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Are you a fan of the FANNED FRET BASS ?


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I've had two, a Dingwall ABZ5 with 37-34 inch scale and an Ibanez with 32-30.

 

I didn't find any tonal advantages at all and as at the time I was playing in a big band with transposing instruments and I needed the low C and F quite a lot I found that quite an annoying stretch over the course of a gig.

 

I'm glad I tried them, but ultimately they are not for me.

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I had an Ibanez SRMS805 fan fret. To be honest, it felt completely natural and took no adjustment in my playing. 

The clarity on the B string was excellent and the tone was much more consistent across all strings than other 5 strings I've used. Ideal for heavily distorted, low tuned modern metal sounds

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2 hours ago, SteveK said:

Can't really offer anything to the discussion, other than... Fanned fret basses mess with my head and look, to me, like they're suffering from serious neck twist.😕

twisted_bass_neck.jpg

It's real. The Torzal Twist bass.

 

Read more here 

https://www.torzalguitars.com/natural-twist

 

Edit - they seem to also supply a fan-fretted twist bass. Look at the headstock end for the twist, and the bridge for the fanning.  My brain hurts.

 

Torzal_Guitars_Natural_Twist_Content_3.jpg.2129ba27029d7b273ff22e5797bf6465.jpg

Edited by bass_dinger
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1 hour ago, bass_dinger said:

It's real. The Torzal Twist bass.

 

Read more here 

https://www.torzalguitars.com/natural-twist

 

Edit - they seem to also supply a fan-fretted twist bass. Look at the headstock end for the twist, and the bridge for the fanning.  My brain hurts.

 

Torzal_Guitars_Natural_Twist_Content_3.jpg.2129ba27029d7b273ff22e5797bf6465.jpg

It's great that someone's made a twisted neck bass, to solve the problem of... er... er... mmm... 🤔

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54 minutes ago, SteveK said:

It's great that someone's made a twisted neck bass, to solve the problem of... er... er... mmm... 🤔

Carpel tunnel syndrome and other hand injuries.

 

It has really helped people with that sort of problem keep playing. It’s a brilliant invention.

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Ive never owned a fanned fret bass, but I have played a few. I found them extremely easy to play lower down the neck, but not quite so easy at the top end. It felt natural at one end and very un natural at the other.

What ive never got on well with are Dingwall's. Ive not found one that sounded like it had a soul in it. I guess ive only played about 4, and they were nice instruments, but sound wise very cold.

 

 

 

 

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1 minute ago, dave_bass5 said:

What ive never got on well with are Dingwall's. Ive not found one that sounded like it had a soul in it. I guess ive only played about 4, and they were nice instruments, but sound wise very cold.

 

 

 

 

This ^^

I've owned two and sold them both. I found them lifeless and soulless sounding.... probably why so many end up put through Darkglass pedals and end up sounding the same....

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1 minute ago, cetera said:

This ^^

I've owned two and sold them both. I found them lifeless and soulless sounding.... probably why so many end up put through Darkglass pedals and end up sounding the same....

Yeah. Maybe why Sheldon started to put a DG module in them 😇

I did a gig years ago when a mate of mine brought two basses along for me to play. 1 per set and the 3rd set with whatever I wanted. At the time I was using a 4 string Fender (which I still use as my gigging bass).

A Dingwall and an old Ibanez Roadstar. First set came and went. it was my first time playing a FF but it was ok, I didn't struggle much, not even with the extra string. He was a bit put out that I refused to use it again and did the rest of the gig with the cheap as chips Ibby. it has so much more life and presence. 

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'Are you a fan of the FANNED FRET BASS?'

 

Yes. Yes I am. Check out my sig. Adjustment time for me was measured in seconds, whereas a guitarist I worked with couldn't stop staring at my fretboard like he was failing to make sense of it.

 

I'm now on my 2nd and 3rd Dingwall. The main benefits to me are interlinked - the longer scale lengths of the lower strings even out tone across the strings, and they give a tighter feel and punchier sound.

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