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neurotictim
Junior
Username: neurotictim

Post Number: 36
Registered: 1-2008
Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 - 8:05 am:   Edit Post

So I just got a Dingwall Afterburner I. For those of you who haven't gotten a chance to play with one, they're very nice basses.

The tone is really awesome, especially for a passive bass... I'm an active-bass kinda guy. It can't compete with my Epic, of course, but to be fair, the Epic is a pretty much spot-on match for the tone I hear in my head, so the Dingwall was at a disadvantage from the start. ;)

Anyway, the fanned frets intrigue me. They're super-easy to play, and the scale goes from 37" on the B to 34" on the G, so tension across the neck is more even than on the Epic... Which is saying quite a bit.

Anyway, is anyone in work on having a fanned-fret Alembic built? I'd love to see Alembic-level build quality and tone with fanned frets.

Dingwall ABI from BassCentral's website
The pic is from BassCentral's website.
dadabass2001
Senior Member
Username: dadabass2001

Post Number: 872
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 - 3:43 pm:   Edit Post

This has been asked before. I don't believe they can get a license from Dingwall without paying a heavy fee. Try doing a search on "fanned frets".

Mike
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 5242
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 - 4:07 pm:   Edit Post

Actually, the patent has expired and there is no licensing fee, but there is an extra charge determined on a case by case basis. We were going to make a custom guitar with the fanned frets, but that customer recently changed his mind and is getting the regular parallel arrangement.
byoung
Senior Member
Username: byoung

Post Number: 1002
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Thursday, April 03, 2008 - 10:03 am:   Edit Post

Can I get a fretless with fanned frets?
briant
Intermediate Member
Username: briant

Post Number: 166
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Thursday, April 03, 2008 - 11:58 am:   Edit Post

"Can I get a fretless with fanned frets?"

Yes you can, actually. I've played one. They're very cool and extremely comfortable.
adriaan
Senior Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 1856
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, April 03, 2008 - 11:51 pm:   Edit Post

Does it require a ceiling fan, or can you get the same effect whilst pointing your hair-dryer for the heat bend?
byoung
Senior Member
Username: byoung

Post Number: 1008
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Saturday, April 05, 2008 - 8:24 am:   Edit Post

Brian,

Sorry, that was a bit of a joke, since a fretless, by definition doesn't have frets.

Not funny if you have to explain it.
bigideas
Intermediate Member
Username: bigideas

Post Number: 122
Registered: 1-2004
Posted on Saturday, April 05, 2008 - 9:09 am:   Edit Post

Should just mention the patent wasn't (isn't?) Sheldon Dingwall's but Ralph Novak's from Novax Instruments.

Also, the fee, to the best of my knowledge, was only 75$ per instrument. Not so heavy considering what an Alembic is worth (or a high end Dingwall for that matter.)
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 6423
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Saturday, April 05, 2008 - 9:26 am:   Edit Post

A thread from six years ago suggests that the fee was at one point considerably more than $75.
dfung60
Advanced Member
Username: dfung60

Post Number: 314
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Saturday, April 05, 2008 - 9:05 pm:   Edit Post

Hey, it might seem like a "fanned fret fretless" is a joke, but it really would be a different instrument setup. On a Dingwall, it's not just the frets that are different, the bridge is repositioned so that the low strings are longer than the high ones, and the nut layout is different too. The scale length is different on every string which has nothing to do with the frets.

If you made a habit of playing a fanned fret fretted bass, then it wouldn't be that odd to have a fanned fret fretless made so that your hand positions would still be the same.

David Fung
bigideas
Intermediate Member
Username: bigideas

Post Number: 123
Registered: 1-2004
Posted on Monday, April 07, 2008 - 4:11 pm:   Edit Post

Dave, when I had last checked the Novax site it was 75$ ( I don't doubt Mica, but it must have changed), but this must have been before the patent ran out. I talked to Sheldon Dingwall (I live in Saskatoon) awhile ago to ask if he would have to charge that fee on a bass or fretboard not going to the states (the Novax patent was only for the states.) That's when I found out the patent had run out. I also found out he's to busy to cut extra fingerboards anymore.

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