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Willcox Bass Club (Lightwave)

#321
ACRock said:
Hi folks -
Dont have a lightwave yet but am going in to look at a used one today. I was hoping someone in the club could confirm that this model is a VL - the seller sometimes lists wrong models, and the picture is not so good.

Also is the string spacing on these usually 19mm at the bridge? Any advice about what in particular I should look for when going over it?

Any help would be appreciated - View attachment 4283359
Click to expand...

Not a good enough photo to tell. Every VL that I ever saw had a translucent finish and you can see beautiful Flame Maple wood grain through it. Every SL that I have seen is just a solid color paint. Is this one a black translucent finish? Then probably VL.

19mm sounds right, but I am not positive.

Nothing special to look for, but verify that they have the battery charger that should come with it and that all the strings work. Each string has it's own light pickup and they can go out. If one string sounds nice an clear, but is lower in volume, don't be concerned about that, the pickup can be adjusted.
 
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#322
kirkdickinson said:
Not a good enough photo to tell. Every VL that I ever saw had a translucent finish and you can see beautiful Flame Maple wood grain through it. Every SL that I have seen is just a solid color paint. Is this one a black translucent finish? Then probably VL.

19mm sounds right, but I am not positive.

Nothing special to look for, but verify that they have the battery charger that should come with it and that all the strings work. Each string has it's own light pickup and they can go out. If one string sounds nice an clear, but is lower in volume, don't be concerned about that, the pickup can be adjusted.
Click to expand...
I bought my Lightwave about 6 years ago.
I’m fairly sure that when I purchased mine shown above (used, so not not directly from Wilcox), I noticed at the time that all VLs had a sound hole cutout and all SLs did not, BUT all the basses were high gloss translucent finishes!
I didn’t see any solid color finishes until a couple years later.
 
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#324
ghostinthemach said:
I bought my Lightwave about 6 years ago.
I’m fairly sure that when I purchased mine shown above (used, so not not directly from Wilcox), I noticed at the time that all VLs had a sound hole cutout and all SLs did not, BUT all the basses were high gloss translucent finishes!
I didn’t see any solid color finishes until a couple years later.
Click to expand...

There have been many variations over the years. I think all the VL's are chambered, but not all of them have the cutout. There may very well be VL's with solid color paint. There may also be some SL's with translucent finishes.
 
#327
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#328
I had another try putting a set of TI Jazz Flats on my Saber Custom fretless 5 last night... E A D and G all sound great, low B is awful... indistinct sound and low volume. I always follow the optical alignment procedure so no setup issues, tried adjusting by ear also but no improvement. I have a second TIJF low B so tried that one as well, even worse. With the B output on max B is quieter than the E on minimum so not possible to balance the set.

I've come to the conclusion it is the size of the string - the TIJF low B is a big string at .136, whereas the La Bella LTF low B (which has no problems) is .118. Maybe the optical system doesn't like big strings? So anyway the La Bella LTFs are back on.

Has anyone got a TI Jazz Flats set on their Lightwave 5?
 
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#329
ficelles said:
I had another try putting a set of TI Jazz Flats on my Saber Custom fretless 5 last night... E A D and G all sound great, low B is awful... indistinct sound and low volume. I always follow the optical alignment procedure so no setup issues, tried adjusting by ear also but no improvement. I have a second TIJF low B so tried that one as well, even worse. With the B output on max B is quieter than the E on minimum so not possible to balance the set.

I've come to the conclusion it is the size of the string - the TIJF low B is a big string at .136, whereas the La Bella LTF low B (which has no problems) is .118. Maybe the optical system doesn't like big strings? So anyway the La Bella LTFs are back on.

Has anyone got a TI Jazz Flats set on their Lightwave 5?
Click to expand...

I have never tried TIJF's on my Lightwaves. I have a set of TJIF's on my Portamento and I love them on that bass.

My Fretless Lightwave came used with Labella whites. I never was all that impressed with them on that bass. My fretted Lightwave has the Dean Markley strings, I liked them and pretty much decided to put the same on the fretless also, but on a whim, I threw on a set of Bronze Phosphor strings that I had for an acoustic bass. I love those strings on my Fretless Lightwave. Very bright. Definitely not everybody's cup of tea, but they work for me.
 
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#330
ficelles said:
I had another try putting a set of TI Jazz Flats on my Saber Custom fretless 5 last night... E A D and G all sound great, low B is awful... indistinct sound and low volume. I always follow the optical alignment procedure so no setup issues, tried adjusting by ear also but no improvement. I have a second TIJF low B so tried that one as well, even worse. With the B output on max B is quieter than the E on minimum so not possible to balance the set.

I've come to the conclusion it is the size of the string - the TIJF low B is a big string at .136, whereas the La Bella LTF low B (which has no problems) is .118. Maybe the optical system doesn't like big strings? So anyway the La Bella LTFs are back on.

Has anyone got a TI Jazz Flats set on their Lightwave 5?
Click to expand...
I was seriously considering one of these that popped up used, but I already had some reservations about the 34” scale for the B string and TI Jazz Flats just sound so good on the other basses I have them on, I would have been very disappointed based on your experience. The custom shop has the option of a 35” neck, but the base price for a custom bass from them is about double what the standards ones go for new. $1500 is serious enough for another bass that I don’t actually need, but over $3K just to get a 35” scale isn’t going to happen. So, if I find a 4 string fretless lightwave for the right price, I might be tempted or get a 5 and string it EADGC.
 
#331
Hi,
I have a new Saber 5-string fretless and apologize for not reading all the 17 pages ... two main issues arised:

1. the low B is weak (already saw others posting this)
Similar to the TI experience just above my bass came with GHS stainless steel flats and the low B was quite unusable. The D'addario flats were better but the low B is still weak and dull. Changing the low B to a SIT nickel string it is something better. The loudness pot from the G string is on minimum and for low B on maximum now and I still wished to have more volume for the low B.

Is this just a flatwound experience?
Is that fat low B string close to the bridge not vibrating enough?
Does someone with tapered flats (like LaBella) have better results on low B?

2. hiss
In theory the pickup system should be silent. My bass produces a lot of hiss - much more than my Ibanez with piezo pickups. And if I press the strings down the amount of hiss increases significantly!

My dear Saber owners please try this and tell me if it is the same with your bass: plug your bass into an amp (no need to crank it up very high) and dampen the strings with your left hand. Hiss? Then additionally press down all strings with your right hand. More hiss?

Thank you all!
Roberto
 
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#332
Roberto Cavaco said:
Hi,
I have a new Saber 5-string fretless and apologize for not reading all the 17 pages ... two main issues arised:

1. the low B is weak (already saw others posting this)
Similar to the TI experience just above my bass came with GHS stainless steel flats and the low B was quite unusable. The D'addario flats were better but the low B is still weak and dull. Changing the low B to a SIT nickel string it is something better. The loudness pot from the G string is on minimum and for low B on maximum now and I still wished to have more volume for the low B.

Is this just a flatwound experience?
Is that fat low B string close to the bridge not vibrating enough?
Does someone with tapered flats (like LaBella) have better results on low B?

2. hiss
In theory the pickup system should be silent. My bass produces a lot of hiss - much more than my Ibanez with piezo pickups. And if I press the strings down the amount of hiss increases significantly!

My dear Saber owners please try this and tell me if it is the same with your bass: plug your bass into an amp (no need to crank it up very high) and dampen the strings with your left hand. Hiss? Then additionally press down all strings with your right hand. More hiss?

Thank you all!
Roberto
Click to expand...

I've done a fair bit of string swapping on my Saber fretless 5 as you saw... can't get a TI low B to work, but I had excellent results with the La Bella LTF low B. I currently have the GHS (I think) exposed core set of rounds back on though as I wanted a brighter sound. I might try Roto 77s as I have an old 5 set kicking around.

I'm not getting the hiss you describe, have you got the tone controls dimed?
 
#333
ficelles said:
I had excellent results with the La Bella LTF low B.
Click to expand...
Good news! Did you also try the La Bella FLB or FSB? (never used the extra low tension...?)

ficelles said:
I'm not getting the hiss you describe, have you got the tone controls dimed?
Click to expand...
All tone controls flat/middle position. No change of hiss if I turn up or down the Icetone control. If I turn down the volume at the bass then the hiss is gone - hiss is definitely produced by the bass.
 
#334
This may have already been written here, but I messaged them to find out what kind of strings they recommend.

Response:

We use GHS stainless Boomers. be sure to keep the largest string size about 126". The optics cavity will start to interfere (buzz) with anything larger. Regards, Rick

On another note - Does anyone else have a new problem where their other basses are getting neglected? I don't want to play any of the other ones now.
 
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#337
SuperBrian said:
Oh I just signed up to ask about how a Lightwave works with EADGC setup... I'm guessing no problems then? I emailed the company to ask if they can set up an order like this, but maybe it's not difficult... I don't have any experience with this bass.
Click to expand...

It's no setup problem at all and is playing and sounding just fine with TI Jazz Flats 344 set plus an 033 C. Lightwaves are a little more complex to set up than a standard bass but the procedure is quite straightforward.
 
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#339
Anyone have experience with tapered or exposed core strings?
I started with them as the 2nd or 3rd set but kept trying other types after.
Currently I have white tape wounds on my Saber 5, but I just stumbled onto a forgotten set of LaBella Super Steps with exposed cores.
Theoretically the consistency of diameter at the sensing point should improve string output balance. I believe even the B string is down to exposed core at the sensing point.
The string output could be more balanced, but it’s not terrible. I think I’ll get around to changing the strings soon but it’s going to require a big change in saddle height to accommodate the radical diameter difference of exposed cores.
 
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#340
ghostinthemach said:
Anyone have experience with tapered or exposed core strings?
I started with them as the 2nd or 3rd set but kept trying other types after.
Currently I have white tape wounds on my Saber 5, but I just stumbled onto a forgotten set of LaBella Super Steps with exposed cores.
Theoretically the consistency of diameter at the sensing point should improve string output balance. I believe even the B string is down to exposed core at the sensing point.
The string output could be more balanced, but it’s not terrible. I think I’ll get around to changing the strings soon but it’s going to require a big change in saddle height to accommodate the radical diameter difference of exposed cores.
Click to expand...

My Lightwave fretless 5 arrived with exposed core roundwound strings (grey silk, GHS?), seemed to perform ok but I prefer flats so took them off.
 
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