Jabba_the_gut

[quote name='loki' timestamp='1339573180' post='1690596'] Hi Jez, I run all of my LED's (wired in parallel) from a single 9v battery with a single resistor. It means you have a lot of wires running down the neck but I use tiny thin wire so it's OK.I get very good battery life using this method. Putting LED's in a bass you are making yourself is very easy compared to retro-fitting as you can pre-rout all your channels and as you are only doing the side markers, even easier. You are bang-on with the fibre idea, although you could do yourself a massive favour buy buying some brass tubing from a model shop and making your actual dots from that. The fibre will fit right inside and can be held in place with epoxy or superglue. Cut the brass tubing to approx 4-5mm lengths and this will give you a nice tidy job, plus the brass adds a touch of class When it comes to the fibre itself, bond it in place before you trim it back. Cut it with a scalpel and then polish it with 1200 grade wet or dry. The better finish you get on the end of the fibre, the brighter your LED will be. Alternatively, as you are fitting the LED's before installing the fretboard, you could use a length of 2mm round acrylic (perspex). Bond this directly to the LED. You will get really good light transfer with this material and it's easier to work with than fibre. You still need to polish the ends though. I'm guessing you are using 3mm LED's. These are fine for side-only dots but I would recommend using Surface Mount LED's for front markers it you ever wanted to install them. Before surface mount technology I had to modify each LED to make it fit and it was a major pain in the @$$. Status now use surface mount LED's in their basses, although they have a lot of problems with static when polishing. Let me know if you need any more help Scott. [/quote] Hi Scott, Cheers for the details, particularly like the bit about the brass tubing. I've actually used surface mount LEDs mounted onto a strip of wood veneer for the side markers to make a tidy strip that should be easy to install I'll see how it goes!! Cheers again Jez

[quote name='loki' timestamp='1339524652' post='1689947'] Guys, I've done countless LED installs on guitars and basses, front and side. It's not as hard as everyone makes out. Yes it is a lot of work and a very high-risk job as you stand to completely ruin the guitar/bass if it goes wrong but it's definitely do-able with a half decent shed and some simple tools. Companies such as SIMS are very good but they charge far too much IMHO - and the price goes up for each LED you add. I don't do that. LED's are just pennies each and it's just as easy to fit 12 as it is 10. I'm not knocking SIMS though as they do excellent work and have an excellent reputation. Scott. [/quote] Hi Scott, I'd be really interested if you've got any further details you could post on here would be appreciated. I'm building a bass from scratch so don't have too much risk of disaster and have more freedon in how I install LEDs. My approach has been to make a strip of LEDs that can be installed into a small routed channel in the fretboard. I'll then use some pieces of 1mm diameter fibre optic cable for the markers about 5mm long to reach the LEDs from the side of the fretboard. The LEDs have a forward voltage of about 3v so they are wired 4 groups of 3 in order to run them from a single 9v battery. I'm not sure how others have approached this and haven't managed to find much on the web. Cheers Jez

LED markers really do seem to divide opinion!! I don't want something that looks like a Christmas tree, and I'm not fussed about fretmarkers on the front of the fretboard. I'm only interested in markers on the side of the neck for my benefit when it's a bit dark. I have managed to make a strip approx 2mm x 3mm x 550mm out of two strips of veneer and some self adhesive copper tape onto which I have soldered some surface mount LEDs (lousy picture attached). They're not the easiest thing to solder by hand, the first ones I tried were 0.8mm x 1.6mm so were quite fiddley!! I made another set with some 2mm x 1.6 mm and they were much easier, though still very small. The LEDs have a forward voltage of about 3v so they are wired 4 groups of 3 in order to run them from a single 9v battery. Now all I need to do is route a channel 3mm wide and 2mm deep in the fretboard of the bass I'm making to install this. The side markers will be made from 1mm fibre optic cable to meet up with each LED. I'm considering this circuit in order to provide brightness control: [url="http://torrentula.to.funpic.de/2011/08/07/555-timer-led-dimmer/"]http://torrentula.to...mer-led-dimmer/[/url]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1337213060' post='1657347'] Anyone said 'don't bother', yet? No? OK, I'll leave quietly... [/quote] Yep, have considered that option!! Why am I looking at doing this? Just to see if I can!!

Cheers for the details and links. I'll do a bit more digging and maybe try a few ideas out. It seems like an expensive option to get someone else to retro fit (£200+ on some of those links). Here's a couple of links I'd looked at previously including the one using an op-amp to run the LEDS [url="http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2572913-My-LED-fretboard-inlay-project"]http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2572913-My-LED-fretboard-inlay-project[/url]. [url="http://www.diyribbonmic.com/ledfretboard/LED_Fretboard_Plans.pdf"]http://www.diyribbonmic.com/ledfretboard/LED_Fretboard_Plans.pdf[/url]

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1337121005' post='1655981'] MB1. If you dont want to be faffing about? Bassbunny found a company that provide a kit and a rather simple inexpensive way of lighting up the dot markers on a bass without actually drilling anything? kinda reactolite painted dot markers you can charge up! might be worth a pm! [/quote] Cheers Martin, I'll drop a pm.

Cheers for that. I'll find a scrap of something and give that a try as it may be easier that trying to install individual LEDs in the edge.

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1337118805' post='1655937'] optic fibre is a good way of keeping power drain to a minimum. You only need one led. [/quote] I was wondering about that, I've got hold of some 1mm fibre. What do you do - just have 10 strands running back to one LED? Cheers

Hi, I'm thinking of fitting LED fret markers to the side of the next scratch built bass I make. Has anyone done this on their own builds? I'd be grateful for any info on the best way to approach this, or any circuit diagram? I have seen a couple of different ways including one using op-amps of some sort. Could I power the LEDs from the pre-amp battery or should I keep the circuits separate due to noise and battery drain? Any guidance would be welcome. Cheers J.

[quote name='SquarePlayer' timestamp='1337092655' post='1655280'] nice! Just wondering where did you get your ultralites and Badass Bridge? I'm building a bass from parts and scored a nice Tokai Jazz Sound neck from the 80's, which needs tuners - and I want a D-Tuner so my only real option is Hipshot. I think buying them online from america will be cheaper even after postage and VAT! [/quote] Bought the Ultralites off here from someone that bought them for a project but didn't use them. The Badass was bought off eBay brand new - think it was £60 which I thought was a pretty good price. Sorry that's not too much help to you. Cheers

I enjoyed building scratch bass #1 ([url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/151462-first-of-many-i-hope/"]http://basschat.co.u...of-many-i-hope/[/url]) and learnt a few valuable lessons from it and now I'm finally getting round to having a bash at building a second bass from scratch. Been accumulating parts for a little while and now have finally started. This time round it is going to be a 34" scale 5 string fretted bass. I've got hold of the following odds and sods for it over the past 12 months (all hardware either little used, or bought new by folk for projects and not used so cost me a bit less than new) :[list] [*]Badass bridge [*]Hipshot Ultralites tuners [*]Nordstrand DC5 pickups [*]Audere Z mode pre-amp [*]Swamp ash body [*]Spalted beech top [*]Wenge fingerboard [/list] I've no idea what it will sound like, I'll just have to wait and see!! I made some roughish drawings for the body and have made a start on on the body by sandwiching some wenge veneer between the ash and beech. I'm not completely convinced with the headstick shape at the moment and I'm toying with the idea of LED markers on the edge of the fretboard, though I've no idea how to do this!!! Any suggestions on LED markers would be appreciated. Photos below show roughly what I'm thinking. I also got a piece of elm off here recently and an considering making a second bass with the same body shape at the same time, though that might be biting off a bit more than I can chew!!

Just got back (yes, I know it's still early in the evening..) from seeing Marcus Miller at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival. Never seen him before and jazz isn't completely my bag, but both he and the band were incredible. Met him afterwards when he was signing CDs - really friendly guy as well. Saw one band on the free stage who were also excellent. Might even head down there tomorrow to see what other bands are playing - well worth a look for anyone local. J.

PM'd

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