Dingwall Guitars Debuts Alberto Rigoni AR5 Signature Bass Model

Alberto Rigoni with Dingwall Guitars AR5 BassTwo years ago, luthier Sheldon Dingwall and bassist Alberto Rigoni began working on a new bass. The goal was to create a versatile bass with a lot of punch and blending Dingwall’s ABZ and Z3 series basses.

The duo has just unveiled the creation, the Dingwall AR5. While the bass offers up some of Dingwall’s instrument characteristics, the AR5 is quite unique for the company.

“It’s been awesome working with Alberto on this bass. We put our heads together and assembled all of Alberto’s favorite wood combinations and features to create a bass that performs like nothing else in our lineup. It’s a really nice addition.”

The AR5 sports a dual density wood body comprised on Northern Ash and Swamp ash and is the first Dingwall instrument to have this combo. Rigoni says he loves this combination, because it offers “more balance in an ‘ash’ tone territory”. The bass comes in one of five colors: Black, White, Ferrari Yellow, and Fiesta Red. The fretboard is maple and includes Luminlay’s phosphorescent fluorescent front and side dot markers. The back of the headstock featueres Rigoni’s logo.

For pickups, the AR5 is equipped with three FD3 Dingwall pickups, with a P-Tone pickup in the neck position. The bass can be set in one of four pickup combinations, including neck, bridge and neck in parallel, dual bridge in series and bridge. The push/pull volume knob allows for switching between passive and active modes.

For the active mode, there’s a 3-band Glockenklang preamp. When the bass is in passive mode, the active treble control functions as a passive tone control.

The bass comes with Hipshot hardware and Bass Xtender for drop tuning from B to A.

Rigoni is quite pleased with the result. “In one word… KILLER!” the bassist shared.

Dingwall Guitars Alberto Rigoni AR5 Bass Model Photos:

Dingwall Guitars Alberto Rigoni AR5 Bass Model Demo:

Dingwall Guitars Alberto Rigoni AR5 Bass Model Specs:

  • Dual density wood body (Northern Ash/Swamp Ash)
  • Three FD3 Dingwall pickups, with P-Tone in the neck position
  • 4-position rotary for different pickup combinations
  • Push/pull volume knob for switching between active and passive modes
  • In active mode: 3-band Glockeklang preamp (40hz, 500hz, 18khz)
  • In passive mode: the active treble control functions as a passive tone control
  • Five color options: Black, White, Ferrari Yellow, and Fiesta Red
  • 5-piece maple neck
  • Maple fingerboard with Luminlay front and side dot markers
  • Hipshot hardware and Bass Xtender to drop from B to A
  • Alberto Rigoni’s logo on the back of the headstock

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Leave a Reply to Jay Davis Cancel reply

  1. Bellissima,esauriente presentazione !!!!! complimenti !!!

  2. Beautiful bass, but I think I want that t-shirt even more!

  3. My favorite part… Five color options: Black, White, Ferrari Yellow, and Fiesta Red.

    Check the math anyone?

  4. I think in all of your reviews, the msrp price should be included.