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Thread: Hear The Light

  1. #11

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    Ahhhh, the brown truck showed up this evening - finally! I hate ground shipping. So far, it's shaping up to be a rather nice bass. I went with the Saber SL5 fretless mostly because I have to somewhat justify the purchase as something that will add a different tone to the arsenal. It doesn't make too much sense, to me, to add more of the same thing (fretted five stringers). I did not like getting the lined fingerboard, but I think it will do fine in the end. I suppose it'll make me play more on the frets on a fretted bass like our lessons tell us to, eh?

    Cons:
    1. Very light weight - gives an immediate impression of wondering how cheap it is.

    2. Bridges are some kind of plastic or composite - maybe not a con?

    3. Finish has some places where the grain is not well filled and the paint depresses in those lines.

    4. No hard case, but I knew this going in.

    Pros:
    1. TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT tone. Very tight and flexible. Has the ability to pump way too much bottom, so that's good in regards of headroom if the need arises.

    2. Very light weight - if the construction turns out to be solid over time, this will be a bonus.

    3. Neck feels solid.

    4. Customer service with Lightwave is fantastic. They answered many questions prior to the sale, usually in less than an hour after I asked via e-mail.

    Over all, this appears to be a good solid workhorse, time will tell. There's only so much I can do with it this evening by itself. Tomorrow's rehearsal will tell a more complete story. The cons about this so far are probably so insignificant as to not even be an issue. I just need to get time under my belt with it both playing and doing adjustments over time. Tonally, it's so far much less finicky than my Rickenbacker 5 stringer (one of my favorites), which puts it ahead of the pack in getting used.

  2. #12

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    Good luck!!! When do we get pix/videos?

    Does she have a name yet?


    - low life -

  3. #13
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    2,088

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    Congrats. Nothing like getting a new axe.

    Lightsaber claims the optical pickups bring out the mwah and growl on a fretless. I'd be interested in your take on that.
    ___________________________________
    Steinberger NXT5 EUB, MTD 535 Fretless, Tobias Killer B6, 72 Fender Precision
    Eden WT500, WTX1000N & WP100, QSC PL230
    Eden D410XLT, D410XST, 215, Fender Bassman 10

  4. #14

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    Pictures soon, Elmeaux! It needs a proper set, not my filthy corner. No name, yet. Although the fact that it's almost black-on-black-on-black-on-black, it may take the place of the black Rick, also known as PFB (Pretty Freakin' Black, not to be confused with None More Black).

    As far as tone, TobiasMan, the "mwah" is definitely very pronounced. Heck, not even plugged in and it wmahs quite loudly. The pickups do accentuate that very well.

    The plastic/composite bridges baffle me. All our bass lives we've been led to think of heavier bridges offering more sustain and string character. Yet, here are these plastic thingies that do not seem to hamper the sound one bit. It has sustain for days on new strings, just as much (possibly more) that any metal bridge I've had.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    2,088

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    Hmmm . . . perhaps the fact that they use optical pickups means that resonance from the body (which is where heavy bridge comes in) is not important.

    Maybe you could put those pickups on a shovel and they'd sound the same

    Sure interested in your longer term feelings about that bass. Does it also have the piezo PUPs at the bridge?
    ___________________________________
    Steinberger NXT5 EUB, MTD 535 Fretless, Tobias Killer B6, 72 Fender Precision
    Eden WT500, WTX1000N & WP100, QSC PL230
    Eden D410XLT, D410XST, 215, Fender Bassman 10

  6. #16

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    It's supposed to have the piezos in there, but I'm not hearing any difference using the knob that controls those. Either something's not quite right or I'm not yet grasping how it all works.

    Edit - I'm in the process of running the rechargeable battery all the way down so as to fully charge it again. There's the piezo!! When the light system no longer functions doe to lack of power, the piezo is clear as a bell. Maybe the rest of the system simply over powers it. I believe each string's output can be tweaked, so perhaps a better balance can be found. however, I don't play in many situations that would require that kind of high end. I think this beast regularly puts out enough of that to not need the piezo in the first place. Learning.
    Last edited by Bruce Alan; 07-12-2011 at 04:10 PM.

  7. #17

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    Photos of this bass, finally:

    Full Body


    Cavity 1


    Cavity 2


    Bridge


    Body 1


    Body 2


    Headstock

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Alan View Post
    Photos of this bass, finally:

    Wow! What a beauty!!! What kind of strings?


    - low life -

  9. #19

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    I think it's a keeper. There are things I would expect to be a bit better for a bass of this price (finish - grain depth shows through in places, one bridge is set a bit wider than the others, truss rod placement is a bit difficult with middle string at full tension, battery rattles a bit in the compartment, but easily overcome).

    But I think the good points far outweigh the moderately annoying points. I do like using brass grommets (right word?) for the cavity plate screws. Those will last without danger of stripping wood in the screw hole one day. The light weight is becoming addictive to me. The neck has a nice flat profile on the back.

    But the kicker is the sound. I finally got flat wounds (Thomastik-Infeld Jazz) on it last night and gigged it. Ohhhhhhh, so sweet sounding! This bass was made for flats as far as I'm concerned. It had tons of the stereotypical fretless sound and the ability to get away from that and be punchy in the band mix by simply playing differently. There is much bass tone in reserves with the tone adjustment. Much more than I would realistically need in most situations.

    Bright, clean, punchy, and growly when need be. It's a keeper!

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Dunnellon, Florida
    Posts
    1,447

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    congrats BRUSEALAN nice looking bass sounds like you are getting any bugs worked out. thats cool.have fun and enjoy, really nice pass.
    Let's Play Bass!

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