NBD - Fretless Dingwall ABII

[nickmew]

A fanned fret fretless??! Kinda thought I would either love it or think, meh, not for me.

I've had a number of Dingwalls - started on a Combustion and upgraded through to a Z3, but always have been intrigued by the idea of a fretless one.

Obviously they are as rare as hen's teeth, so when this came in to Bassdirect I knew I''d have a try, but put it off for a few weeks as I also knew it might cost me a pretty penny.

I'll try to record a clip or two at the weekend, but suffice to say it didn't take long to decide.

Previously before I got my Z3, I'd been prevaricating about 3 months over whether to get a Roscoe Custom LG to add to my Dingwall ABI, but couldn't really justify the cost. The Z3 came into the shop unreserved (pretty unheard off at that time a few years ago) at a price way above the Roscoe's price. Took about 10 minutes to decide I needed the Z3, and traded 3 other basses and a wodge of cash to get it.

This one, it probably took about 2 minutes. Buttery action, I find it easier to intonate than my Sandberg fretless, and the tone. Man, depending on how you play, can go from smooth mwah to growling and biting like a fretted. Just amazing.

Lined Fretless, but no lines where the strings are - didn't notice that until I got home. How cool is that? Must be harder to do, but such a clever detail, like so many other things about this bass.

 

[Thump]

That's a beautiful instrument , i can't imagine how tricky it would be to play a fanned fret fretless though. Even harder if the lines weren't there i suppose.

Gorgeous colour , lovely wood, love it 😍

[nickmew]

5 minutes ago, Thump said:

i can't imagine how tricky it would be to play a fanned fret fretless though

It's one of those things that actually isn't - with a few caveats.

 

I know the whole fan-fret thing is largely predicated on balancing out string tension between low Bs - better with more length than girth (oo-er missus) - and G string on a fiver, but the hidden benefit is in ergonomics. Hold your hand as if you were fretting a bass, and move it up and down the fretboard. If you don't move your wrist left and right your fingers move in exactly a fanned way. I found it took very little time to adjust to a fretted Dingwall.

Now a fretless does have a whole bunch of fun going with it - it is a different beast and requires a whole lot more technique - but as someone who plays maybe 75% fan-fretted Dingwall to 25% fretless previously on a 'straight' fingerboard, moving to the fretless Dingwall just felt 'right'.

I'm sure if you had never played a fanned fret before - or for that matter a fretless - it would do your head in. But with that as a caveat, I think it's remarkably straightforward.

 

Though I'm not even going to think about the 6 string unlined fretless Dingwall that's lurking out there, aptly named 'Godmode'.