Lightwave bass No Thumbrest!

[keiththebassist]

Hey guys,

I am planning on treating myself to a lightwave saber VL5 early next 2012. The only thing that makes me hesitant is that I am so used to having a traditional pickup that I use as a thumb rest. Obviously there isn't one on the lightwave and I'm wondering how others have dealt with this. I'm not really into the floating thumb thing as it feels awkward and requires more movement with the right hand IMO. I emailed the company about possibly adding thumb rests above and below the strings but just wondering if others have done this or simply adapted. Also, any additional talk of the bass is welcome as it will certainly throw fuel on my GAS fire

 

[Jason Brown]

I don't have any firsthand experience with the Lightwave, but I like what I see. It's a nice bass.

A long time ago I used to have an Epiphone acoustic bass with no thumbrest, and I remember I never got all that comfortable with it for that reason. One thing I have found, though, having switched to a five string, is that I unconsciously had to develop the floating thumb technique to keep the B string muted. Now I float my thumb no matter what bass I play.

 

[WRXbase]

You could add a thumbrest/fingerbridge with some double sided tape.

 

[monkeyking]

I have the SL 5 and just picked up an older VL5. I wouldn't see any reason you couldn't add a thumbrest if you found you needed it.

I had the same concern when I got the first Lightwave. I also play a Conklin 5 and rested my thumb on the bridge pup, or so I thought. Turned out that I was really resting it on the B string and muting when not using it. Getting on the Lightwave, I paid more attention to my thumb and found that I was very naturally using the floating thumb technique right from the start. (Obviously, I don't obsess over technique since I don't even notice what my hands are doing.)

I think you'd get used to it, but like I mentioned, I think you could add a rest if you needed to. If you'd like some close-ups of the area for planning or more info, feel free to shoot me a pm. Or, I can just help stoke the fires...