Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: BeenDown139 on July 24, 2021, 08:11:37 AM
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got a coupla necks that i need lights for. that last time i ordered from FretFx it took 3 months for my LEDs to get here. sent them an email a few weeks ago, never heard back. i like their product, but i dont wanna send them money if they've gone dark. of course, no phone number on their web site.
apart from that, any good suggestions for an alternative other then sending basses back to the mothership for a retro-fit?
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Came up a couple years ago. They might be done now.
https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=23578.msg237143#msg237143
*Here was another thread with some alternatives, none of which were reportedly that favorable.
https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=16227.msg163732#msg163732
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My previous post. They are in the UK.
"I had my Orion retro-fitted with side LEDs from Martin Sims :- www.simscustom.com
Superb job - not cheap but a proper job."
Glynn
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had to reach pretty far back to raise this thread from the dead, but since it's almost halloween i figured what the heck. the days have been growing shorter here in the mile high and i find myself playing in the dark ( my favorite sport) a lot more. since both basses that figure prominently in my winter music projects have unlighted necks, i figured fretfx was worth one more shot, as there are really few good reasonably priced alternatives to retrofitting LEDs on a neck.
i got an answer back after 2 days saying that they're dealing with pandemic material shortages and big backlogs of orders but the wait is 8 weeks which hopefully puts some lights on two unlit 4-stringers for xmas.
yay!
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I just bought some of this stuff. It’s used for gun sights. Someone in another forum said it worked well for side dots. Just paint a little on, let it dry, then cover with clear nail polish. I’m going to try it out tomorrow.
Bill, tgo
https://www.amazon.com/ORIGINAL-Super-Phosphorescent-Concentrated-lasting/dp/B004K56TS8/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Glow-ON+gun+site&qid=1635031876&sr=8-1 (https://www.amazon.com/ORIGINAL-Super-Phosphorescent-Concentrated-lasting/dp/B004K56TS8/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Glow-ON+gun+site&qid=1635031876&sr=8-1)
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Bill’s post looks interesting!
I found this online, no idea how well they work…
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1034693771/high-fluorescent-lime-green-small-532?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_c-books_movies_and_music-music-musical_instruments-stringed_instruments-guitars&utm_custom1=_k_EAIaIQobChMI69vM1-fh8wIVrmxvBB3K5Q-JEAQYAyABEgLjOfD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_1843970635_69278982866_346429112552_pla-316238738805_c__1034693771_12768591&utm_custom2=1843970635&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI69vM1-fh8wIVrmxvBB3K5Q-JEAQYAyABEgLjOfD_BwE
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Rob, I’ve been down this road before. I even sourced my own glow-in-the-dark tape and a multi-size hole punch. They do work, but you definitely feel them on the side of the neck. I find they only last so long, fall off, and need to be replaced. They do work, to some extent.
I’ve also tried glow-in-the-dark paint and nail polish, and neither worked well. The stuff I posted is supposed to work better and I imagine, with a clear nail polish cover, it won’t wear off and will be smooth to the touch.
Another option is Luminlay dots. I’ve installed them on a few necks. It entails drilling out the old markers and gluing in the Luminlay rod, cutting it off, then finishing to lay flush. The drilling can actually be done by hand with a little hand rig, though I use a mini desk-top drill press. They work quite well and will provide usable light for about 20 minutes in the dark. You can recharge them in about 10 seconds total with a small ultraviolet light.
If you want to try the tape-on dots, PM me you address with how many dots you want, and what size, and I’ll punch some out for you.
Bill, tgo
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this triggered a suppressed childhood memory - my dad had a wristwatch with a radium dial that always fascinated me. too bad it's so toxic and radioactive and stuff. it would probably make a dandy fret marker inlay or stick on dot. glows green. doesn't need batteries. has a half-life of 1600 years. what's not to like about that? :o
<edit> i ordered some of those fretglo dots off of etsy because they were quick and cheep while i wait for LEDs. might be entertaining. or not
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I've got Luminlay markers on my Starfire. I don't bother charging them much, but on some stages, the light rig will charge them up and it's such a treat to have them. I wonder if they lose effectiveness over the years.
OTOH, I found a nice salt cellar made of uranium aka vaseline glass. It's supposedly safe....
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raising this thread from the dead one more last time...
ordered two sets in october, looks like they're finally on their way. ill post some pics of the happy family once they show up. it's been a long dark winter at the beendown estate with only half my basses equipped for night duty.
i ordered some of those fretglo dots off of etsy because they were quick and cheep while i wait for LEDs. might be entertaining. or not
these work real good in a lighted room but lose their glow quickly once the lights go out. they got me through to this point but i'll be happy to bid them adieu 'cause they look so cheep on a high-dollar bass.
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and the fat lady has finally sang (sung?). they just arrived last night, so now everybody at the beendown estate has a lighted neck (except for mr. beendown hisself, of course). now let the dark days of winter wreak their worst, at least i can see where my freaking hands are as i toil away in my lonely bassist's garret in the desolate wastelands of east denver in the wee hours before dawn.
i've had a lot of time to meditate about this. i haven't really found another affordable (i.e. less than $150 USD) way of lighting a neck that actually works for any length of time in the dark or on a stage. i'm kinda surprised that someone hasn't come up with a better solution using a flex circuit strip, SMD LEDs and one of those controller chips that they use to drive battery powered multi-colored christmas light strings. i'm just sayin'. maybe the fretfx guy has an attack dog for a patent lawyer or something. this isn't rocket science. anyway, for your viewing pleasure. or not...
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East Denver, eh? Our middle son lives in Green Valley Ranch, right by DIA.
Peter
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Those look brilliant!
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East Denver, eh? Our middle son lives in Green Valley Ranch, right by DIA.
yeah that's not too far northeast from me. myself, i'm on the mean streets of mayfair not too far from colfax and monaco. kinda sandwiched between the miasma of central denver to the west the desolate wastelands of aurora to the east. i'm 3 miles from work and can bicycle there when the weather's acceptable for that type of activity so life is brilliant at the beendown estate these days dontcha know.
Those look brilliant!
These LED strips are definitely the shizz despite their shortcomings and my griping and come highly recommended from me just so we're clear on that subject. i strapped up the red-LED-bedecked exploiter last night. red is definitely the color for the pointy bass! the series I ( #76-270 for those of you keeping track) got the green strip, we'll see how she shines when that bass goes back into the rotation.
yay!
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East Denver, eh? Our middle son lives in Green Valley Ranch, right by DIA.
yeah that's not too far northeast from me. myself, i'm on the mean streets of mayfair not too far from colfax and monaco. kinda sandwiched between the miasma of central denver to the west the desolate wastelands of aurora to the east. i'm 3 miles from work and can bicycle there when the weather's acceptable for that type of activity so life is brilliant at the beendown estate these days dontcha know.
I'm not too far away, in the Boulder bubble.
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....got the green strip, we'll see how she shines when that bass goes back into the rotation.
yay!
Depends on your stage lighting; when I was road-dawging for Vanessa Davis Band, I helped the bass player (the great Gary Krolak) work out some mods to his fretless P-bass; red LEDs were part of it. As I was the one tuning it before sets, I had to fight with the light geek to get a low blue wash pre-show & during breaks, instead of his preferred red wash.........
Peter