mart Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 One of my basses has LEDs installed in the neck as the side fretmarkers. There are three 9v batteries used to power these, and I've been wondering why it needs so many - there are only 12 LEDs in total, and they don't use much power, do they? The other odd thing about this bass is that although it's a fretless, the fretmarkers on the fingerboard (and the LEDs on the side) are in the position they'd be on a fretted bass, i.e., between where the fretlines would be rather than at the fret position itself. This bugs me slightly, but I have no idea what to do about it. Would it be possible to get the markers (and the side LEDs) moved, or is that going to cost an arm and a leg? Or could I get the bass fretted so that the markers and LEDS are in the right positions? (Or are there going to be wires running up the fingerboard that would get sliced if I put frets in the board). Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Depending on how they are wired (series/parallel) they can draw different amounts of juice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 [quote name='mart' timestamp='1324291293' post='1472509'] One of my basses has LEDs installed in the neck as the side fretmarkers. There are three 9v batteries used to power these, and I've been wondering why it needs so many - there are only 12 LEDs in total, and they don't use much power, do they? The other odd thing about this bass is that although it's a fretless, the fretmarkers on the fingerboard (and the LEDs on the side) are in the position they'd be on a fretted bass, i.e., between where the fretlines would be rather than at the fret position itself. This bugs me slightly, but I have no idea what to do about it. Would it be possible to get the markers (and the side LEDs) moved, or is that going to cost an arm and a leg? Or could I get the bass fretted so that the markers and LEDS are in the right positions? (Or are there going to be wires running up the fingerboard that would get sliced if I put frets in the board). Any other suggestions? [/quote] Do a bunch of LEDs really need 27V? Is the bass active anyway and some of the batteries are used to power the preamp (say 2 for the preamp and 1 for the LEDs)? Until you trace the wires, you won't know what the scoop is. Regarding the surgery, sounds expensive and invasive to me any way you slice it (pardon the pun). I'd guess that it would definitely be cheaper to fret it than move the LEDs based upon the amount of faffing around I'd say is involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1324293896' post='1472557'] Do a bunch of LEDs really need 27V? Is the bass active anyway and some of the batteries are used to power the preamp (say 2 for the preamp and 1 for the LEDs)? Until you trace the wires, you won't know what the scoop is. [/quote] Generally, the power supply must have sufficient voltage to provide about 2v for each LED in series (4v for blue and white) plus at least another 2v for the resistor. It soon mounts up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Thanks for the replies guys! [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1324293896' post='1472557'] Do a bunch of LEDs really need 27V? Is the bass active anyway and some of the batteries are used to power the preamp (say 2 for the preamp and 1 for the LEDs)? Until you trace the wires, you won't know what the scoop is. ... [/quote] Actually, the bass is active, but has another 2 batteries for the 18v preamp. Yes, the bugger takes 5 batteries in total! [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1324293896' post='1472557'] ... Regarding the surgery, sounds expensive and invasive to me any way you slice it (pardon the pun). I'd guess that it would definitely be cheaper to fret it than move the LEDs based upon the amount of faffing around I'd say is involved. [/quote] That seems plausible, but do you think the frets would interfere with the wiring? Has anybody seen inside a LED-fitted neck? Where do the wires go? [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1324295261' post='1472578'] Generally, the power supply must have sufficient voltage to provide about 2v for each LED in series (4v for blue and white) plus at least another 2v for the resistor. It soon mounts up. [/quote] Thanks, that explains it. I had been thinking that the voltage for each LED was lower (from a vaguely recalled figure of 0.63V from O level electronics [i]many[/i] years ago). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johngh Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 My status S2 has front and side Leds. I can either have just the side on, or front and side. The bass has 2 9v for the active circuits and 2 9v for the leds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 My Streamline has the overlap side LEDs (one set, therefore) and uses a 9V for the LEDs plus 2 x 9V for the pre-amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 (edited) My status S2 has front and side Leds. I can either have just the side on, or front and side. The bass has 2 9v for the active circuits and 2 9v for the leds. MB1. I have front facing Blue leds only on my status KB powered by One 9V battery. Active circuit is 18v(another 2 x 9v batterys) Edited December 19, 2011 by MB1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozbass Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Are we talking about an Alembic here? They can have a lot of batteries (this doesn't really help with the weight issues that characterise Alembics - not that I'm having a go - I love the things). If the bass is an Alembic, the LEDs are possibly installed via an ebony strip inserted into the side of the board. I'm not sure about the implications of this for moving dots or fretting. Of course, maybe I'm wrong and it's not an Alembic bass. Either way, I'm pretty sure that Martin at the Gallery could sort the issues without too much trouble. Moving all the dots could be a bit of hassle, A fret job might be relatively inexpensive I'd imagine - probably cheaper than moving LEDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 (edited) Thanks for the replies. The bass is an old Warwick, so I don't think it'll be an ebony strip along the side of the board, although I have no definite information. And, for what it's worth, the LEDs are red except for the octaves (12th and 24th), which are yellow. From Ou7shined's comments, I'm guessing that my LEDs are wired in series, but most of you that have 9v or 18v-powered LEDs have them wired in parallel. Either way, I'm jealous! Edited December 19, 2011 by mart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyratm Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1324295261' post='1472578'] Generally, the power supply must have sufficient voltage to provide about 2v for each LED in series ([u][b]4v for blue[/b][/u] and white) plus at least another 2v for the resistor. It soon mounts up. [/quote] ah feck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 [quote name='woodyratm' timestamp='1324304900' post='1472789'] ah feck! [/quote] Don't worry we'll work something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyratm Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1324309633' post='1472845'] Don't worry we'll work something out. [/quote] Bet it works out i need 230v or something hah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 If you have to plug your lead into the mains to get 240V, does that make it a lead bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1324334714' post='1473254'] If you have to plug your lead into the mains to get 240V, does that make it a lead bass? [/quote] Just spilt my hot chocolate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1324334714' post='1473254'] If you have to plug your lead into the mains to get 240V, does that make it a lead bass? [/quote] Maybe not, but at least it will sort your hairstyle out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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