BASSIST
- OCTOBER 1996 REVIEW
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Short of wearing a miners helmet,
visual reference onstage in the dark was once just a daydream,
and as we know, F may well be close to a 3rd string E, but on
a slow atmospheric 'key of E' song intro on a gig, it can sound
a million semi-tones away.
Back in the early '70s, Alembic threw some revolutionary light on the
subject by introducing LEDs along the top edge of the fretboards on their
bass guitars. Some of the more eccentric artistes of the time utilised
LEDs on the fingerboard face, too. Looked groovy, yeah, but it was seriously
pricy, and usually available only as an option on top range instruments,
which server to thwart widespread use. Much later, enter SimS Custom
LED on the scene (as mentioned in What's New a few months back); Martin
Sims developed the world's first retro-fit LED lighting system which
allows fitting without removing the fret board, a major step forward
given the natural reluctance of valuable and/or vintage bass owners to
physically desecrate their instruments. The result is factory-finish
quality and undetectable installation, all without changing the feel
of the bass.
Martin Sims, an experienced cabinet maker and engineer, is also a semi-pro
musician who has personally experienced the problem of diverse lighting
conditions during live performances. He realised the only solution was
to make the elusive dot markers more visible. Seeking professional advice,
he discovered LEDs could only be fitted to new guitars, invariably top
of the range models.
Preferring to keep the bass he was using, being happy with its feel and
tonal qualities, rather than 'changing up', he thus sought an alternative.
The result was revealed to the public at the London Music Show where
Martin was also able to present green as an alternative to the standard
red LEDs offered by other manufacturers. The choice has since been expanded
to ultra-bright orange, hyper-bright red and the popular electric blue.
Since its introduction, the fitting process (necessarily kept a closely-guarded
secret by Martin) and electronic circuitry has been continually improved
to the point where installation now utilises optic fibres just 1mm in
diameter to carry light to the top edge markers.
The front face LEDs have special lenses to disperse light more effectively
and power consumption has been halved, thereby doubling the 9v battery
life. Subsequently, the battery pack can last well over 60 hours and
life expectancy of the LEDs should be well over 100,000 hours - far greater
than the life expectancy of most bass players...
More recently, SimS Custom LED has developed special tooling to be able
to retro-fit the lights into carbon fibre instruments such as those from
Status, Steinberger and Modulus Graphite, a task previously considered
impossible due to the specialised nature of the materials used.
The latest introduction is custom paint work, as illustrated here on
the startling rip-fade example of the blue SSD N4.
Stuart Spector Design N4, originally finished in
black!
The possibilities for painting can range from subtle sunbursts to wild
pearlescent fades with ripped graphicsor, alternatively, can incorporate
names, logos or images.
LED lights cost £12 each regardless of colour or position. Customers
can specify anything from eight LEDs for the minimum number of dot markers
up to an incredible 27 or more, as fitted to one customer's Steinberger.
There's also an additional setting-up charge of £100 for each instrument
which includes supplying a classy brass plaque to cover the power pack
cavity, batteries, switches etc. Paint work starts from £80 for
a straightforward colour change. The blue and white pearlescent rip-fade
using two-pack automotive paints and high gloss lacquer would be closer
to £450, but each order necessarily needs to be costed on an individual
basis.
Incidentally, SimS LED also offer general repair/maintenance work such
as re-frets. Judging by the unimpeachable quality of the LED installations,
your bass will be in good hands.
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