re interested, I’m making some 23.5”-22” scale basses that can be fivers with top C’s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jposega Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Fanned frets good, but unless you figure out a string set that'll give you tensions for your E-C that are close to what you get by playing a standard scale bass, you'll end up with really plinky, twangy high strings. That means finding some extra light strings, which might mean needing a plain-steel C to balance well with the rest of the set. If you want fanned and 5 and a Dingwall, get a Super J or Super P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cLepto-bass Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 Cheers for the input so far. I think this was my general understanding anyway. 15 hours ago, jebroad said: I currently play a 4 string dingwall combustion. I would say dingwall isnt the best route as they focus on longer scales for lower strings. If you’re interested, I’m making some 23.5”-22” scale basses that can be fivers with top C’s Thanks @jebroad are you a bass builder then? If so, I would certainly be interested in discussing this further... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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