Nice, been jonzing for a fretless Lightwave for a while. I almost got one, but waited too long at it was gone. Can't afford to lay out the $2000 for the unlined fretless that I want. Maybe some day.
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Willcox Bass Club (Lightwave)
- Thread starter kirkdickinson
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Hey can I get a number?? I have a black Lightwave Hybrid 4 and am actively searching for a 5'er.
Speaking about fretless, I saw a breathtaking fretless last fall that appeared to be some sort of custom shop rig (not that space alien rig on their website) that had an amazingly figured cocobolo top that appeared to be of Alembic quality...I should have scooped it up!!
Speaking about fretless, I saw a breathtaking fretless last fall that appeared to be some sort of custom shop rig (not that space alien rig on their website) that had an amazingly figured cocobolo top that appeared to be of Alembic quality...I should have scooped it up!!
Reserved #1
Marko5657 #2
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TRichardsbass #4
kirkdickinson #5
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IGotGas #8
Marko5657 #2
JAUQO III-X #3
TRichardsbass #4
kirkdickinson #5
kiwi60 #6
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On my Lightwave bass, when I replaced the factory strings have always used the Dean Markley SR-2000 strings. I really like the because of the brightness and sustain.
I saw the SIT Power Core strings advertised as having brightness and sustain. They have an exposed core and the ends are very similar looking to the SR-2000's.
The Dean Markley SR-2000 "B" string on the left and the SIT Power Core "B" on the right.
I notice that he DM string has a tiny wind around the core and it also looks like there are three layers of strings wound on the rest of the string, where the SIT has nothing on the core and only two layers of thicker winding on the balance.
String Gauges
DM 44 60 78 98 125
SIT 45 65 80 100 125
I ordered two new sets one of each in case I decide I don't like the.
The SIT set was cheaper and made right here in Ohio.
***** couple of weeks *****
I have had the SIT Powercores on since Friday. I still haven't decided if I like them or not. First observation when I put them on was that they are very bright, almost obnoxiously so. But they also had more projection when the bass wasn't plugged in. I usually like like that.
Strings didn't feel like they had as much tension and were buzzing a lot on the fretboard. I had to raise B, E, and D from where the SR-2000's were. B had to be raised 3 full turns. Looks high, but that is where it had to be to work. Didn't adjust the pickups that day and it was a mistake not to.
Dropped by the music store in my area to look at a new SWR amp, but was kind of stupid to go with new strings that I wasn't familiar with to listen to a new amp. Wasn't liking it much. Don't know which? Guy at the store that I know is a slapper, (I am not) he took a turn with the bass and I didn't think I was going to get it back. I don't know which he liked better the SL-5 or the SIT-Powercores. He loved them. He was DIGGING IT! Sounded really great with slap.
I played for church Sunday and with the Aviom and bad in-ear monitors, I frankly have no clue what I sounded like. The sound guy told me that he had a heck of a time controlling my levels. Even though I have a compressor pedal, he told me that my level would be at 2 bars, then peaking, then 2 bars, he had to fight it all through the service. Should have adjusted the pickups. Did so last night. Also required a completely different intonation setup than my SR-2000's
Spent about an hour last night with my Hartke Kickback (familiar equipment) and playing with the strings. Observations.
B sounds pretty solid.
Overall, the bass response isn't as deep, or fat as the SR-2000's I don't know how to describe that.
More powerful mids
Some obnoxious overtones that may go away when broken in.
I don't think I would like these strings at all without having the Aguilar Tone Hammer to get them back to a tone I like better.
I never could properly intonate the B string. I reached the limitation of the adjustment and am still a few cents sharp at 12. (Peterson strobe tuner)
Will leave them on for a month and see if my opinion gets any better but I am strongly inclined to go back the Dean Markley SR-2000's
I have a feeling that they are probably better strings for Slap and probably for Speed Metal than the SR-2000's.
I saw the SIT Power Core strings advertised as having brightness and sustain. They have an exposed core and the ends are very similar looking to the SR-2000's.
The Dean Markley SR-2000 "B" string on the left and the SIT Power Core "B" on the right.
I notice that he DM string has a tiny wind around the core and it also looks like there are three layers of strings wound on the rest of the string, where the SIT has nothing on the core and only two layers of thicker winding on the balance.
String Gauges
DM 44 60 78 98 125
SIT 45 65 80 100 125
I ordered two new sets one of each in case I decide I don't like the.
The SIT set was cheaper and made right here in Ohio.
***** couple of weeks *****
I have had the SIT Powercores on since Friday. I still haven't decided if I like them or not. First observation when I put them on was that they are very bright, almost obnoxiously so. But they also had more projection when the bass wasn't plugged in. I usually like like that.
Strings didn't feel like they had as much tension and were buzzing a lot on the fretboard. I had to raise B, E, and D from where the SR-2000's were. B had to be raised 3 full turns. Looks high, but that is where it had to be to work. Didn't adjust the pickups that day and it was a mistake not to.
Dropped by the music store in my area to look at a new SWR amp, but was kind of stupid to go with new strings that I wasn't familiar with to listen to a new amp. Wasn't liking it much. Don't know which? Guy at the store that I know is a slapper, (I am not) he took a turn with the bass and I didn't think I was going to get it back. I don't know which he liked better the SL-5 or the SIT-Powercores. He loved them. He was DIGGING IT! Sounded really great with slap.
I played for church Sunday and with the Aviom and bad in-ear monitors, I frankly have no clue what I sounded like. The sound guy told me that he had a heck of a time controlling my levels. Even though I have a compressor pedal, he told me that my level would be at 2 bars, then peaking, then 2 bars, he had to fight it all through the service. Should have adjusted the pickups. Did so last night. Also required a completely different intonation setup than my SR-2000's
Spent about an hour last night with my Hartke Kickback (familiar equipment) and playing with the strings. Observations.
B sounds pretty solid.
Overall, the bass response isn't as deep, or fat as the SR-2000's I don't know how to describe that.
More powerful mids
Some obnoxious overtones that may go away when broken in.
I don't think I would like these strings at all without having the Aguilar Tone Hammer to get them back to a tone I like better.
I never could properly intonate the B string. I reached the limitation of the adjustment and am still a few cents sharp at 12. (Peterson strobe tuner)
Will leave them on for a month and see if my opinion gets any better but I am strongly inclined to go back the Dean Markley SR-2000's
I have a feeling that they are probably better strings for Slap and probably for Speed Metal than the SR-2000's.
- Oct 22, 2009
- 9
- 3
- Disclosures
- President | Designer: LightWave Systems | Willcox Guitars
Hi Kirk and Club LightWave members,
Thanks for starting Club LightWave, and inviting me as a member. I am pleased to be here, and if I can answer any questions, please let me know anytime. Also open to product improvement and development suggestions.
Thanks for starting Club LightWave, and inviting me as a member. I am pleased to be here, and if I can answer any questions, please let me know anytime. Also open to product improvement and development suggestions.
- Jun 3, 2009
- 3,330
- 398
- Disclosures
- Bassgearu, Music Industry Consulting and Sales. Tech 21, NBE Corp, Sonosphere.
Welcome to Chris Willcox. Saved #1 for you.
Chris Willcox #1
Marko5657 #2
JAUQO III-X #3
TRichardsbass #4
kirkdickinson #5
kiwi60 #6
QweziRider #7
IGotGas #8
Chris Willcox #1
Marko5657 #2
JAUQO III-X #3
TRichardsbass #4
kirkdickinson #5
kiwi60 #6
QweziRider #7
IGotGas #8
Ohh, that feels so much better... Dean Markley SR2000's back on. All is right with is bass now. Had to completely re-set it up again. String height, pickup height, intonation. 1-1/2 hour string change. I think I will stay with these same strings from now on.
This is truly one of my very favorite basses to play!! I can get so many different tones due to the combination of the Lightwave system with a regular magnetic pickup. This is the the second one I've owned, and generally my go to bass if I have to sub for anyone at the last minute. It's comfortable in terms of weight and neck size like an Ibanez, but with much better build quality that anything south of an SR900 series rig. Can't wait to find the right 5'er.
Hey Jaquo, or anyone really; Please explain exactly what the light PU system brings to the table both technically and tone wise. I liked the one I played a yr ago but I believe it was the single light PU model.
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
One of the most interesting aspects of the Lightwaves sound is that is it very very very clean sounding while not sterile sounding at all and the lows that one can get out of the LW bass really is interesting because you are left wondering, how can the lows sound the way they do when there is no traditional electronics setup as we know it today.
Hey Jaquo: thanks for the speedy response! I went down to the shop that had one locally. It is different, they had marked it down to $799 because its been on the wall for several months. It is new by the way. When I first started playing it I thought it sounds pretty good. It has a unique sustain that surprised me due to the light system. The neck was pretty nice, fairly flat radius, not too fat front to back all in all above average to me. The weight was light which I need for physical reasons. The controls were not quickly understood. Sadly after about 5 min. after I started playing I said to the guy "sounds like the the battery is going dead". He said no not charged. The battery a rechargeable, I'll plug it in, that surprised me, haha. So even pluged in it wasn't totally clean. He said come back tomorrow I'll charge it. I tell the story due to fact it has a relatively short charge life. That was more or less the only thing I didn't care for. Overall I thought overall it was a pretty sweet bass!
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
You're very welcome.
If the bass didn't sound clean it could be that the height of the strings are not properly set in alignment with the light(the optical portion of the bridge system). When they are not set properly there is a level of dirt in the sound.
Sustain is very long on a LW bass compared to any other bass that I have. Even better than my Rickenbacker.
Did you figure out the controls? Not a hybrid right?
Volume, Bass, Mid, Sweepable Mid point, Icetone volume, switch simulates neck vs bridge pickup sound.
If the LW is older stock and the battery hasn't been maintained, it may be needing to be replaced. Mine will go hours and hours on a single charge. I usually charge it the night before gig to be sure. I always carry my charger in the guitar case and have an open outlet on my pedalboard to plug it in if I need to. That is a concern that you won't have with a passive bass.
I think it is worth it for the awesome tone that it pumps out.
I think the Lightwave pickups are much more sensitive to string changes than other basses that I have. If you hate the strings, you will hate the bass. Fortunately, my favorite strings are the ones it shipped with, which are Dean Markley SR-2000's.
Did you figure out the controls? Not a hybrid right?
Volume, Bass, Mid, Sweepable Mid point, Icetone volume, switch simulates neck vs bridge pickup sound.
If the LW is older stock and the battery hasn't been maintained, it may be needing to be replaced. Mine will go hours and hours on a single charge. I usually charge it the night before gig to be sure. I always carry my charger in the guitar case and have an open outlet on my pedalboard to plug it in if I need to. That is a concern that you won't have with a passive bass.
I think it is worth it for the awesome tone that it pumps out.
I think the Lightwave pickups are much more sensitive to string changes than other basses that I have. If you hate the strings, you will hate the bass. Fortunately, my favorite strings are the ones it shipped with, which are Dean Markley SR-2000's.
Another thing about the Lightwave system is that you could put ANY type if strings on it. They don't have to be magnetic or even metal.
You could run catgut or nylon strings if that sound is what you wanted.
You could run catgut or nylon strings if that sound is what you wanted.
Count me in - I've have a translucent black fretted 5 string VL Sabre for about 1.5 yrs now. I use it as my main bass and I love the sound and sustain. Eventually I would like to get a hold of a fretless one after seeing the reviews of them on YouTube, but for now I got my Steinberger Synapse for fretless playing.
I don't know about anyone else but the only thing I don't like my bass it is there's no warning when the battery is going to go - at a certian point the light fades out and volume starts to go down after that. I was looking at some RC stores that have small battery meters for RC Planes and was thinking of putting something like that inside since the back panel is smoked Plexiglas, but I haven't gotten around to trying that yet. Otherwise I have to carry around that honk'n huge charger in the gig-bag just in case. I play with a volume pedal I use as a mute so I can unplug it when it's not in use onstage (no "pop" over the PA that way).
Note - the battery life for the built in rechargeable isn't too bad, I'd guesstimate about 6-10 hours in total between charges (never played that long continuously so can't say for certain).
(EDIT) For a suggestion for LightWave in the future, a bi- or tri-colored LED (red/green or red/yellow/green) to help gauge time left on the battery would be a great help...
I don't know about anyone else but the only thing I don't like my bass it is there's no warning when the battery is going to go - at a certian point the light fades out and volume starts to go down after that. I was looking at some RC stores that have small battery meters for RC Planes and was thinking of putting something like that inside since the back panel is smoked Plexiglas, but I haven't gotten around to trying that yet. Otherwise I have to carry around that honk'n huge charger in the gig-bag just in case. I play with a volume pedal I use as a mute so I can unplug it when it's not in use onstage (no "pop" over the PA that way).
Note - the battery life for the built in rechargeable isn't too bad, I'd guesstimate about 6-10 hours in total between charges (never played that long continuously so can't say for certain).
(EDIT) For a suggestion for LightWave in the future, a bi- or tri-colored LED (red/green or red/yellow/green) to help gauge time left on the battery would be a great help...
Chris Willcox #1
Marko5657 #2
JAUQO III-X #3
TRichardsbass #4
kirkdickinson #5
kiwi60 #6
QweziRider #7
IGotGas #8
joenoone #9
Joe, just curious, what strings to you run on yours? I too play praise and worship music.
Marko5657 #2
JAUQO III-X #3
TRichardsbass #4
kirkdickinson #5
kiwi60 #6
QweziRider #7
IGotGas #8
joenoone #9
Joe, just curious, what strings to you run on yours? I too play praise and worship music.
I'my trying to remember as I also changed my strings on my OLP-5 at the same time. I think they are Ernie Ball Super Slinky custom gauge (2824) round wound (40,60,75,95,125) as I see the empty wrapper sitting in my gear pile.
Regarding strings for the LW I found it is easier to use the lighter gauges because some of the thicker, stiffer string sets with the red string wrapping at the bottom can be hard fit through the bridge/pickup. I've been tempted to try some copper acoustic strings to see how they sound - has anyone tried them? You know, what you'd use on an acoustic bass guitar (not upright bass)...
That said, one of the great things about the LightWave is the tone settings are great for adapting whatever strings you have to produce a good sound, or at least that's what I've found on all the strings I've tried.
FYI - thanks for the review on the SIT strings. I have a set of those in my bag I was going to try next time they needed changing, so let me know what you decide on them and maybe I'll use them on my other bass.
