AK Rev I bought my 1st ABII-5 fretted sight unseen. A year later I bought an ABII-5 fretless sight unseen. You won't be disappointed

To give another perspective, I have never handled a Dingwall but I'm considering buying one sight unseen. I don't have to handle one to know that I'm interested and buying sight unseen is not a big deal. I bought a new Roscoe LG3005 sight unseen and they are twice as much as the pricepoint being discussed here. I really like the latest prototype body photo from Sheldon. It looks fantastic. Personally, I would leave out the chrome hardware as I think it looks a bit cheap. 22 or 24 fret matters not to me. It will have passive capabilities right? I'm intrigued by the possibilities here. Any rough idea what kind of timeframe we are looking at here? I'm considering buying a used ABI 5 string if the right one comes along. Maybe I want to wait a bit to have this option?

[quote="fullrangebass":2vf85xp3]A good start is to forbid that Fullie guy from ordering any more Dingwalls for the next couple of years [/quote:2vf85xp3] Uh huh. Mark

A good start is to forbid that Fullie guy from ordering any more Dingwalls for the next couple of years

[quote="guitarded":wykcyybq]I would like to see the heel design on the budget model carried over to the AB. Keep the AB in-house as much as possible. Anyway, I figure the AB costs too much to outsource completely.[/quote:wykcyybq] That's probably true. I was just thinking of ways to possibly cut the backorder time down.

[quote="nastyn8c":3loliniv]OTOH, if this would [u:3loliniv]replace[/u:3loliniv] the entire AB line (all AB's outsourced), maybe Sheldon and the gang could streamline production by only having to build Zs and Primas. Thoughts?[/quote:3loliniv] I would like to see the heel design on the budget model carried over to the AB. Keep the AB in-house as much as possible. Anyway, I figure the AB costs too much to outsource completely. Mark

Nice job Sheldon. Have you decided about colors? Solid black is always classic.

I don

[quote="Dingbat":1gx5l201]Now that I think of it, this should be the new Afterburner design! Just sell it at three levels: 1. This design as it is. 2. This design with AB1 parts/features and, 3. This design with ABII parts and features. Hmmm, I smell a can of worms.[/quote:1gx5l201] I don't know about going that far. Lakland went that far with the 55-02, and they're doing very well, but FFs may remain a niche market and not sell as well as Lakland. I'd be afraid of poaching Canadian AB sales with that plan. OTOH, if this would [u:1gx5l201]replace[/u:1gx5l201] the entire AB line (all AB's outsourced), maybe Sheldon and the gang could streamline production by only having to build Zs and Primas. Thoughts?

Apart from the hardware choices, I don't see how that could be a "cheaper" Afterburner. It is beautiful. The body shape and the neck joint is more eye-pleasing to me than the Afterburner. I really like the look of the Super J-style neck pocket. It's even got 24 frets! Curse you Sheldon! If I find that the neck feels better than my ABII, I will curse you again! I'm sure a lot of players are going to buy this and upgrade the "low-end" bits, which are certainly not low-end compared to other brands of bass. Now that I think of it, this should be the new Afterburner design! Just sell it at three levels: 1. This design as it is. 2. This design with AB1 parts/features and, 3. This design with ABII parts and features. Hmmm, I smell a can of worms.

I haven't even ordered a Dingwall yet and I'm already planning a second now. Nice work!

Hey wait! Don't forget me![b:15et9pur] I'll take a proto!!!![/b:15et9pur]

It looks great, Sheldon. Clear-coat it, slap the hardware on, and I'll take it. Mark

Hey, salutations I am very keen on getting a fanned 6 string on day. And I couldn't afford a AB, so, are there plans on making a 6 string budget model, and how soon? I realize a budget model needs to have as little options as possible so parts could be produced quickly. I mean, a 6er would demand a new neck, new pickups, and a new body to fit the wider neck, therefore it's got nothing to do with a 5er. But, I guess I'm not the only one that would like to see a budget 6 stringer, dunno.. So, what's your opinion on that option, and if it's possible, how long should I wait? Bocete

Wow. It dosen't have the neck heel on the front. I think you've overcome any objections a buyer might have with that design Sheldon. The PU's even follow the fan. Great job! That body to neck joint should probably be applied to the AB's too.

It's been a long day, but I feel pretty good about what's been accomplished. This should be the final prototype on our end. We've left lots of flexibility in the pickups. Tweaked the body shape to be as sexy as possible. The body wood is African Mahogany (Khaya). I really like the weight, tone and the way it machines...hmmm. Anyway, time for some sleep.

BTW, I've been trying to think of names and I came up with Dingwall Esperanto - like Esperanto, music (and bass) is also a global language and this model will be Dingwall's attempt to reach out to as many players as possible. Just a thought.

[quote="Dragonlord":1ngbhgeq][quote="BurningSkies":1ngbhgeq]The thing is, I think most of us have connected chrome hardware with our first $200 bass - I know I have. And anyway, chrome is fine, but I still like black better.[/quote:1ngbhgeq][/quote:1ngbhgeq] That's been my point, just didn't know how to say it If you think of this as the entry-level bass, some have said it's a good thing that it looks obviously cheaper than Sheldon's Dingwalls. When you remember that it's still a Dingwall, and it's still $1200, it has to look as expensive as it can for the build cost. There's no danger of something like this poaching the sales of the higher end Dingwalls, even the ABI. If someone wants an ABI, with the FD-3/Mach II pickups and unbelievable fit and finish, they'll pay for it. If they just want the fanned frets, $1200 for an active FF bass is far from unreasonable. In all seriousness, which would you most like to have? 1) $1325 - Lakland 55-02 2) $1600 - EBMM Stingray 5 (keep in mind they don't get nearly the fit and finish they used to, even if it's made in North America) 3) $1200 - Dingwall Afterburner GL I know, without a doubt, what I'd jump on even before I tried fanned frets, even when I still loved Lakland basses. (Don't worry, it's the GL.) This is the competition, not the high end Dingwall basses. Don't worry about holding anything back, because with the price point and the fact that Sheldon isn't building it, it will never compare to playing a Canadian Dingwall.

[quote="BurningSkies":1dkn22kj]Funny, I like the chrome hardware! Although my all time favorite is the brushed chrome that was a one-off on a Prima a year or two ago (I think it was Geoff's?)[/quote:1dkn22kj] I don't dislike chrome either. Haven't seen the one you're saying, but I remember liking warwick's "satin chrome" which is probably the same thing. The thing is, I think most of us have connected chrome hardware with our first $200 bass - I know I have. And anyway, chrome is fine, but I still like black better.

It was JMK's. cause I own Geoff's