Luminlay Fret Markers

[tonyf]

Reading a thread a few weeks ago, someone mentioned some luminous fret markers by a company called Luminlay that they had installed. I did a bit of research and ordered some from the company's website at [url="http://www.luminlay.com/indexen.html"]http://www.luminlay.com/indexen.html[/url]

Delivered within days direct from the company in Japan, everything was packaged neatly and I consequently cracked open the toolbox, cleared the kitchen table and got busy.

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I ordered two types, the 3mm plain blue and the 2.5mm green with a black surround for my maple necked basses. The green one is shown.

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They also delivered, free of charge, a little blue LED light which helps illuminate the inlay. Neat.

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Basically, you drill out the existing side fret markers in the neck, glue a length of the luminous rod into the hole and then sand down flush. The first step was to take the neck off as I couldn't easily access the top fret markers with the drill.

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The holes were carefully drilled. Doing the first couple was, to be honest, a bit hairy but it went ok and the rest were a breeze once I'd got my eye in. I took the precaution of laying some tape over the top of the fretboard so the drill didn't slip.

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One glued in with a dab of superglue, I cut them flush and the gently filed them flat.

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The final result....

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I'm reasonably pleased but I've found they don't really last that long. The company reckons a single "charge" will last up to 45mins. Mine only last 10 to 15 max. Maybe it's because I needed to drill a little deeper. The installation instructions recommend about 3-4mm. I've probably done 3mm max. I don't think the extra mm will preserve the luminance that much though. Alternatively, because it's the smaller size, the material in the fret marker with the black surround isn't really that much so maybe there's not a lot of material to hold the light.

Still, gave it a go. As a non-illumated fret marker, it looks fine so it's not been a total loss of time and effort.

T