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mandown

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
22,186
9,474
Transylvania 90210
CrabJoe StretchPants said:
What's up with the slanted frets and staggered bridge/nut? Is that common? Never seen that before. Pretty slick looking.
Click to expand...
It isn't proprietary, but I am not aware of any major production shops that use this system..
Why fanned-frets? | Dingwall Guitars
WHY FANNED-FRETS?
The frets are fanned to allow for a longer scale on the bass side and a shorter scale on the treble side of the instrument. This solves a few problems:
1) No longer will the B-string sound darker and less distinct compared to the other strings.
2) The G-string retains warmth and normal tension compared to extending the scale of all strings.
3) You will no longer have to adjust your attack depending on which string is being played due to the more even tension from string to string.
4) You will no longer find the tone adjustments for one string interfering with another due to the more even tone across the strings.
5) You will no longer be unheard and ignored by your audience due to the combination of the longer scale low strings and the even tonality across all the strings.
Click to expand...
Since each string lower in pitch is longer, the absolute distance between frets is greater for the same relative interval, thus the need for the fan. The strings are centered, so the 12th fret (octave) for each is in the same physical location, thus that fret is 90-degrees to the neck. They are supposed to play more evenly and the fret spacing adjustment time is minimal for many players. Since my arm can't reach to the lower frets on the E string (2nd from the physical top of picture), I have been playing the higher positions of the B string (physical top string in the picture, lowest in terms of pitch), as the pitch generated is the same. On my current 5 string bass, it sounds pretty good, but these basses are supposed to be the cat's pajamas for this reason. I'm also looking at new amps & speakers, which should help with the tone at the lowest end of the instrument range. What I have now is good, these are just better . . . and made in Canada :)

This is what I currently use

deadly in the hands of this being
 
CrabJoe StretchPants

CrabJoe StretchPants

Reincarnated Crab Walking Head Spinning Bruce Dick
Nov 30, 2003
14,163
2,485
Groton, MA
Very interesting stuff......and it makes sense from a pure physics/enginerd point of view. I noticed their guitars don't offer fanned frets. Probably because the pitch range difference between strings is much less than a bass (I'm assuming). That and I couldn't see playing chords with fanned frets on a guitar nearly as effortlessly as a standard fretboard (at least for me anyway).
 
mandown

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
22,186
9,474
Transylvania 90210
CrabJoe StretchPants said:
Very interesting stuff......and it makes sense from a pure physics/enginerd point of view. I noticed their guitars don't offer fanned frets. Probably because the pitch range difference between strings is much less than a bass (I'm assuming). That and I couldn't see playing chords with fanned frets on a guitar nearly as effortlessly as a standard fretboard (at least for me anyway).
Click to expand...
Funny, since Sheldon Dingwall, the main dude, is a guitarist who started making basses. Yeah, the chording is supposedly tough to do in some positions above the 12th fret on the bass, not that I care about chording on the bass for my style.
 
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