What would you do with a Lightwave?

[RBS_Johnson]

Hello all,

So, yesterday my sister gets ahold of me and tells me that her and her boyfriend have a "sorry you wrecked your motorcycle" present for me. Not sure what to expect, I stopped by and got it.

They had no idea what this bass was, and I didn't get a clear idea of where it came from or what happened to the hardware and pickups. It's a Wilcox Guitars Lightwave bass. For those not familiar, the Lightwave uses an optical pickup(light based), instead of traditional magnetic pickups.

So I cleaned it up, what you see is what I've got. Now to figure out what to do with it. The fretboard has been sanded at some point. It seems well built overall, and not too heavy. I'm not of a fretless player, by the way.

Any ideas?

 

[T_Bone_TL]

So it's gutted? Or you have the parts out?

 

[RBS_Johnson]

So it's gutted? Or you have the parts out?

It came just as you see. Missing all the proprietary, expensive bits. Along with everything else.

 

[40Hz]

A bigass bridge like a Babicz to cover up some holes, a pickup or two, some refinishing on the fingerboard, and an Audere preamp and you’ve got yourself a nice new bass to play with.

I’ve got a Willcox Lightwave. They’re nicely made basses. Excellent build quality and really good necks. I’d give yours some organ transplants and bring it back to life.

 

[lz4005]

If you don't want to become a fretless player, sell it and put the money into a different project.

If you are open to fretlessing.....

[email protected]
805.684.3216

"Hi, I have one of your basses that's missing all the electronics and the bridge. Do you sell those as replacement parts and if so how much would they be?"

If that's within your budget, go for it. If not, sell it and put the money into a different project.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

A bigass bridge like a Babicz to cover up some holes, a pickup or two, some refinishing on the fingerboard, and an Audere preamp and you’ve got yourself a nice new bass to play with.

I’ve got a Willcox Lightwave. They’re nicely made basses. Excellent build quality and really good necks. I’d give yours some organ transplants and bring it back to life.

If you don't want to become a fretless player, sell it and put the money into a different project.

If you are open to fretlessing.....

[email protected]
805.684.3216

"Hi, I have one of your basses that's missing all the electronics and the bridge. Do you sell those as replacement parts and if so how much would they be?"

If that's within your budget, go for it. If not, sell it and put the money into a different project.

Two very different opinions here. I may be open to playing fretless, but I think I would like to mark the lines, at least on the side of the neck. I'm not expecting replacement parts from the manufacturer to be the way to go(I think I saw that a battery and charger are around $100).

Side note - most of my other side projects that need parts aren't as nice as this bass.

 

[two fingers]

Two very different opinions here. I may be open to playing fretless, but I think I would like to mark the lines, at least on the side of the neck. I'm not expecting replacement parts from the manufacturer to be the way to go(I think I saw that a battery and charger are around $100).

Side note - most of my other side projects that need parts aren't as nice as this bass.

If you need parts for other basses, and aren't a fretless guy, sell this body and neck to finance enough stuff to bring your other projects together.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

If you need parts for other basses, and aren't a fretless guy, sell this body and neck to finance enough stuff to bring your other projects together.

That is possible. Though I'm not sure what the market is like for something like this.

 

[40Hz]

Two very different opinions here. I may be open to playing fretless, but I think I would like to mark the lines, at least on the side of the neck. I'm not expecting replacement parts from the manufacturer to be the way to go(I think I saw that a battery and charger are around $100).

Side note - most of my other side projects that need parts aren't as nice as this bass.

I don’t know if Willcox sells replacement parts for the Lightwave. And I’ve never seen the components on the used market. So hopefully they can do something for you if you want the optical pickup. But it’s pretty amazing and not quite like anything else so it’d be worth at least looking into IMO.

Luck either way.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

I don’t know if Willcox sells replacement parts for the Lightwave. And I’ve never seen the components on the used market. So hopefully they can do something for you if you want the optical pickup. But it’s pretty amazing and not quite like anything else so it’d be worth at least looking into IMO.

Luck either way.

We'll see. I plan on emailing them just to see. I'm in no hurry to work on this, so if it comes to it the bass can sit around for awhile if I think it will be worth it.

 

[Jisch]

I saw a fully loaded one on ebay a few months ago, it was relatively cheap, IIRC.

 

[mikewalker]

My Lightwave Hybrid has THE BEST NECK I HAVE EVER PLAYED... (300+ basses)
It also has a very ergonomic body... Just a stunning package, altogether. If I could just figure out how best to upgrade the op-amps in it, to reduce the hiss a little ...

 

[RBS_Johnson]

I saw a fully loaded one on ebay a few months ago, it was relatively cheap, IIRC.

They vary quite a bit from what I've seen.

My Lightwave Hybrid has THE BEST NECK I HAVE EVER PLAYED... (300+ basses)
It also has a very ergonomic body... Just a stunning package, altogether. If I could just figure out how best to upgrade the op-amps in it, to reduce the hiss a little ...

The neck on this one is nice, I don't know about best ever. It's an interesting design for sure.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Willcox will refurbish your bass but not sell parts around. Lightwave did sell kits years ago but not anymore.
I guess somebody wanted the guts for a project.

It shall work just fine with any good pickups.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

I would, at leas, check on the chances of getting replacement parts for it.
It might be a very good fretless.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Willcox will refurbish your bass but not sell parts around. Lightwave did sell kits years ago but not anymore.
I guess somebody wanted the guts for a project.

It shall work just fine with any good pickups.

I will let them do it if it's less than another good bass I want, lol. Failing that I was thinking maybe lace alumitones or something similar with a preamp.

I would, at leas, check on the chances of getting replacement parts for it.
It might be a very good fretless.

Will do. It seems most people love them or hate them in stock form.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Probably glue some knobs on to it, find a cheap bridge and spray paint it a solid color for a wall decoration. Too many parts missing, and very proprietary parts at that, with no vintage value.

 

[Reedt2000]

These aren't particularly valuable basses, I don't see why you cant mod it to your heart's content. New bridge, PUs, preamp, bell brass frets, Drop tuner on the e string, make a pickguard if you need too, add a Roland synth pickup, go nuts. It doesn't look like there will ever be a crazy collector's market for these. There are plenty available, it's not like you'd be ruining a hand-made instrument or something that's rare. If it's light and the neck feels good, outfit it with whatever you like.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Probably glue some knobs on to it, find a cheap bridge and spray paint it a solid color for a wall decoration. Too many parts missing, and very proprietary parts at that, with no vintage value.

Which is exactly why I was considering the magnetic pickup conversion. I don't have enough wall space for decorative basses that don't work, lol.

These aren't particularly valuable basses, I don't see why you cant mod it to your heart's content. New bridge, PUs, preamp, bell brass frets, Drop tuner on the e string, make a pickguard if you need too, add a Roland synth pickup, go nuts. It doesn't look like there will ever be a crazy collector's market for these. There are plenty available, it's not like you'd be ruining a hand-made instrument or something that's rare. If it's light and the neck feels good, outfit it with whatever you like.

Money input vs. Resale value may dictate the way forward. I can do mag pickups easily enough, probably don't need synth stuff. Any reason you suggested brass frets? I would think they would wear super fast.

Plus my sister might be annoyed if I sold it

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Which is exactly why I was considering the magnetic pickup conversion. I don't have enough wall space for decorative basses that don't work, lol.

Just keep the expenditures in check. You know what the resulting value will be.