Since 1981, Sheldon Dingwall has been nurturing his interest in uniquely handcrafted instruments. He began under the mentorship of an uncle in-law who guided him in wood and metalworking, including acoustic guitars and electronics. After a three year stint as a touring musician, Sheldon returned to his hometown of Saskatoon and began building replacement electric guitar necks. His business eventually expanded into guitar bodies, hardware, and ultimately complete guitars and 5-string basses.
“To supplement income and gain experience I started a guitar repair shop in the basement of HEL Music. The repair business grew quite large with the number of repairs totaling nearly 6000 instruments. I handed off the repair business to one of my employees and moved to a larger location in 1996,” says Dingwall, outlining the early years.
After an unfortunate fire that burned his new space to the ground, Dingwall started again from scratch and resumed business a little over a year later.
Now, nearly 20 years later, Dingwall Guitars is world-reknowned for manufacturing and distributing technically sophisticated, high-end bass guitars.
“We design, manufacture and distribute primarily electric bass guitars, parts, and accessories. About half of our basses are manufactured in Saskatoon, with the other half being produced in China. We’ve carved out a niche in the electric bass guitar market which has helped us grow to be the third largest guitar manufacturer in Canada.”
Dingwall Guitars take an approach to their craft that is equal parts art and engineering. “Blending these two qualities seamlessly is difficult because they each require completely different mindsets,” adds Dingwall, illustrating how unique this business really is.
This continually-growing Saskatchewan business is a perfect example of how to persevere in niche markets. “We just build the best basses we can every day. It’s our customers that go out and spread music to the world. Through them, our basses have been on the Oscars, Emmys, American Music Awards, in Broadway and West End London musicals, with orchestras in the USA, Europe and Russia, albums by Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, Metallica and a bunch of others.”
Visit Dingwall Guitars on Facebook, Twitter, or at
Since 1981, Sheldon Dingwall has been nurturing his interest in uniquely handcrafted instruments. He began under the mentorship of an uncle in-law who guided him in wood and metalworking, including acoustic guitars and electronics. After a three year stint as a touring musician, Sheldon returned to his hometown of Saskatoon and began building replacement electric guitar necks. His business eventually expanded into guitar bodies, hardware, and ultimately complete guitars and 5-string basses.
“To supplement income and gain experience I started a guitar repair shop in the basement of HEL Music. The repair business grew quite large with the number of repairs totaling nearly 6000 instruments. I handed off the repair business to one of my employees and moved to a larger location in 1996,” says Dingwall, outlining the early years.
After an unfortunate fire that burned his new space to the ground, Dingwall started again from scratch and resumed business a little over a year later.
Now, nearly 20 years later, Dingwall Guitars is world-reknowned for manufacturing and distributing technically sophisticated, high-end bass guitars.
“We design, manufacture and distribute primarily electric bass guitars, parts, and accessories. About half of our basses are manufactured in Saskatoon, with the other half being produced in China. We’ve carved out a niche in the electric bass guitar market which has helped us grow to be the third largest guitar manufacturer in Canada.”
Dingwall Guitars take an approach to their craft that is equal parts art and engineering. “Blending these two qualities seamlessly is difficult because they each require completely different mindsets,” adds Dingwall, illustrating how unique this business really is.
This continually-growing Saskatchewan business is a perfect example of how to persevere in niche markets. “We just build the best basses we can every day. It’s our customers that go out and spread music to the world. Through them, our basses have been on the Oscars, Emmys, American Music Awards, in Broadway and West End London musicals, with orchestras in the USA, Europe and Russia, albums by Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, Metallica and a bunch of others.”
Visit Dingwall Guitars on Facebook, or at www.dingwallguitars.com.
