Dingwall

Dingwall Guitars is a Saskatoon, Canada company founded by Sheldon Dingwall, who began building instruments in 1987 as a working musician who wanted an instrument that did not yet exist. The shop grew from a local music store, moving from necks to bodies to full instruments. He started with electric guitars but turned to bass after learning of Ralph Novak's fanned-fret concept, and in 1992 met Novak at a luthiers' convention.

Fanned frets give the low strings more scale length than the high ones; on most Dingwall five-strings the low B reaches 37 inches rather than the usual 34, which reviewers credit with a clearer low end and better intonation. The Voodoo 5, shown at NAMM in 1993, is described as the first production fanned-fret bass. A fire destroyed the factory in 1996, but it was rebuilt.

The Combustion and the NG are the Import Series, assembled in China from North American materials and finished and set up in Canada. The NG is a signature bass designed with Nolly Getgood of Periphery, and the Prima is hand-built in Saskatoon; Dingwall also makes a Lee Sklar signature series. Guitar Radar follows new Dingwall models and artist basses.