Andyjr1515 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Those of you who remember the Thumb fretless tribute I built for our band's bassist may also remember that I inset MoP fret markers for him. It's always been a bit of a problem as they don't show up at all in dimmed lighting and, as he often plays fretted, he hasn't yet got through the 'don't need fretmarkers anyway' pain barrier. So we tried the stick on glow in the dark dots but they have limited sticking power (very interesting if they slide along a bit in the middle of a gig!) so we plumbed for trying some luminlay dots. I was a bit reluctant at first because there doesn't seem to be any UK outlet but thought hang it, order direct from Japan. I needn't have worried - took about a week, good price, easy transaction. I fitted them this morning for him...they are BRILLIANT! It comes in a short stick like this: You drill a 5mm hole (for this size - there are other sizes available) 3- 4mm deep in your neck / fretboard: Drop of superglue and push the luminlay stick firmly to the bottom of the hole and trim with a razor saw: Sand it smooth and less than an hour later you end up with something like this: Charge it up with a little UV torch and it glows like this: What's not to like! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 [size=3][sharedmedia=core:attachments:166776][/size] Excellent post, very informative. Thanks for sharing. [sharedmedia=core:attachments:167485] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Lovely post Andy. How long do they glow for from one 'charging'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1420477968' post='2649781'] Lovely post Andy. How long do they glow for from one 'charging'? [/quote] Hi, Paul Just timing them now. If they are like the stick-ons, after a 5 second charge, they are bright for around 30 mins and quite usable for an hour or so. Basically, for the stick ons, Pete would charge them before the first and second sets. I'll let you know! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Ta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 Significantly dimmer than when first charged but quite usable at 1.5 hours so far...after this timescale even I can play in pitch in a totally dark room where you can't see anything of the bass itself (and I don't profess to be able to play fretless). Even in the light, they are soooo much brighter than the MoP markers I set into the fretboard. Interestingly, I can also see the fret markers I didn't charge - quite a bit dimmer but again quite usable. I'm out in 1/2 hour or so so can't do a 'until unusable' test but I reckon it'll be good enough for at least a couple of hours. I'll let you know after Pete has live-trialled it in a live dark venue. We're breaking in a new drummer so that may be a little time away... Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Very interesting, thanks Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 They look great ! Can you give the ordering/supplier details and cost ? Nice job :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 What a great idea. I've always hated the way Fender put their side dots half in the rosewood and half in the maple - it makes them very difficult to see with my poor eyesight. I've drilled out the side dots 'oversize' and put new dots in surrounded by dark titebond liquid hide glue so they stand out more, but these seem like an even better idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigjas Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I like the Luminlay stuff. I fitted the SB-30 side markers to my first Bass that I built a couple of years ago. I use a small uv light to charge them at the start of the first set and then recharge them in the interval. I could probably get away with doing the whole evening on one charge, but it does start to fade after about an hour. In daylight, they look like ordinary fret markers. They are easy to fit as described in the OP. Jas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 [quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1420501049' post='2650163'] They look great ! Can you give the ordering/supplier details and cost ? Nice job :-) [/quote] Hi, rmorris Their web address is http://www.luminlay.com/indexen.html They have an online shop with all the various products and prices and some useful stuff of what drills to use, etc Hope this helps Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 just thinking how good they would look on my Westone Thunder..... and perhaps some Black Metal luminlay control knobs as well. Uh-oh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooks79 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Just ordered some to go into a precision im buying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 [quote name='Chris Sharman' timestamp='1420643001' post='2651654'] just thinking how good they would look on my Westone Thunder..... and perhaps some Black Metal luminlay control knobs as well. Uh-oh! [/quote] You throw out the line and just reel them in Happy New Year, Chris. Hope all is well. Things are good with me and always open for business Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 ...and to you Andy. All is good thanks, hope the same with you? We may have to meet up for a beverage to discuss this. Patternmakers arms at the weekend? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Chris Sharman' timestamp='1420714059' post='2652372'] ...and to you Andy. All is good thanks, hope the same with you? We may have to meet up for a beverage to discuss this. Patternmakers arms at the weekend? Chris [/quote] Discussions over that kind of beverage are always welcome Drop me a pm and we can sort a suitable meet Andy Edited January 8, 2015 by Andyjr1515 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 There is a UK company that sell the same thing, Rothko and Frost [url="http://www.rothkoandfrost.com/ip-luminous-glow-in-the-dark-side-fret-marker-dot-inlay-rod/"]http://www.rothkoand...-dot-inlay-rod/[/url] I have used these and also Luminlay and can't tell the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 [quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1420722136' post='2652521'] There is a UK company that sell the same thing, Rothko and Frost [url="http://www.rothkoandfrost.com/ip-luminous-glow-in-the-dark-side-fret-marker-dot-inlay-rod/"]http://www.rothkoand...-dot-inlay-rod/[/url] I have used these and also Luminlay and can't tell the difference. [/quote] I haven't tried Rothko & Frost's - I'll get some and see how it fares...it's certainly cheaper! I did get some 'no-name' stuff a while ago and that wasn't any good at all - it didn't hold the glow for very long but, more to the point, it was almost invisible in the daytime. The Rothko & Frost stuff looks much better. Thanks for the tip-off Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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