Dingwall Guitars Reviews 39

Just before our 42 show cross Canada tour I purchased a John Taylor Dingwall bass. I had heard so many great things about it, especially with the Neve preamp. I was blown away right from the first show. The punch and clarity this bass had was jaw dropping! Our FOH guy didn't use any EQ or compression on my strip...the signal from the bass itself was just that good. On the back half of the tour I picked up a Nashville Combustion, also with the Neve preamp. It was equally as punchy but I could also get an amazing "P Bass" sound out of it as well. Again, nothing between me and the front end. These basses play so evenly, no weak notes anywhere on the neck. The B string is as good as it gets and sustains longer than you can imagine. My only regret about owning a Dingwall bass is that I didn't do it sooner. The fanned frets are not an issue, something I was afraid of for so long. It literally took me less than 2 minutes to get used to the neck. I'm already looking at a couple more. I finally understand why people are so excited about these basses.

Was simply blown away when I got my hands on NG-3 Combustion. Easily discernable and defined B and C notes on the 5th string, are you kidding me?
Amazing tonal variety too, can fill in as your typical P Bass or J Bass or anything in between.
Exceptional wood selection and build quality, the guitar came perfectly set up out of factory and I never even had to touch the truss rod. Tuning stability is something else, the instrument stays in tune for quite a while even with generous amounts of daily (ab)use.

I got my first Dingwall bass a little over a year ago and 170 shows later this D-Roc and I have become absolutely inseparable. The low end is clear and reliable, and I can't imagine going in a different direction for an extended range bass.

I was in Saskatoon touring and was fortunate enough to get to take a tour of the factory.
Top notch state of the art facility.
I had to get back to sound check
Everyone was so welcoming and accommodating.I had to get back to sound check and Sheldon gave me a ride so I could try out SP1. I played it that night and haven’t stopped playing it.
The fanned fret system really works.The B string is really focused and articulate.The 32 inch scale on the G string keeps it from sounding thin, no dead spots on the 6th and 7th frets Completely even response across the entire range of the bass.The pickup selector switch is a nice touch.Every position sounds great. The tone knob has a nice smooth roll off. The hardware looks sleek and modern.It’s comfortable and inspiring to play.
A truly forward thinking ,innovative design!
Thank you to Sheldon,Nick,Fillip and the entire team at Dingwall.

Dow Tomlin
Bassist with Wynonna Judd

I've toured Stadiums, Arenas and Large festivals with my Dingwalls, always exceptionally clean and warm tones, I constantly get high praise and compliments from sound engineers and industry professionals. The necks and fan frets are very comfortable and sits nice in the hand, very easy to play I can't speak highly enough of the playability of these basses. Highly versatile tones, work great across multiple genres, I've recently been using an NG in the studio tracking Country and Funk and come up with great results and very happy customers. Lately I've been plugging straight into the Di box, no amp or pedals and using the raw unsaturated tone of the Dingwall and can honestly and openly say it sounds fantastic, the only bass up to date in my 20 year career that I've been happy to do so with. I highly recommend this brand.

Dingwall Guitars and its whole team have been nothing but a joy to work with!

Not only that they produce one of, if not the finest, basses in the market right now, everyone in the Dingwall team is so easy and friendly to work with.

Biggest shout-out to Sheldon, Nick, Felipe, and the rest of the team.

The switch for the window on the passenger side of my Honda jazz wasn't working any more.There was a gap at the top of the pane which let in rainwater. A local garage told me that I needed a a new window regulator + motor. We couldn't find the part on the internet. The garage then said they would have to try Honda's main dealer. This would cost me £460 plus the work ( 11/2hours). After having waited for 3 weeks with no sign of this part arriving I drove to Dingwall Autos. Within 10 minutes the problem was fixed. The switch needed a treatment with a special cleaning spray. I didn't have to pay anything. I can't praise them enough.

My Dingwall sounds amazing, plays amazing, and looks amazing! I've used F Basses, Music Men, old Fenders and Ibanezes over the years, but the Dingwall is my favourite.

I bought my Blackburst Combustion 5 brand-new on Reverb a few months ago. It is beautiful, perfect and the best instrument I own, both playability and sound-wise. Everything else is ruined for me now. Thanks guys!

Dingwall basses are the top tier of bass design. I have toured for 8 years with mine with no issues, and every time I take it to the studio to track the producers rave about the tone. If you’re serious about your bass tone there’s no better choice.

I received my Dingwall Combustion 6 string bass in perfect condition with the best set up I’ve ever seen! It sounds and plays amazing. Then about 6 months into ownership, the preamp suddenly stopped working. Support was amazing. I was heading to Saskatoon where the factory is, they said to stop by so they could look at it. I thought I would have to leave it with them and they would ship it back to me. NO! The fellow stopped what he was doing and fixed my bass right away. Amazing customer service!! They are responsive and active on YouTube, Facebook and some forums, with Sheldon himself sometimes responding. You don’t find companies like this very often!!

I own 2 Dingwall basses and they continue to go above and beyond to support me years after my initial purchase. By support, I mean answer my questions because these basses are built to the next level. My Canadian built Dingwall Basses are truly a class of their own and are about the only basses that I play, think about playing and daydream about another (I have a 4 & a 5 string so now I just need a 6 string. Oh yeah, and a lined fretless).

I had been waiting to purchase a Dingwall NG for a few years as I wasn't super happy about the Country of Origin. I found out that the lumber is sourced from North America and the basses all have a final setup in Canada and frankly, I also had several other bass players telling me to just "do it".
A Dingwall Aquamarine Metalflake five string came up for sale in 2021 - I fell in love with the color, and my wife said "go for it!" so I did!
This 2020 NG five string is INCREDIBLE! The low B is the best and tightest I've ever heard! All of the open strings just sound better in multiscale - I don't even need to use the Darkglass tone capsule much as the passive settings simply slam ! SO MUCH bass tone and options, I call it my "swiss army knife" bass 'cause I can get anything from it. Having the ability to have the bridge or neck pickup isolated is cool BUT having the Music Man or Jazz configuration is where it's at!
All I can say is if you're able to invest in any Dingwall, do it! Do it before some other company like Gibson or Fender purchase them in 10, 20, 30 years from now! Hopefully Sheldon will never sell!

Bought my Dingwall D-Roc 5 18 months ago and it's been my main instrument since. Astounding quality and innovation easily makes them the greatest modern basses available. Excellent community engagement as well as prompt and helpful customer support means I am likely to remain a Dingwall user for many more years.

bought a combustion 5 from a professional luthier who acquired it.. only to learn some of dingwall's know-how and implement it in his own makes. this could actually be the end of my review ;-) but let me share my experience: my purchase was a blind shot - without trying to play dingwall ever before. the dinger has been with me for a couple of months now: the pleasure it gives while playing is incredible. a truly versatile instrument, huge sound, great definition. and on top of that: when you return to other bases, even great ones, they feel like toys.

Edit: there is one thing I do not like: the pickguard that imitates carbon fiber material. Dingwalls are rather expensive, so the pickguard should be made from real carbon fiber (or other material that does not imitate it). Am I right?

I’ve been a Dingwall player since the late 90s when I ordered one sight unseen after reading an article in Bass Player magazine. Became an advocate for the brand after working with Sheldon during the build phase and finally playing the instrument that he crafted. When you play a Dingwall bass, you will understand why they’re so highly sought. Great tonal range and unparalleled intonation. The bonus is that the company is responsive and understands the obsession we have as players. Life is too short to play a lesser bass.

Amazing fan fret/ multi-scale basses. I am very happy to have an NG 6 string bass in my arsenal. I am currently using it on Cirque du Soleil LUZIA World Tour. Special thanks to Nick at Dingwall’s Artist relations for his help and support.

Sebastien Laurendeau
Music director and Bass player

I've been fortunate enough to own several basses built by Dingwall. From imports to Canadian made models, they've all been outstanding.

I had never played a Z model, but I took a leap of faith and ordered one. It's perfect. This bass does everything I need it to do.

I don’t play, but I look after my Son’s bass who does! The Dingwall tone and playability is second to none, even the entry level 2 p’up Combustion is a sight to behold, it’s so easy to work on and keep in tip top condition, and is so predictable in its behaviour. I’ll quote one of his band members after tracking bass on a recent EP in saying “I’ve been searching for something in our sound for years and could never put my finger on what was missing, turns out it was a bassist that plays a Dingwall” it’s a company too that is passionate about their products right across the board, from my experience they’re passionate about their end users too!!