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Willcox Bass Club (Lightwave)

#242
Hey all,

Just got a Saber 5 the other day, and, unfortunately, it didn't come with a charger. I contacted Willcox to see if i could use a non-proprietary wall wart, and they sent me the specs. I bought one locally that should work, but, when I plug it in, the LED does not light up. Is that normal when these charge, or do i need to spring for another charger? Thanks!

EDIT: Flipped the bass over, and there is an LED in the cavity lighting up. D'oh!
 
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#243
NicJimBass said:
Hey all,

Just got a Saber 5 the other day, and, unfortunately, it didn't come with a charger. I contacted Willcox to see if i could use a non-proprietary wall wart, and they sent me the specs. I bought one locally that should work, but, when I plug it in, the LED does not light up. Is that normal when these charge, or do i need to spring for another charger? Thanks!

EDIT: Flipped the bass over, and there is an LED in the cavity lighting up. D'oh!
Click to expand...
That’s what’s normal. The front LED lights when preamp is active (by inserting guitar cable).
Original manual indicates that you can ‘operate’ the instrument even with a dead battery by plugging in the charger.
Congrats on the ‘new’ bass BTW!
 
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#245
Being that the battery is 9.6v, I was surprised to see that the charger is rated at 18v, but there must be something inside that regulates everything. I bought an off-the-shelf wall wart at Meijer that only goes up to 12v. I'm assuming it will take longer to get to a full charge vs. the 18v, but don't think there will be any ill effects.

photo.JPG
 
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#246
:) Well, I wasn't planning on buying any more basses (especially long scale ones!) but unusual local magnetic noise conditions have driven me to explore the optical offerings (see my recent NBD post).
20181022_161042.jpg

With the rounds it came with, this bass sounds super 'hi-fi' for lack of a better description. I'm leaning towards putting some white tapes on, or else perhaps TI flats. Going to mull that over for a while, since string changes on this look a little finicky.

Is it possible to loosen the strings and then pull the ball ends through the bridge (towards the neck) - without disturbing the optical sensors? Or should I uncurl the headstock ends and pull the strings out 'the long way' (towards the bridge end of the instrument)??

And @kirkdickinson - can I get a number? :)
 
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#250
Glad this thread popped up again. I’ve been meaning to revisit it and ask some questions.
A while back I got a deal on a hybrid Saber. I’m afraid, try as I might I can’t seem to get the action low where I like it. I do not mean clear down on the deck, but I do like my action on the low side. I’ve set the neck darn near flat as a board. When I then went to lower the individual bridge pieces, I found they have a very coarse thread which means when I lower it to where I like it the set screw/witness point is a quarter turn to low or too high. To me this seems like a flaw in the screw design because it must be turned in 180 degree increments. Where as a finer thread would make for finer adjustments. I’m thinking shimming the neck might work.
But any suggestions would be appreciated. I regularly do my own setups (but not fretwork) but obviously this bass is a different beast. I don’t think it needs much if any fret work. I want to try and make it work for me because I dig the tone and ergonomics. However if I can’t play it comfortably that might be a deal breaker.
I have also wondered if this was an early production model. The magnetic pu seems to be either on or off with no nuance. Doesn’t bug me too much since the opti pu is the meat and potatoes on this bass IMHO but the preamp doesn’t seem fully functional to my ears either but I have nothing to compare it to. I’m curious if any of this sounds familiar to anyone else or if I’m crazy. Oops that’s a given. Also when I’ve watched the video on UT the pre in mine looks different. I assume mine is an older one. What little info I’ve been able to find was sketchy at best.
 
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#252
Kirk Bryant said:
When I then went to lower the individual bridge pieces, I found they have a very coarse thread which means when I lower it to where I like it the set screw/witness point is a quarter turn to low or too high. To me this seems like a flaw in the screw design because it must be turned in 180 degree increments. Where as a finer thread would make for finer adjustments. I’m thinking shimming the neck might work.
Click to expand...

You SHOULD NOT have to shim the neck to get this set up like you want. My two Sabers have very low action. I like mine on the deck and haven't had a problem. I am confused about the 180 degree increments thing? I never found mine to be too coarse. Of all my basses these have the best necks and the easiest to set low.

Kirk Bryant said:
I have also wondered if this was an early production model. The magnetic pu seems to be either on or off with no nuance. Doesn’t bug me too much since the opti pu is the meat and potatoes on this bass IMHO but the preamp doesn’t seem fully functional to my ears either but I have nothing to compare it to.
Click to expand...

I have VL and SL, no experience with the magnetic pickups. You should just call Wilcox on the phone and ask them some questions about that. I have called and even spoken to Chris a couple of times. They are very helpful.


Kirk Bryant said:
Also when I’ve watched the video on UT the pre in mine looks different. I assume mine is an older one. What little info I’ve been able to find was sketchy at best.
Click to expand...

Did you see a hybrid pre or a regular one? The hybrids were only done for a short time, and they would have to have a little different pre than the ones without mag pickups.
 
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#253
Kirk Bryant said:
...
I have also wondered if this was an early production model. The magnetic pu seems to be either on or off with no nuance. Doesn’t bug me too much since the opti pu is the meat and potatoes on this bass IMHO but the preamp doesn’t seem fully functional to my ears either but I have nothing to compare it to. I’m curious if any of this sounds familiar to anyone else or if I’m crazy. Oops that’s a given. ...
Click to expand...

I just got a Hybrid (the red one shown above) and the mag pup does seem to blend in normally. It is pretty subtle, really! (And I normally leave mine set 100% optical, for reasons mentioned above).

I do notice the mid control has an odd behavior: I generally leave it in center detent, and if I turn it up I get a fair bit of extra noise/hiss. (pretty normal, really)... The ODD part is if I turn the mid control all the way to "FULL CUT", then I immediately get an EXCEPTIONAL amount of noise/hiss. Really quite loud! The bass control is actually not very noisy at all, only on 'full boost' is any extra hiss really noticeable. (Setting the bass down to zero does not add any noise...) I generally leave the bass just slightly boosted, like "2-o-clock". And I leave the passive treble roll-off ALL THE WAY DOWN. (Quite a bit of extra hiss if you turn it up!) The bass is plenty bright even with the treble control fully rolled off. I tend to leave the MASTER VOLUME rolled down to about "8 on a scale of ten" because if I crank it, again I'm getting a lot of audible hiss. Potentially this preamp might be a candidate for quieter OP-AMPS? (LT-1115s or something?) It is more than a decade old, and this was kind of their "low-end-entry-model" at the time.

I'm not sure if mine is an early production preamp either, and I have not yet opened up the back to check the mid center frequency trimpot, etc. Soon... :)
 
#254
Would love some help... I just got a 2006 5-string fretted on reverb. Had the bass set up to my liking, and put nylon tape wounds put on it with the setup. EADG strings sound amazing, but I've literally gone through 3 different B strings. 1st one that came with the nylon set was a 135, and the optical pickup couldn't handle that width. Evidently 130 is the largest the opticals can do. I ordered a nylon-wound 130 B from juststrings, but still the optical still can't read it right. I've reset the optical pickups and the volume trim pots each time I put in a new string. I'm not wedded to the nylon strings, but I hated the round wounds that came on this bass. The pickups seem to want to amplify everything, including the scratchy sound from the round wounds when moving positions on the neck.

Does anyone have any ideas about how I can keep myself from hating this otherwise fantastic instrument? Are there other strings that can work well without getting those scratchy sounds? Really frustrated right now... Thanks guys.
 
#255
@sillysoviet
My fretted SR came with Dean Markley rounds I tried a free other rounds and ended back with the Dean Markley. I had a set of SIT strings on there for a while and think they were 135,but don’t remember for sure.

I would be very surprised if 130 was the limit for a B string on a Lightwave bass.

My SR fretless came with LaBella whites. The B sounded fine. Not my favorite sound for that bass and I ended up with Dean Markley rounds on both dog them.

I think you should contact Wilcox and talk to them. There might be a problem with the sensor on the b string.
 
#257
sillysoviet said:
Would love some help... I just got a 2006 5-string fretted on reverb. Had the bass set up to my liking, and put nylon tape wounds put on it with the setup. EADG strings sound amazing, but I've literally gone through 3 different B strings. 1st one that came with the nylon set was a 135, and the optical pickup couldn't handle that width. Evidently 130 is the largest the opticals can do. I ordered a nylon-wound 130 B from juststrings, but still the optical still can't read it right. I've reset the optical pickups and the volume trim pots each time I put in a new string. I'm not wedded to the nylon strings, but I hated the round wounds that came on this bass. The pickups seem to want to amplify everything, including the scratchy sound from the round wounds when moving positions on the neck.

Does anyone have any ideas about how I can keep myself from hating this otherwise fantastic instrument? Are there other strings that can work well without getting those scratchy sounds? Really frustrated right now... Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

I hated how my Lightwave Saber 5 sounded through many of my amps. It’s unusual voice was so different from all my other basses it has taken a while to tailor it to my liking. Eventually I discovered which amp voices worked best for me.

Also. once I moved from the factory SR 2000 roundwounds to LaBella White tapes I began to like what I was getting much more.

I use the Lightwave for an almost acoustic sound. It’s clean and full but not growlly, very different than magnetic pickups. The white tapes support the acoustic flavor and eliminate string noise. I’m not sure what gauge the ‘B’ is but I had no problems with the string change other than routine string height adjustments.

Wilcox recommends starting with all e.q. flat. I think this is because your go to settings for magnetic p’ups will probably not work.

Using an amp modeling setup works well as it allows changing amp voices dramatically, which helps in finding what works best.
 
#258
ghostinthemach said:
I hated how my Lightwave Saber 5 sounded through many of my amps. It’s unusual voice was so different from all my other basses it has taken a while to tailor it to my liking. Eventually I discovered which amp voices worked best for me.

Also. once I moved from the factory SR 2000 roundwounds to LaBella White tapes I began to like what I was getting much more.

I use the Lightwave for an almost acoustic sound. It’s clean and full but not growlly, very different than magnetic pickups. The white tapes support the acoustic flavor and eliminate string noise. I’m not sure what gauge the ‘B’ is but I had no problems with the string change other than routine string height adjustments.

Wilcox recommends starting with all e.q. flat. I think this is because your go to settings for magnetic p’ups will probably not work.

Using an amp modeling setup works well as it allows changing amp voices dramatically, which helps in finding what works best.
Click to expand...
Thank you @ghostinthemach. Really appreciate your comment back. However, I absolutely love the sound of the base 4 strings. I have the D'Addario Nylon Tapewounds on those strings, and they sound amazing. As you suggested, I do have some modeling adjustments to the tone, but it's truly great. The problem is the 5th string.

I just replaced the 5th string from a GHS nylon wound 130 to a DR Fat Beams 125, and while the volume went up dramatically, I still hear a weird distortion from the string (which I was also hearing with all the other strings I've tried on the 5th). Maybe @kirkdickinson is right -- maybe there's a problem with the sensor?

So frustrating!! The bass is there with 4 of the 5 strings, but without the 5th, I'm at the same time nowhere.

Will email Wilcox and see what they say. Thanks again.
 
#259
sillysoviet said:
Thank you @ghostinthemach. Really appreciate your comment back. However, I absolutely love the sound of the base 4 strings. I have the D'Addario Nylon Tapewounds on those strings, and they sound amazing. As you suggested, I do have some modeling adjustments to the tone, but it's truly great. The problem is the 5th string.

I just replaced the 5th string from a GHS nylon wound 130 to a DR Fat Beams 125, and while the volume went up dramatically, I still hear a weird distortion from the string (which I was also hearing with all the other strings I've tried on the 5th). Maybe @kirkdickinson is right -- maybe there's a problem with the sensor?

So frustrating!! The bass is there with 4 of the 5 strings, but without the 5th, I'm at the same time nowhere.

Will email Wilcox and see what they say. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Brain fart! I forgot to mention that I had a mysterious dead “A” string once after changing strings (SR2000’s 3 different new “A” strings were tried). It was finally resolved by sending the bass back home to Wilcox and they replaced a mono-bridge assembly. It solved the problem.
 
#260
ghostinthemach said:
Brain fart! I forgot to mention that I had a mysterious dead “A” string once after changing strings (SR2000’s 3 different new “A” strings were tried). It was finally resolved by sending the bass back home to Wilcox and they replaced a mono-bridge assembly. It solved the problem.
Click to expand...
Wow, that is really great to know @ghostinthemach. I’m really hoping that’s not the case since I just got the instrument from Wilcox, but if it is, so be it. I’d honestly rather keep this bass, it has so much goodness in it. Thanks again!
 

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