Do you really need luminlay?

[Kevin Hailey]

I guess Luminlay is only of any use if it is charged up.
I have a bass with Luminlay markers that I played for months before I ever saw any glow on a dark stage.
BTW, how do you charge luminlay??

 

[singlemalt]

I install Luminlay in my basses because it’s cheap, easy, and way too much fun.

This one got 3mm blue. Sides and face.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I've never been able to not see my side dots.

I've been challenged by a lot of theatrical productions, especially those where the ensemble is onstage, because your visibility is at the whim of the lighting designer's creative vision.

Not so challenged that I actually invested in illuminated side dots, but challenged enough that I could definitely understand the appeal.

 

[Artman]

I didn't know most new basses came with them.
The last time I purchased a bass that came with luminous side dots was around 1987 or 1988. A fretless unlined Ibanez Roadstar 2.

I have purchased several new and late model instruments during the past decade, but never knew that luminous dots was an option on any of them.

Guess I haven't been shopping high end enough.

Haven't really needed them anyway.

 

[Ulf Buck]

I have them and I see them enough most gigs to appreciate them. Wouldn't go without. The stage lights even charge them and if the lights go off at the end of a song or there is a weird light tone, reflection etc... . They are great.

Better than the big dots of white out or whatever. Not necessary but very nice to have.

 

[Artman]

I have them and I see them enough most gigs to appreciate them. Wouldn't go without. The stage lights even charge them and if the lights go off at the end of a song or there is a weird light tone, reflection etc... . They are great.

Better than the big dots of white out or whatever. Not necessary but very nice to have.

Good information.
Maybe I'll have some installed to the side of one of my fretless fingerboards.

 

[Carl Hillman]

I've been challenged by a lot of theatrical productions, especially those where the ensemble is onstage, because your visibility is at the whim of the lighting designer's creative vision.

Not so challenged that I actually invested in illuminated side dots, but challenged enough that I could definitely understand the appeal.

Yes, if you're in a pit, usually the only light near you is coming from your music stand light.

If you've got one eye on the music and one eye on the conductor, and you have to make a huge shift and nail it, they would absolutely help.

 

[12BitSlab]

I’ve found that Luminay dots are especially effective when playing “Dark Side of the Moon”, “Round Midnight”, or “25 or 6 to 4”.

 

[logdrum]

Whatever makes you play better. It's not a competition

I guess years of playing nylon guitars with zero dots as well as upright basses, you get used to mentally noting the halfway point between nut and the bridge and you just adjust and create a map of landing points.

I won't seek them out but if the bass has them, I 'll welcome them with open arms and fingers,

 

[fauxtoe]

Only had trouble seeing clay dots. Those things just disappear on a dark stage.

My guitar player had that problem on one of his own custom builds over the weekend. Clay dots and a tinted finish made for basically zero stage visibility. He had to use some neon pink tape to make some markers or else it probably would have been a disaster (his words). He was playing a down tuned guitar and really had to make sure his positioning was correct.

I have one neck to where I wish I had them, and it's to the point where I may replace the neck because the black dots on roasted flame maple do not make for high visibility. Contrast is a must!

 

[Rdore2000]

Most basses? which basses are you looking at? I’ve not seen them on anything hanging at the local GC.

I guess I'm older now and most of my bassist friends have corporate jobs investing in high end gear. I know most German Warwicks and even Charvels come with them. You're right though. Maybe they were always around in the high end bracket.

 

[Rdore2000]

Luminlay dots are the reason I ditched my Charvel. The roasted maple neck was a medium color, not too light or dark. When I play live, I don’t look at the fret board and I move around a lot, but I occasionally have to glance down and see those dots to make sure I’m in the right spot when changing hand positions. The first night I played it on stage the venue had these moving colored lights and it made the dots absolutely disappear. I never took it on stage again.

Yikes. I've heard those Charvel necks sure are amazing though.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Funnily enough, none of my basses have luminlay side dots, hence the question. The Roger Glover signature basses have glow in the dark front dots, which, to me, are pretty pointless.

But, they look cool in the crowd!
Have no luminlay on any of my basses.
Have a couple that have NO fretmarkers and no side markers

 

[DJ Bebop]

Maybe on the basses you're playing, but what about the mid-priced basses? I don't think they're common at that level. But, I haven't been buying many new basses these last few years, so maybe things have changed? It'd be nice if they did though, or at least offered them as an option. Real handy feature for busy players who find themselves in a variety of lighting situations, or for those of us with less than owl-like vision.

A lot of the Harley Benton budget basses are coming with them. I just got one that has them

 

[pfschim]

I know what they are, but I've never actually seen them on a bass in 50+ years of playing. As far as needing something like that, I'd say no. I'm definitely in the "don't need to look" group. On the 4 basses I play regularly (including 2 fretless ... one unlined) I just know where my fretting hand is and don't need or use visual references like fret markers or side dots. Now, on an unfamiliar bass or the somewhat rare occasion when I have to play UR, I definitely need visual cues until I get a solid feel for the instrument. Still, not sure I'd want something like Luminlay though.

play what works for you though, I got no useful opinion there.

 

[Watchootognbout]

I guess Luminlay is only of any use if it is charged up.
I have a bass with Luminlay markers that I played for months before I ever saw any glow on a dark stage.
BTW, how do you charge luminlay??

They sell a tiny UV flashlight separately.
But the tiny batteries that it uses are extremely hard to find.

Any regular sized UV flashlight will do.

 

[_jojo_bass]

I just got my first bass with them and its been life changing. I do big and small gigs. The big gigs have heavy black out moments and the song starts in pitch black. The bar gigs are tight in corners and I'll usually have a couple glasses of wine, so the dots make it a little easier to track. they havent been around long so obviously not super necessary but i love the technology of things being more helpful

 

[Neil Folkard]

I got them for one of my fretless basses. Either I'm doing something wrong, or they don't work that well, as despite pointing the supplied light at them for a few minutes, they never last more than 5, or 6 minutes for me.

Is there a way to get them to last longer?

 

[foolforthecity]

I took a break from playing live over the past few years, and returned to find that most basses these days come with glow in the dark side dots. Having played for years without them, my question is have you ever needed them for visibility? I've never been able to not see my side dots.

I drilled out the lame factory no-glow dots on my Ibanaez EHB1005 MS and dropped in super bright high-gloss white enamel, exactly what I needed

 

[Ellery]

Yikes. I've heard those Charvel necks sure are amazing though.

You heard correctly, they feel great.