barneyg42 Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 I'm now using my Yammy Trb fretless as my main bass but find it a bit difficult in a dark venue. The side dots are in the middle of the fret and the side fretlines are hard to see. Has anyone found a (cheap) solution to this at all? I guess I could get some flourescent dots in the appropiate places, bit worried it will look naff. Practicing in a dark room is the best option I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 You can just put small white or day-glo circular stickers on the side dots. No-one can really see them apart from you. Art shops sell such things - WH Smiths too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barneyg42 Posted November 6, 2010 Author Share Posted November 6, 2010 [quote name='Jerry_B' post='1014353' date='Nov 6 2010, 03:13 PM']You can just put small white or day-glo circular stickers on the side dots. No-one can really see them apart from you. Art shops sell such things - WH Smiths too.[/quote] Yeah I'm guessing this might be the way, problem is I need to mark the fret so it will be dot central on the side as the currents dots are in the middle of the fret! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 One reason I don't play a lined freteless I guess you could just put them at relevant fret points instead - i.e. put dots where the frets are either side of the side dots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 [quote name='barneyg42' post='1014343' date='Nov 6 2010, 03:08 PM']I'm now using my Yammy Trb fretless as my main bass but find it a bit difficult in a dark venue. The side dots are in the middle of the fret and the side fretlines are hard to see. Has anyone found a (cheap) solution to this at all? I guess I could get some flourescent dots in the appropiate places, bit worried it will look naff. Practicing in a dark room is the best option I guess [/quote] How about one of [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/SUPER-LED-CLIP-LIGHT-Music/dp/B003UA51X8/ref=sr_1_49?ie=UTF8&qid=1289064000&sr=8-49"]these[/url] clipped to the headstock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 After a misunderstanding between myself and another bassist at work (about LEDs/phosphorescent dots/UV sensitive glowing strings etc.) , we "accidentally" hit on the concept of using UV sensitive ink to mark the side dots. All you need do then is have a UV light nearby... I have an unlined fretless V, and that can be kinda scary in dim conditions... Even if you could see, there'd be nothing to see! Other alternatives? Practice in the dark? Use The Force? [i]"Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them"[/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 Call me nerdy, but I practiced wearing dark sunglasses for a month and it did wonders. Still need to see the dots in gigs occasionally, though. So I put a teensy spot of dayglo paint on the side markers. I'd say if your bass had markers in the fret positions get a luthier to make you nice new ones in the right places. Did that with my old BB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 FretFX side leds? they do them to suit fretless spacing (on the "fret") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBassChat Posted November 9, 2010 Share Posted November 9, 2010 Yes, fretFX [url="https://fretfx.com/"]https://fretfx.com/[/url] would be the best choice in this case. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 [quote name='fatback' post='1014837' date='Nov 6 2010, 10:53 PM']Call me nerdy, but I practiced wearing dark sunglasses for a month and it did wonders. [/quote] Worked for Stevie Wonder too. Maybe that's how he got the name... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 LEDs? If you want to drop the cash that is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='1018892' date='Nov 10 2010, 03:40 PM']Worked for Stevie Wonder too. Maybe that's how he got the name...[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pietruszka Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 Man I know how that feels! As soon as I put my fretless on at an EP launch I played at, I thought ''hang on, theres not much light here!'' I struggled but no one noticed any different! Day glo stickers and such is a cracking idea! Ill be doing that! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barneyg42 Posted November 10, 2010 Author Share Posted November 10, 2010 [quote name='pietruszka' post='1019116' date='Nov 10 2010, 06:19 PM']Man I know how that feels! As soon as I put my fretless on at an EP launch I played at, I thought ''hang on, theres not much light here!'' I struggled but no one noticed any different! Day glo stickers and such is a cracking idea! Ill be doing that! Dan[/quote] I did my first gig with it a couple of Fridays ago and there was plenty of light and I didn't think about it until the next night at another venue and it was Darksville, Arizona! I'd planned to get some day glo stickers this week as we are back there Friday but have been laid up ill all bloody week so might have the same problem again....doh! I'm thinking LEDs in the future if the bass becomes a keeper, loving it so far but you know what us bassplayers are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOwens Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 Yeah, I practiced my upright blindfolded. It taught me to play fretless with my ears.... Then you do a gig with no monitoring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 I've got one of these: [url="http://www.fretlord.com/FretlightZ_LED_fretboard_illuminator.htm"]http://www.fretlord.com/FretlightZ_LED_fre...illuminator.htm[/url] works reasonably well on a fretted bass. I guess you could point it down the edge of the neck by clamping it onto the E string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 I think that your best bet is just to practice more.I'd never recommend practicing blindfolded or whatever,just spend more time with the bass until the neck becomes second nature,and you don't need to look at it. Maybe you just aren't familiar enough with it for it to become your 'main' bass just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barneyg42 Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 [quote name='Doddy' post='1022508' date='Nov 13 2010, 03:06 PM']I think that your best bet is just to practice more.I'd never recommend practicing blindfolded or whatever,just spend more time with the bass until the neck becomes second nature,and you don't need to look at it. Maybe you just aren't familiar enough with it for it to become your 'main' bass just yet.[/quote] This is probably the answer, with work and being ill for a bit I haven't really touched the bass, first gig I did with it I played a blinder in a very good lighting situation, 2nd gig, well not good. Played there again last night and with lights out the stage was almost in darkness, strange that they have bands on all the time, have a stage but then turn all the bloody lights out. Typically the guitard didn't bring his little floor lights so the first 2 songs were like playing with a blindfold on even though I had put some yellow dots on the fretline edges. got a bit of light on behind and all was better. Think I had better knuckle down to some practice, I've also got a small clip-on light that I can shine down the fret edge like the Fretlord that will help too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goblin Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 [quote name='Doddy' post='1022508' date='Nov 13 2010, 03:06 PM']I think that your best bet is just to practice more.I'd never recommend practicing blindfolded or whatever,just spend more time with the bass until the neck becomes second nature,and you don't need to look at it. Maybe you just aren't familiar enough with it for it to become your 'main' bass just yet.[/quote] That seems like the best bet, I've been playing unlined fretless for around 3 or 4 years now, and the neck is fine for me. I can see sod all, but I can just do it by feel and pitch now which is quite handy. I once pulled off a solo where the stage lights went to blackout on a chase pattern for no reason at all. I've always maintained that the nice thing about fretless, is that if you hit a wrong note, just slide up or down to the one you were meant to hit and only fellow fretless players will notice.... works a treat in the dark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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