FS: Custom TBC Fretless Lightwave 5

[swpyne]

This has been my main fretless for jazz gigs for the last several years and the only reason I am considering letting it go is that I recently acquired a Pedulla Pentabuzz which now seems to be meeting my fretless needs. My left hand is more comfortable (and hurts less) when I stick with 34" scale basses.

It started it's life as an original US made TBC fretless 5. It had a satin finish with a very beautiful spalted maple top and a 4+1 traditional Fender style headstock The scale is 35", the string spacing is 18mm and it weighs in at 7.96 lbs. on my digital scale.

When I first played it I was totally taken with the very rich and complex fretless tone it delivers. If you have never played a bass with lightwave pickups it's hard to describe their sound (sound clips have been posted below). Very natural and full with no noise or hum. To my ear it sounds like an upright with steel flatwound strings. The lined board is an absolutely gorgeous piece of Brazilian rosewood and it's sound is perfect for traditional jazz!

This bass has a rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery inside the control cavity and it comes with an AC charger like a laptop. The charge lasts between 15 to 20 hours and the red light on the pickup starts to blink when you have about two hours left. It a really nifty setup that works very well.

I decided I liked it enough to have it rebuilt so I took it to Mike Patton at Eclipse Guitars here in Denver. I had him strip the finish on the body and refinish it in high gloss nitro to really bring out the beauty of the top. He put on 40 coats and hand rubbed it between every coat.

I also had him change the headstock configuration to a 3+2 with new black hipshot tuners and he put a matching piece of spalted maple on the front and back of the headstock. The body sports black recessed Dunlop style straplocks. He finished if off with a tasteful inlaid abalone and mother of pearl F Clef on the headstock.

I actually have over $1,600 invested in this bass but I find that it's sitting in it's custom molded hard shell case and just not getting played these days. So I'm willing to take a loss on it as I have my eye on another fretted 5 to hopefully quench my GAS for a while.

SOLD - Asking $1,249.00 OBO including shipping in the CONUS

I really need cash (who doesn't) so trades are probably not going to work but feel free to run them by me if you want. You just never know.

Now for the photos:

[swpyne]

One more thing to mention. The lightwave people have a plug-in daughter board that will give these basses MIDI capability. I had a fretted lightwave that I did this with and it worked great. The lightwave pickups contain both an optical and a piezo element so the MIDI board uses the piezo element to generate signal from each string. If you have ever wanted to experiment with using MIDI and a Roland GR-20 this is a great way to go!

[notrt]

...so do you have any clips of her sounds?

Also, what's the body wood, if you know.

Really glorious looking instrument! Always intrigued with the "lightwave" pickups and buffer; always wanted to try it.

Any balance issues (i.e. neck diving) when strapped on, standin' and deliverin'?

Thanks

Richard Collins a/k/a 'notrt'

[swpyne]

Originally Posted by notrt

...so do you have any clips of her sounds?

Also, what's the body wood, if you know.

Really glorious looking instrument! Always intrigued with the "lightwave" pickups and buffer; always wanted to try it.

Any balance issues (i.e. neck diving) when strapped on, standin' and deliverin'?

Thanks

Richard Collins a/k/a 'notrt'

I believe the body wood may be mahagony but I'm not certain. The bass is very lightweight weighing only 7.96 lbs.

No issues at all! It sounds, plays and balances perfectly.

Currently there is a somewhat used set of Elixirs on the bass. I'm sure you could coax different tones out of it with different strings.

Here are a couple sound clips with all the controls set flat and with the piezo turned off.

[swpyne]

And one more sound clip!

[Kevin Woods]

Wow, this is just a beautiful bass. Mesmerizing.

And a yeoman's job on the clips, too!

[ahollowhd]

beautiful bass! what are the functions of the 5 knobs?

[swpyne]

Originally Posted by ahollowhd

beautiful bass! what are the functions of the 5 knobs?

Thanks!

The controls are as follows:

Optical Volume, Bass, Midrange, Treble and Piezo Volume.

The Piezo Volume is a push-pull pot. When pulled out it emphasizes the high frequencies even more.

I rarely have used the Piezo because the natural sound of the optical pickup is so sweet but it is there if you want to blend it in for more attack.

[ahollowhd]

1) Did this start with the lightwave pickup or was that added later and
2) for us less than versed fretless players, are there side dots?

[swpyne]

Originally Posted by ahollowhd

1) Did this start with the lightwave pickup or was that added later and
2) for us less than versed fretless players, are there side dots?

It was originally configured with the Lightwave System 2 pickups when it was built so no, they were not an "add-on"!

There are side dots and the edges of the fret lines are also visible on the edge of the board. You can see one of the dots in photo #11.

[thonkthonk]

PM Sent.

[thonkthonk]

Here you are sir.

[thonkthonk]

back shot

[swpyne]

Thanks for the trade offer thonkthonk but I'm going to have to pass. As nice as that Gravity looks it won't give me anything that I don't already have. I do appreciate your interest.

[Rapisme]

Free Bump.. For the Swpyne

[swpyne]

bump.........

This is an amazing lightweight and responsive fretless 5 with a killer "upright" voice and spalted maple top that will stop traffic. Just listen to the sound clips if you are skeptical. I always speak the truth, just check my TB feedback................

[swpyne]

SOLD pending receipt of funds! Thanks Mitch........

[Hhai]

Originally Posted by swpyne

SOLD pending receipt of funds! Thanks Mitch........

My pleasure Spencer