How Leland Sklar Discovered 'Fan Fret' Basses (Bass Tales Ep.11)

► Find Out How You Can Take Home Lee’s Bass Here: ebay.to/3Et2y28
Ever seen a bass guitar with frets that appear to be slanted? Ever wondered what they are? How they work? And what the point of them is? Then this video is for you.
In today’s video bass legend Lee Sklar talks fanned frets, planet-sized beards and how YOU can bid on the Dingwall Signature model that he’s playing in this video. He’s even signed it!
As always, see you in the shed…
Scott :)
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[@jessesound597]

Leland Sklar is 1 of the reasons I bought a Dingwall, proof they’re not just for metal music.

[@StormyDay]

How long did it take to adjust to it?

[@grahamcooper2144]

@@StormyDay I just got my first Dingwall (NG3 5-string model) two weeks ago. I can't put it down. To answer your question, I tried one out of curiosity in a specialist bass store here in Paris. I initially felt a bit intimidated by it - but I swear, within 5 to 10 minutes I felt completely at ease with the fan-fret neck. If I had any criticism of it at all it would be that I find it slightly awkward when playing chords above the 17th fret where the fan is more extreme - but that very small limitation is more than offset by the added comfort of playing normal arpeggio and scalar patterns over the entire neck. That, and the sheer clarity of not just the B-string, but the rest too.

[@8Junio76]

Finding strings is difficult

[@David_Downs]

No instrument i can think of has ever been for just one style, even if pushed on them.

[@neilvn]

Even MORE respect now for Leland for his dedication in helping elephants. Maaaan!

[@BREAKocean]

It makes sense. That man is an elephant in our world

[@carpediemarts705]

I'd love to see Lee go to Tennessee and play a concert to the Els

[@mrdefinitely8769]

Leland the everyman's bass player that nobody else is. The Swiss army knife of bass players. Everything just sounds right and works.

[@PatNetherlander]

Leland Sklar is such a gem! We all should be so grateful living in his era and be able to listen to his wonderful stories. I know I am glued to his channel! That Dingwall is indeed a low end beast!

[@nunofernandes4501]

"A Dingwall took my baby!"

[@DavePorterBand]

👏

[@Rigel7WasAlreadyUsed]

Dude, that’s just what they cost.

[@StormyDay]

Such a lovely man, I met him several times at NAMM as a young(er) bassist and he was so welcoming and would give words of encouragement and support. Just a great person. And he loves and supports elephants!

[@devinebass]

Such a dude! 🧡

[@therealjoshuacaleb4873]

I also support elephants, even when they lose. /sarcasm. NO but seriously that's cool AF that he makes sure they don't become extinct or hunted.

[@carlstockmal]

I've been a fan of Lee since my bass life began in 1978. The right tool for the job... and you only need one great tool!

[@mishterpreshident]

My own main bass is a Spector NS-5 Dimension with fanned frets in the same 34" to 37" scale length. I get that same amazing low-end tonality Lee is showing off with the Dingwall, but mine has another secret weapon: Fishman Fluence pickups. I'd never even played a guitar with Fishman's before, but now that I have, there's almost no going back. The tone they produce is as close to perfection as I've ever gotten out of an instrument. I would absolutely love to have a Dingwall, especially Lee's Dingwall, but I've come to believe that the two-grand I paid for the Spector got me all the instrument I'll ever need in a studio or live setting.

[@RobertELee420]

the circuit board ones??

[@nuggers23]

Wow. I am blown with this sound. Fun fact - close to my place there is a bar where the bartender is a pro chello player and I saw his photo with Leland during one of the rehearsals they had together. Great story, it was Leland who asked for a photo when the chello guy played Bach on Leland's fretless :)))

[@brettmarlar4154]

I think it's safe to say that he's been on more albums than any of us have listened to. Truly an amazing player, and all around human being!

[@RamessesIX]

It looks like another notable advantage of the Dingwall five string is that the pickups are responsive enough to clearly capture the B string tones, while the construction allows for good sustain.

[@noahvale]

It's not just the frets, his pickups are amazing too. I have a set of Dingwall 5 string humbuckers that I got from a custom bass I had. Put them into a Tobias Toby and they totally transformed the sound. The 34" B string sounds amazing.

[@forcereals731]

I met Sheldon many years ago, we were at a club for jam night. He played eruption on his own guitar, was black with the Eddie pin stipes in yellow

[@JaQba91]

Got subscribed Lee’s channel and sometimes watch his videos. His nice and humble person over his amazing bassplay. And great is that he is still doing his stuff.

[@kente4058]

Lucky enough to be from Canada and having Dingwalls appear in the 90s. I got my Voodoo in 94 or 95.

[@stephenshoihet2590]

I only recently discovered Leland Sklar's YT channel and it's so great that people like him take their time to share their things with everyone. James Taylor has a great channel too. Great video, I love Dingwall basses! Maybe someday... one always needs to have a dream bass to think about. :-)

[@deadandburied7626]

Me too, but through Linda Ronstadt

[@shelleyberry188]

We have played a Nolly Getgood 3 5 on stage and in rehearsals for the past three (?) years, and are constantly learning more about the bass! The detuner is an awesome idea that we hope to be able to experience some time. Highly recommended.

[@NateButlerFresnoCA]

I could listen to Lee Sklar talk about bass all day long. Thank you for sharing this, Scott!

[@garethmccash5986]

Much respect to Leland for his mad skills & humbleness but also his dedication to supporting an amazing charity rescuing elephants.

[@alexanderlyon]

Looks amazing. I 100% agree that most 5-string B strings do not sound good. I may get one of these (eventually!). High price tag.

[@larsetom1]

This is great! One usually thinks of multi-scale basses as metal monsters. Lee's house is as messy as mine!

[@christopherdowney6055]

I have an Afterburner II that I am in love with. Sheldon is a genius.

[@onsesejoo2605]

And of course only top notch guys like him can truly afford it. I found that about the synths amusing. Namely if you go and watch any synth demo here, you don't find cool lead sounds but as low blurps, boop, brrrrr baaa as possible making them look like a bass instrument only.

[@michaelanthony9068]

I’m going to use this video as a reference to EQ my bass rig. I don’t have a 5 string, but I still recognize what you’re saying about that B string tone. Wow.

[@richardrejmer8721]

I agree 100%. . That 'B' is so full and clear. . Amazing!

[@bigal1863]

really sings doesn't it?

[@andrewhigdon8346]

@kevinmichael9482it did seem to have a bit of excessive harmonic warble AND overtone. You could hear the pitch waving up and down the neck. And as it approached the area where he likely plucks to tune, it sounded dead on. I’ll call that spot just below the neck. But as it went towards the nut, it went sharp, but harmonically sharp, since a tuner would likely still register it very close up and down, but you can hear it. Them as that longitudinal oscillation comes back toward the bridge, it hits the pluck/tune spot, and gets an ugly harmonic sharpness to it just before it goes flat at the bridge and also at the nut, where the lateral oscillation of the string is basically nonexistent. Then it bounces back down the string but with much less amplitude. That’s one of the reasons that great, solid bridges and through body strings sound so much better as well as brass nuts. They don’t lose so much energy, otherwise absorbed by a cheap plastic nut, or a bridge where the saddles can move ever so slight left or right, which in itself makes the string sharp each way. Of the saddle moves left or right AT ALL, the string must be slightly longer, which means more tension, which means sharp, as opposed to when intonating and you retune the string every time, making it longer to go flat and vice versa. I hear waaaay too much harmonics, and it’s hard for me to separate it out for the fundamental sometimes. I like the harmonic content, but it make it hard for my brain to tune out the other parts. As a live sound engineer I’ve learned to tune out things so I can listen to particular sounds without resorting to headphones. But being in an intimate position and hearing so much at close range is challenging. I often sit and play so I can feel the vibration in my hip, which will bring out the fundamental much better , for my odd senses. I think I’m also autistic so that explains a lot. Far too in-tune with my senses, such that it can be a massive advantage, but also a hindrance. That B also sounded like maybe he plucked it too hard. I will contradict myself here: a stiffer instrument may assist with long sustain, but at the sacrifice of resonance. A harder, and/or stiffer instrument requires a higher amplitude to hear its resonance. Think about it. ALL things resonate. That thunder you hear during an earthquake is literally sand stone and granite and less so limestone resonating. Granite resonating requires such a monumental amount of energy that man cannot replicate it, not even with a nuclear bomb. And at that, we only hear the upper harmonics, those being around 25 hz and up. We barely hear half of what whales and elephants are communicating to each other. Infrasound. But a cooked noodle also has pretty much nothing for resonance, but it’s there, extremely low amplitude. Our ears require a RANGE of frequencies to detect, in addition to a certain amplitude. 0 db means at the lowest threshold of human hearing ON AVERAGE. SOME people can hear below that, while others can’t hear anywhere near that low of Sound Pressure Level. Notice how your hearing gets a bit muffled as your airplane ride leaves ground? And then hopefully at some point your body and the airplane’s fuselage pressure will equalize and your ears “pop”, even though they are not popping, but suddenly everything sounds clear again? Yep. The lower air pressure removed a bit of sensitivity to your ear drums, as they had less pressure or “pre-load” on them. That Dingwall is neat, but I would be sold if it truly corrected the true intonation issues with every fretboard based instrument. The notes can’t be in-tune everywhere on the fretboard. Even an “intonated” instrument is only intonated as far as the octave position is a true octave note. That makes everything between the nut and the octave sharp, sharpest new the nut and less so toward the 12th fret, or position when Fretless. And past that it’s not so bad because the geometry of the bridge saddles to the body emd of the fretboard is less dramatic. On a perfect instrument, as far as equal between nut and the 12 th fret , and between the 12th fret and the saddles, it would take the curve to be truly symmetrical on either side of the 12th, and the nut and saddle heights would need to be exactly the same.

[@andrewpinner3181]

Thanks Scott, thanks Leland. The Elephant Sanctuary is so needed. Leland should be an honorary member of ZZ Top. Also l can imagine being handed one of these basses after a few beers & thinking ... um well, what's new here ? 😜

[@vintagevinylvets1187]

Now THAT is an endorsement. When Leland makes that kind of a statement, we’re sold.🎧

[@Incursion56]

I saw Leland play with Lyle Lovett not too long ago in nashville and he was using this exact model of dingwall and man it sounds amazing

[@devinebass]

Sweeeet! I love Leland's playing on Dingwall basses!

[@keithotterbeck5386]

I own one of these basses. They are fantastic instruments.

[@colinness375]

Thanks, Scott. Always fascinating listening to and watching Lee.

[@70sladyalways25]

Leland is a wealth of knowledge and information! Thanks for the video and love the support for the elephant sanctuary!

[@bassplayer463]

The very first time I tried a Dingwall was about 1994. I think. Anyhoo, I was in the market of another bass, because mine was stolen. Long story short, I grabbed a Dingwall, not knowing anything about them. I'm sitting there playing it. Loved the feel, loved the tone. Then the salesman asked me what I thought of the fan frets. I stop, look at the neck and said," Cool." Kept playing it. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford it at the time. Now, I'm really hoping to get my hands in one soon.

[@devinebass]

Hopefully you manage to get hold of one soon!!

[@ankerstang1878]

It's a good informational video with a very likeable bass player.

[@metalboi4720]

Everyone has seen a Dingwall as a gritty metal machine but I think most of the people didn't see this in jazz music or pop

[@donmcbass]

I have an Excellent Yamaha TRB5P I've played 20 years, and hear that B right away is perfect. My Yamster a 1at fret C is first clear note

[@seanj3667]

3:48He won an important award! I think it was italian: "fra-gee-lay"!

[@jyrtoleek2369]

These frets are still straight but they're not parallel to each other. Lots of love!

[@barthvapour]

Well yes, because if they were parallel to each other with the strings being different lengths, then they would be out of tune.

[@jyrtoleek2369]

@@barthvapour I was about to write a funny and sarcastic comment but that wouldn't help anyone. I was pointing out that the frets are still straight but not parallel because Scott was implying in the beginning of the video that the frets arent straight. But what he meant was that the frets arent parallel.

[@martinheath5947]

Dirty Loops bassist Henrik Linder has a bass with compensated frets for perfect intonation, which are actually bent and wiggly in different places on the neck

[@jyrtoleek2369]

@@martinheath5947 yeah i know. As i undestand his instrument is tuned to just temperament but there is an issue with that. As some keys sound perfect others sound worse than before. There is a reason why pianos are tuned in equal temperament not Just, and it's because musician is expected to be able to play in all keys but just intonation revolves around 1 key. And further you need to play from that key the more worse it will sound. That's why Im not interested in his instrument at all.

[@martinheath5947]

@@jyrtoleek2369 Me neither

[@crnkmnky]

Check out Leland’s KZbin channel if you want to hear his playing and talking in separate segments. 🤘

[@marvelherman419]

One of the most amazing instruments ever. So flipping correct.

[@DrumRoody]

You had me at elephant rescue

[@OrganicFaithFactory]

Whatbmore amazing is he was 74 years-old at the time recording and his voices doesn't sounded like an old man

[@jdssurf]

The thought of being on just 1 album gives me chills, then to know he’s been on a million lol

[@picksalot1]

Respect and thanks to everyone involved in this noble work. 👍🙏👌😎

[@DuffTV]

Thank you Scott for yet another wonderful insight

[@davidjairala69]

Nothing but respect for Scott and Leland both, but aren't fanned frets kinda yesterday's news at this point? They've even got those crazy squiggly frets now.

[@bassimprovjams3772]

I remember my dad telling me about lee when I was about 14 my dad is the one who turned me onto the bass. And I’m 38 I feel like no one knew who lee was when I was a teenager I didn’t even know who he was then . But my dad was smart for lee being his favorite bass player. What a master of his work!!

[@dr.seppjausen9778]

How could one not love this guy! Great man

[@devinebass]

Absolute dude!

[@jredhayjay196]

And a shout out to the good people of Saskatoon!

[@sleekeliteplekjapan9398]

Dingwall is Fun Fret Bass!

[@rodneychristian9834]

For $8,000 it should sound amazing.

[@bassslapper-hc2me]

i wish i wasnt poor and could afford a higher than 2000 dollar bass.i might actually sound good lol

[@bassslapper-hc2me]

obviously joking most basses sound good,just feel,action,look etc make or break them

[@milosjanic1038]

@@bassslapper-hc2me If you don't sound good on anything over 500$ you need to practice more

[@bassslapper-hc2me]

@@milosjanic1038 lol yep man. Honestly on any price

[@soundman1402]

I fixed up a Yamaha TRB174... this bass is sub-$200. I gave it a setup, cleaning, and new strings and it sounded startlingly good for the price! It didn't sound as good as my BB735a (which cost 4x as much), of course, but it definitely sounded better than you'd expect from such an inexpensive instrument!

[@BassPlayer80]

Thanks for sharing - simply a beautiful review! I am currently looking to Dingwall for my next bass. Cheers!!

[@sixsentsoldiers]

Look at your left hand. In playing positions. It makes sense.

[@Basstank]

Biiiig love to Mr. Sklar - and this Dingwall is a dream, what an awesome looking bass and what a tone! 💛👍

[@mirkomarkovic3438]

My fender custom shop jazz has the b string tuned to a, it's true not every bass can do that but it's not just the dingwall

[@tcoudi]

btw, sklar means glassmaker in czech.

[@Yasin5791-d7u]

2:41 explain this to me 3:53 a lot of 5 string B string lacks clarity 4:19 the extra scale length give the notes extra clarity

[@offbeatbassgear]

Although I don't own and haven't played a fanned fret bass, I think that there's some merit to this idea, based on my five string Rob Allen, which uses a 35" scale and string-through body to establish more clarity on the low B. I notice that it has a clearer low B tone than my fretted five string, which is a 34."

[@NikkieRoxxx]

Its also in your hands, i play an ibanez mikro 5 strigns and my low b kicks!!! --with a 28 inch scale!!

[@b2bw1955]

I have been a big Leland fan for many years. Scott ...are you aware of the bassist Richard Sinclair? Richard was part of the Canterbury scene and is my fav musician. Check out "Share It" on the Hatfield and the North album ...The Rotter's Club. This song will give you an idea of Richard's musicianship :)

[@Kreighouston]

Amazing!

[@traindiesel7005]

the most impressive piece of equipment i see is that dope built in covid mask :b. respect brother

[@simonbelmont5801]

Thank you.

[@aussiecoastie72]

Wonderful Bass , wonderful charity and cause 🙏

[@km1842]

Leland is a LEGEND!! Cut out the first 1:30 with Scott and it's a keeper!!

[@bohs1984]

Benefit of a fanned fret system has to do with E string sounding better at a longer scale but not the D and G strings. Especially beneficial if you want a KILLER B string. I make my own basses and I made a fanned fret 5 string with an extra extra long B string and a standard fender scale on the G string. It sounds KILLER. I gave it to a friend to use in a studio and it is now the official studio bass. I will probably never get it back. Thing is, there is NO learning curve. It felt perfectly natural from the first time I played it. So far over 100 people have come in and used it and EVERY one of them seem to love it.

[@wasitthat]

Wandering around, in the wild, Leland sights a most amazing and never before seen by human eyes discovery, the fanned fret bass hiding high in the forest canopy...

[@SuperLuckyCat7]

#1: Love Yr care for the Elephants 💖 & #2: As a 5-string Aficionado I've noticed just what You mentioned; the B-string never sounds true. And I don't have the worst basses..😁 So, will investigate Dingwall. And Kudos to everything You do, Leland 😇 In the early Pandemic Your reports from home were so soothing, and moving 😢❤️ At least in Sweden all restrictions will be omitted as of in two days. Hope release of restrictions will free up Yr turf also. Reee-Spect ❣️💖✨💫

[@robjgolde3221]

“Treebeard, some call me.”

[@graemerobertson5160]

I point I often make is I have never seen anyone bar across two strings to play 5ths down, e.g. Bb to F, it must be very uncomfortable trying to bend your finger to fit between the first and second fret. When People have said how good fanned frets are and I ask to comment on the point above they never respond. I notice Skelar slides along the same string to do that. One reason why I wouldn't want one.

[@markusloacker3528]

Absolute master 🙏

[@rikd5452]

Wonderful human being.

[@patrickbryant5224]

Sounds like the proverbial match made in heaven.

[@jodyhendrix5876]

Love Leland

[@hifijohn]

I always pictured santa was a bass player.

[@bassplayer463]

Wasn't he the very first to use a dingwall? If I'm not mistaken, I think I read somewhere, years ago, that Leo Fender was the first to come up with this concept, but didn't do anything with it.

[@julianthesmooshyhusky8976]

I just played a dingwall ng3 5 at a guitar center the other day and wow did that thing have a sweet b string. I wish they still made them in Canada.

[@BathtubBass]

Bids are currently at $5,900

[@BramBrijanBass]

I hate these auctions tho. Good cause, but like I'll ever have the money to compete...

[@jasonweinberg932]

Q-What do you get when you watch KZbin instead of playing your instrument? A-25 or more instruments that you don’t know how to play and a sizable debt that your to busy trying to payoff instead of spending time with your instrument.

[@fantomtracks]

Sick ! I want one of these

[@riffs66]

Tennessee. Elephant. Sanctuary.

[@CaryHawkins]

So, Moolon P-bass and 3+ years of a wait or Dingwall?

[@oDave0o]

That's the future!

[@EricT43]

Can you imagine the fist-pumping that was going on in Sheldon Dingwall's hotel room the day he landed Leland Sklar?

[@devinebass]

🤣🤣🤣

[@intuneorange]

That low B sounds great and besides you want the synthesizer players to get all the work?.

[@warrenosborne6044]

The fan shape was a curiosity,, now the bulb is on.

[@jimmymack9440]

I love Lee's channel, but unless I'm mistaken, with regards to the auction... The most dough wins? Why not a $5 lowest (single) bid or raffle? Would likely raise more for the elephant sanctuary and given those less financially fortunate a shot.

[@NikkieRoxxx]

... i play ibanez mikro... 28 in scale... would be nice if they would also make a short(er) scales model like 26--28 or even 28-30 about... a 34in scale has always been too big for the little Me :)

[@HempBike]

Hi Scott, Do you have a lesson on multi-scale right hand technique? To get an even tone I'm finding I need to move my fingers towards the headstock on the higher-pitched strings (A & G), and backwards on the lower strings (B & E.) It makes sense because plucking-distance from the bridge has a big impact on tone and the bridge is angled quite a lot, but adding the fwd & back element when string crossing sure is tricky to a 5-str multi-scale newbie.

[@stephencampbell2018]

I went and got old now I look just like you.

[@isaacbeats2009]

this disproves any notion that these basses are reserved for metal

[@karlsev1197]

Just checking, didn't watch the whole clip. Did Ralph Novak get about 0.5 seconds? Checking again; who came up with the concept? thanks

[@LanceWillMakeIt]

So cool

[@TheCadillacCowboys]

Hi Scott, Have you ever tried to contact Carol Kaye?

[@lennartdelarambelje1154]

The different lengths for the different strings make sense, but then wouldn’t it make equal sense to have the tuners “in line”, rather than 2/3?🤔

[@transcendkira]

It really doesn't make a difference in any way except the distance between nut and tuning peg becoming too long (and thus strings potentially slipping out of the nut), which means that the 2/3 head makes sense, especially as it's a 5 string.

[@martin_lane]

Videos about videos, what a strange era of human interaction we are living through.

[@andybaldman]

How much did it sell for? The auction is long gone.

[@l.ch.]

he's a gandalf of a bass

[@vanjamilosevic6937]

Legend! 🙏🎸

[@tylerthompson1842]

I see he got a major reward “Not A FINGER!”

[@Bheested]

My Dingwall has blown every bass I have owned out of the water

[@benbond3433]

Sklar is a living legend. But, I must be one of the black sheep that WASN'T/ISN'T sold on fanned frets. I tried Dingwall at NAMM, years ago, and not only didn't find the B any better in tone or feel, but the frets were annoying as hell, especially when playing chords. I've never had problems regular frets and 34" low-Bs...US Peaveys, Ken Smith, Warwick, Carvin/Kiesel, etc...all have had awesome low end and intonation. To each his/her own.

[@NikkieRoxxx]

Yup; whatever floats your boat. I play an ibanez mikro 5 strings