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uncle psychosis
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[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1361120932' post='1981352']
Yes. I bought some of those glow in the dark dots but I never got round to using them.
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Aha! Yeah, I used it recently in a couple of dark places and the dots are invisible.

So, that black Jazz is undergoing surgery at the moment. I took it on Saturday to my favourite luthier to have the side dots replaced with bigger (3mm diameter) ones... the glow in the dark stuff from Luminlay. I went for the blue ones, which are not the brightest or longest lasting but they are cool (they look white when not charged, which is probably enough of an improvement over the originals, the glow in the dark think is just a curiosity).

I might get it back on Tuesday. :)

PS: for those who don't know (everybody! :lol:) That black Jazz was my first bass, I sold it to unclepsychosis back in 2008... and I bought it back last summer. Love it.

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[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1361127837' post='1981518']
I used some glow in the dark stick on ones, partly for dark use but also so I had markers on the fret positions on my fretless (which has dot markers between the frets). They fall off after a bit of use, however, and that gets a little confusing. I'd like to get them replaced with Luminlays or similar.
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I'm planning to do something similar on my fretless Precision, which started life as fretted and also has the dots between the frets. I would like to remove the existing ones, fill with some kind of wood/paste that matches the existing colour, and put dots at the right place. I have not yet decided whether to get the Luminlays or not. It's a maple fingerboard, so dark dots generally work fine for me.

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[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1361214073' post='1982960']
Stickers are for kids :)
Just drill the holes and glue some glow in the dark acrylic rod in there. File them back and shazzam! Perfect dottage.
[/quote]


That's what the Luminlay is! :)

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[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1361358288' post='1984936']
Jose - those look nice. How long do they glow for? Did you charge them with a keyring light? and how much to buy/have fitted?

I use the stickers but they do look a bit cheap.
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They don't glow as bright as that for very long. These are the blue ones, the green ones are brighter and last noticeably longer, but I like the blue :P
If I charge them with a blue led keyring torch (Luminlay supplies one with every order), just a quick pass, they fade within a few minutes, but they remain glowing for much longer. It's not the kind of glow you will notice outside in teh sun... but in a badly lit stage it would be more than enough.
I went for the 3mm diameter ones, that was my main issue: getting bigger dots. The bigger dots alone are already a great improvement, and even the faint glow they get from being exposed to the normal lights is enough to make them noticeably easier to see: you don't need the full bright blue glow (it would be nice, but if you don't want leds, that's what you get).

I'd recommend them. They look like normal dots (or bigger, if you wish) when there is enough light, and their ability to glow a little even in very low light situations is very useful. Yes, they will not be as bright as in the picture (that's only possible if you charge them with the led torch... which takes seconds and you could easily do a pass from time to time in between songs, if you really needed a bright glow), but the residual faint glow lasts a long time, and it makes the dots much easier to see in a dark stage.

It cost me £20 to have them fitted. It is not complicated to do, but I preferred to let someone I trust would do a great job deal with it. The result is fantastic, you'd think they were factory fitted. The luminlay rod itself was... I don't recall... maybe £7? I think something like that.

I'd love some leds, low intensity so that they are not obvious and visible just by me... but it's a costly proposition and the surgery is not trivial. Fretlights work, but I don't really like the strip on the side of the board and the cable at the headstock to connect to the battery box... This is not as good a solution, but it's pretty good, cheaper, and keeps the looks.

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Thanks for that - not as expensive as I would have thought. Interesting!

Edit - I looked on the Luminlay website and the 3mm green is 1800 yen, which converted to around £127! Where did you get yours?

Edited by Paul S
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[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1361456968' post='1985949']
Thanks for that - not as expensive as I would have thought. Interesting!

Edit - I looked on the Luminlay website and the 3mm green is 1800 yen, which converted to around £127! Where did you get yours?
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You're a decimal point out, Mr S!

I'm considering them for my next project. The Luminlay looks like an excellent idea. White dots that glow blue or green...what's not to like?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am looking at getting some vinyl stickers for a couple of my Basses. One set will cover all the original dots, so they won't be a problem, but the other one I only want on the 12th fret and I'd like to black out the other dots so only the 12th fret is visible. What is the best way to get rid of them? The fretboard is ebony. I don't want to do anything that will damage the fretboard. I am considering just colouring them in with a permanent CD pen. Might try it with something less permanent to start with.

Is it possible to get that Luminlay stuff from the UK?

Edited by KingBollock
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