Brass dots to Lumilay

[Kanga Blue]

Hi I have a lowly Essence but I love it....
The only issue is that on dark stages between songs I'd like some light markers. She beat up and well gigs so it's not economic to retrofit for LEDs.Has anyone here successfully drilled out the standard brass dots to replace them? In my case I want to replace them with Japanese Lumilay dots that are luminous.If so how did you do it? How deep is the brass? I am concerned that a regular drill is just going to slip off into the softer wood beside it that I do NOT want to drill.Mice and anyone from Alembic have any ideas please?If it was a series bass I would just ship it to you guys to get an LED upgrade but it's not viable economically particularly as I am i Australia.
Cheers!

[BeenDown139]

well first off i wouldn't call an essence "lowly".  my essence may be the least valued monetarily in my modest collection, but it's probably the most beloved.  my first alembic was a brand-new fretless essence that had hung on the wall at GC for a couple of years before i happened along and scooped it up back in the early aughts when i was younger and fulla spunk.  but i digress...

i wouldn't attempt drilling anything on your bass unless you have some degree of woodworking skills and access to a shop with the equipment to do it right.  i was just gonna post about an exploiter on reverb that somebody de-fretted.  obviously they didn't know what they were doing and botched it.  price just dropped by half to $3kUSD but it's still too high imho, that fingerboard's gonna have to be replaced.  don't be that guy!  please!  but i digress again...

i've tried stick-on dots of various kinds and they all sucked.  imho.  maybe if they can make radium dial ones that won't go dim for ~1600 years that scheme might work.

i've been on this soap box before.  probably your only practical non-surgical option is FretFX.  if you can wait long enough for one to be made.  all my non-factory LED necks have one.  here is the mighty essence in all her fretless glory lit up for all to see.  this bass is the shizz, homie!  but i digress again....

good luck with your quest.  don't do anything you'll regret later.  famous last words, dontcha know.

[lbpesq]

Hi Thelonius and welcome to the club.   I’ve installed both FretFX and Luminlay side markers on several instruments.   The FretFX strip is much easier to install and provides plenty of light for a dark stage.  In fact, I use a partially drained battery with my FretFX or it is too bright!   Luminlay dots aren’t nearly as bright, but do work well on a really dark stage.   They also sell a little charging light that will charge them up in about 10 seconds for the whole neck.  Then they will glow enough to see in the dark for about 20 minutes.   I wouldn’t attempt to install Luminlay dots without a drill press.  I have a small table top mini drill press that cost me about $100 as I recall.

Bill, tgo

[gtrguy]

I used to stick a clip on LED light onto the headstock of a 6 string fretless bass I had, for gigging. Worked great and looked kinda cool. Saved my butt at a gig once where I opened the song on bass and the FOH lighting guy got the not-so-bright idea of opening the act with the lights all off (without telling anyone). I also have a bass with the stick on LEDs and I like them (FretFX)

[pauldo]

 G’day Thelonious 
I’ll echo Bill.  If you have a drill press and a safe way to hold the bass… then I would recommend using a centering drill (spotting drill).  This may be enough to remove the brass, or at best it will get a hole started that you can follow up with a drill bit and it shouldn’t wander.


Good luck.

[mica]

Do note that the side dots are in fact bronze, and if you haven't tried sanding them that might be all you need to bring up some contrast - just sand along the edge of the fingerboard and carefully avoid the finish on the neck. then a drop of lemon oil and you're good to go.

If you need more contrast than freshly polished bronze, then you'll have to do one of the things you are discussing above. 

[Songdog]

Can anyone advise me on the appropriate grit sandpaper to use? The dots on the bass I just bought could use some polishing.

[edwardofhuncote]

Try a milder abrasive. Scotchbrite, or even a pencil eraser will shine them up. 1500-grit or finer, if you must.

[Songdog]

"Pencil eraser"? What's that? 

Good ideas, I'll put down the sandpaper and move away slowly.

[edwardofhuncote]

I use these in my shop. They also work well on tarnished frets. Or those super-cool silver encircled abalone oval inlays on Alembics. Pink Pearl.

[Thomasio]

Drilling it yourself is not a good idea... if you would like a further explanation, feel free to message me.

(I'm an experienced hobbiest machinist and woodworker, and I wouldn't dare do this.)

[lbpesq]

I must respectfully disagree.  As noted above, I've drilled out side dots and replaced them with the Luminlay dots numerous times.  I wouldn't attempt it without a dill press, but if you have access to one, and rig up a jig to hold the neck steady, it's not all that difficult.  Of course this is easier on bolt-on instruments as you can remove the neck prior to drilling.  Things do get a bit more difficult on set neck and neck-through instruments like our Alembics.

Bill, tgo

[rv_bass]

That pink eraser works great! 

[Songdog]

I had to go out and buy one of those erasers (actually they only come in packs of three or more). I had one ... somewhere ... but it's probably hard as a rock even if I could find it.

The new ones are now marked "Latex free" instead of "Malaysia" and are made in China. I hope they work as well.

[lbpesq]

Stewmac sells erasers with varying degrees of grit, like sandpaper.  Not cheap, about $10 each.  I have a set that spans 220 - 8000 grit.  They are great for polishing frets and other metal stuff, like brass and bronze side dots.

Bill, tgo