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Canadian luthier Sheldon Dingwall has been building amazing instruments since the early 90's and he was a true pioneer as he incorporated the Multiscale or Fanned Fret System that had been developed by Ralph Novak and that meant that every string on the instrument should have a different lenght depending on the pitch it should give when played open. The fact that every string has a different lenght of course means that the frets have to be installed in a "fanned" manner, hence the name.

Even if these basses look modern and rad, they are based on the same principle of old harps and pianos. The strings on a grand piano or harp vary in lenght depending on the note. This means that the lower the note, the longer the string must be. Even upright pianos feature a harp with different string lengths. The result of this is that the harmonic series from the strings is larger and the tone is therefore fuller. Pure physics.

This whole new series is made in China but use a lot of American and European components and this has allowed Dingwall to creat some instruments with their trademark tone and performance at extremely affordable prices. Final set up and inspection is done in the Dingwall shop in Canada so you know the basses will play great right out of the box.

Fortunately for you, no adjustment is needed to play this instrument. Actually they feel really easy to play and ergonomic. Your left hand simply falls into the notes without having to make any change in technique at all.

The John Taylor Signature model follows the formula of the limited edition Rio Dream Bass, barring a few design tweaks

On top of stunning looks and flawless construction, each bass offers wonderful playability and tones that display a rare clarity and refinement.

"John’s bass playing with Duran Duran really imprinted on me how a bass should fit into a band mix,” says Sheldon Dingwall. “His basslines have always had a special combination of energy and elegance.”

Like the Rio Dream Bass, the JT Signature has been configured to Taylor’s own personal specifications. “It all started when I was in Toronto about five years ago,” says Taylor. “A friend showed me a Dingwall bass on his phone. I loved how it looked and immediately said to my tech, ‘You’ve got to reach out to these guys!’”

As well as the ‘Rio Eye’ inlaid at the 12th fret, other specs include a lightweight Nyatoh body, a bolt-on Maple neck and a Pau Ferro multi-scale fingerboard. The headstock sports a “Rio-inspired” graphic which complements the body stripes, designed by longtime Duran Duran collaborator, Patty Palazzo. The customary Dingwall fanned-fret system facilitates the most appropriate scale length for each individual string. It’s a concept that’s applied across the entire Dingwall range.

This arrangement varies the strings’ scale length, meaning that the low B string benefits from maximum tension and feels great to play, with none of the dull-sounding flopping around that you get from a regular-scale 5-string.

The three Dingwall neodymium pickups are wired to a Quad-Tone pickup selector, a master volume, master tone and a 2-band active EQ that’s powered by a top-quality Rupert Neve Designs preamp. “Duran’s breakthrough single, the title track from 1982’s Rio, was originally recorded on a Neve console, so the history was already there,” says Sheldon. “But the team at Rupert Neve Designs absolutely nailed the tone.”

The Master Tone Control will serve perfectly well if you’re in passive mode, but if you’re interested in Taylor’s tones you’ll stay in active mode, where the two-band boost and cut gives you an abundance of sonic options. Passive Tone works in Active mode too. Cool!

The JT Signature is fitted with an equally impressive accompaniment of hardware, including lightweight tuners and Dingwall’s ‘Minimalist’ bridge. Once you discover that the magnetic battery cover on the rear flips on and off with zero effort, you’ll wonder how you ever had the patience to unscrew the compartment cover on your old instruments.

The Low B is of course phenomenal due to the increased length/tension, but the good news here is that this doesn't affect the other strings (many G strings feel too tight on long scale basses). There's an evenness of tone and volume from string to string that is simply perfect. Actually the extra tension means that you can play the low B gently and get more definition than when you play that string on a 34" or 35" bass with intensity. Also you can just hit it really hard and it will respond just nicely too. Cool

Bass and studio ace Lee Sklar suggested the use of small banjo type frets as these offer a less metallic tone and smoother glissandos/faster feel than jumbo frets.