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

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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[jessesound]

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

[mrdefinitely]

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

[neilvn]

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

[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!

[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!

[Bassic]

I scoffed at the fanned fret concept for a long time. But after watching many YouTube videos featuring Sheldon Dingwall interviews and Dingwall basses in action, I'm sold on Dingwall and will get a Combustion 6 soon!!! Sheldon's vision, technical knowledge, passion, R&D, and attention to detail are why his basses sound PHENOMENAL!!!

[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!

[brettmarlar]

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!

[nuggers]

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 :)))

[garethmccash]

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

[bassplayer]

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.

[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.

[NateButlerFresnoCA]

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

[kente]

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

[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.

[JaQba]

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.

[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.

[forcereals]

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

[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.

[stephenshoihet]

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. :-)