Strange new bass

[afrobeat_fool]

The guy I got my F-2b from in White Salmon, Ore got his Dingwall bass this week. I have never seen an instrument quite like this. The string length goes from 35 on the E string to 32 in the G string. Obviously you can see the advantage of angled pick ups. What throws me are the angled frets! He says it plays like a dream! I will find out this weekend when I play it in Hood River.

[tbrannon]

I've played 2 different Dingwalls- the fanned fret thing took me about 15 minutes to get used to and then I found it to be incredibly comfortable.  
 
I contemplated asking for a quote from Alembic to install fanned frets on the Elan I had built, but only had so much money to spend, so I opted not to bother.  I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised when you play the bass.

[john_judge]

sorry double post
 
(Message edited by john judge on September 28, 2009)

[john_judge]

And so it begins.. True Temperament! I firmly believe by way of my other post that we are going to be seeing more of this in years to come.

[keith_h]

I'm not confident about this but I believe the fanned frets are patented and for another manufacturer to use them it would require a license. If you search the site I think you will find that Mica has made a comment about using fanned frets in an Alembic before.  
 
Keith

[sonicus]

I remember that there there was a  luthier in  California that came out with that fanned thing a while back
called NOVAX ,   he is now in Oregon.
 
http://novaxguitars.com

[lbpesq]

IIRC, Ralph Novak let the patent expire so that another builder may now use the fanned fret system without a license.  Even if I'm mistaken about this, I also seem to remember that the licensing fee was very reasonable.  The figure $75 seems to be sticking in my brain.
 
Bill, tgo

[tbrannon]

I'm pretty sure Bill is right about the patent and about the licensing fee.  
 
My concern about cost was how much it was going to cost me to have Alembic sort out the fret jig and I also really wanted the traditional bird tailpiece and couldn't think of a way to wrap my head around that.  Alembic could easily use the individual saddles they use on the Spider basses, but alas, a spider is not a bird =)

[David Houck]

A spider is not a bird.
 
That kinda stands out as quite possibly the comment of the day.

[terryc]

Since when do you need a licence to fret an instrument??..just because they are at an angle??
Would every luthier need a license to convert standard frets to these??
Sitars have a strange fret system, wide at one end, close in the middle and wide at the other..who has the patent on these??

[jacko]

who has the patent on these??
 
Krishna? or maybe Ravi Shankar ;-)
 
Graeme

[john_judge]

LOL! Yeah I have a SItar and the fret's are actually adjustable they are tied on with bands of string so you can slide them forward or back slightly , but when the wood expands sometimes it gets really hard to move them, when I want to set the intonation up then the only luthier I know where to take it is to the  Maharishna himself LOL OH just in case someone had questions about a Sitar or needs to know specifics please feel free to ask me but here is the basic 7 string tuning lay out, my Sitar has 7 main strings and Thirteen sympathetic, the sympathetic strings vary on different models, the main 7 string tuning goes like this..1st=F 2nd=C 3rd=G 4th=C(2 octaves above middle c) 5th=G(1 octave above 3rd string)6th= Middle C, 7th= 1 octave above middle C...so your sixth string is Middle C.it can take an Hour or even longer to get a perfect tuning on one of these...oh yeah then there are beads that you can slide forward or backward behind the bridge that work as fine tuners, so bewteen all the tuning intervals and octaves and droning sympathetic strings which break easily, thats where a lot of the fullness of sound passes through a hollow neck and projects from within and the top gourd...Just passing some information on to the curious minds
 
I bought it back in 1968,  fun to play but hard to keep in tune, very sensitive to temperature changes and the pegs like to stick!
 
(Message edited by john judge on September 29, 2009)

[terryc]

Love the sound of the sitar..very ethereal and soothing.

[gtrguy]

Funny, I was trying to buy that F2-B also, but you beat me to it, I think? Craigslist posting, right?
 
Bye,
Dave

[cozmik_cowboy]

OK, Toby, I've been looking at this, and I may have your answer...maybe one of our engineers or  our Photoshop wizards can check to see if this would actually fit.  The Dingwall is 22 frets - that gives more room to work with.  Make it a standard point body.  Move the E side of 22nd fret to the edge of the body, naturally taking the p/ups along for the ride.  Have them modify the standard bridge to be a rhombus instead of a rectangle; you might still have room for a bird.
 
Peter, who has too much spare time.  Know anyone hiring an archivist of historian?  Or, for that matter, a soundman?