“This bass felt so intuitive to me from the moment I picked it up, and immediately made me wonder why all bass guitars aren’t made like this” - John Taylor, Duran Duran
With a sleek custom finish that takes its inspiration from Duran Duran’s seminal Rio album cover, the latest signature model from Dingwall Guitars embodies the personality and stylistic range of the band’s 1982 multi- platinum record. “John Taylor’s bass playing on Rio really imprinted on me how a bass should fit into a band mix,” said Dingwall founder and CEO, Sheldon Dingwall. “His basslines have always had a special combination of energy and elegance, and it’s been an absolute pleasure working with him on this project. I think this new signature model has really raised the bar for us.”
The John Taylor Signature is modeled after the Dingwall NG3 that Taylor used on Duran Duran’s most recent studio album: FUTURE PAST, though with some design modifications to really hone in on his tone. “It all started when I was in Toronto about five years ago with a friend,” says Taylor “and he showed me a Dingwall bass on his phone. I loved how it looked and immediately said to Bernie Guerra, my tech, “You’ve got to reach out to these guys!”
Specs of the new bass include three Neodymium pickups and an onboard preamp designed and configured in collaboration with Rupert Neve Designs, whose studio consoles have long represented the pinnacle of high-end audio engineering. With the JT Signature model, the Neve experience is available for bass guitar for the very first time. “This project gave us a unique opportunity from an engineering perspective,” said Josh Thomas of Rupert Neve Designs. “We were tasked with combining our design knowledge with equalizer ‘tone’ controls specific to this application. That’s become the hallmark of this design. It’s about finding the right balance of performance specifications and essential results in terms of capturing John’s tone.”
The series will launch with an individually numbered Cranberry Pearl colored model, the Rio Dream Bass®, which will be limited to just 82 instruments, and will includea special string pack, monikered case, a Hipshot Drop D Xtender key (only available on the limited edition model), the ‘Rio Eye’ inlaid at the 12th fret of Dingwall’s customary multi-scale fingerboard, and an optional custom guitar hanger. The Rio Dream Bass will be followed by the release of three other production model colors: Black, Vintage White and Seafoam.
The John Taylor Signature model ably demonstrates the bass-building know-how that resides at Dingwall Guitars. “I’m in love with this bass!” says John. “It felt so intuitive to me from the moment I picked it up, and immediately made me wonder why all bass guitars aren’t made like this. It just felt so good. With Duran Duran the bass has to occupy quite a narrow bandwidth. You just need that really direct, low-end punch and I found Dingwall to deliver exactly that. Sheldon Dingwall is a real visionary.”
This spring and summer, Taylor and his Duran Duran bandmates will head back out on the road with seven shows in the UK and Ireland, followed by a 28-date North American run with both Bastille and Nile Rodgers & CHIC joining on all of the arena shows as special guests. THE FUTURE PAST TOUR begins on April
29 in Manchester, UK and ends on May 9in Glasgow. Later that month it continues on May 28 in San Jose, CA and will make stops across Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Austin, New Orleans, Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta, and Tampa before concluding the first US leg in Florida on June 18. The tour will pick back up again on August 24 in Sacramento, CA, with dates in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C, Detroit and Toronto amongst many more. Additionally, two new dates were recently announced, including August 22 in San Diego, and a special New York show on September 22 at Forest Hills Stadium, where the incomparable artist and icon Grace Jones will be joining as a very special guest alongside both Nile Rodgers & CHIC and Bastille. Tickets for San Diego and New York shows are on sale this Friday. A date for Los Angeles will be announced soon. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit https://duranduran.com/tour/.
PRE ORDER the Rio Dream Bass here
For any questions about ordering the bass, please email sales@dingwallguitars.com
