Summary of Contents for Light Wave Light Wave Saber Bass
- Page 1 L I G H T W A V E S A B E R B A S S O P T I C A L P I C K U P S Y S T E M U S E R M A N U A L...
- Page 2 L I G H T W A V E S A B E R B A S S O P T I C A L P I C K U P S Y S T E M FOREWORD Thank you and congratulations for your purchase of a LightWave Saber Bass.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. DESIGN CONCEPTS…………………………………….. 1 LightWave Optical Pickup System…………………………… 1 The Voice of the String™……………………………………… 1 Long, Natural Sustain …………..…………………………….. 1 Extremely Low Noise………………………….……………..1 iceTone™……………………………………...……………….. 2 Tone Shaping……………………………………...…………… 2 2. QUICK START……………………………………………… 3 3. SETUP………………………………………………………… 4 3.1 Neck and Action Adjustments……………………………. 4 3.2 Saddle Adjustment…………………………………………... -
Page 4: Design Concepts
1. DESIGN CONCEPTS LightWave Optical Pickup System At the core of your Saber Bass is the LightWave Optical Pickup System, a revolutionary new pickup system that uses infrared light technology to faithfully reproduce the true sound of the string. Unlike conventional pickups that interact with string vibration, the LightWave Pickup System ‘sees’... -
Page 5: Icetone
iceTone™ This control allows the blending of the tailored piezo transducers built into each individual string saddle. iceTone is a patented LightWave Systems piezo design that was specifically developed to avoid the clack and harshness typical of piezos while integrating seamlessly with the LightWave Optical Pickup. -
Page 6: Quick Start
2. QUICK START • The Saber Bass electronics are powered by a rechargeable NiMH Battery Pack (see section 4.2 Battery Pack Advisory). The battery pack must have at least a partial charge to begin playing. The Saber Bass will play for approximately 15 hours on a full charge. -
Page 7: Setup
3. SETUP 3.1 Neck and Action Adjustments Your bass is equipped with a truss rod for neck adjustments. Always perform this adjustment before proceeding to set up the playing action and the LightWave Pickup System. If you are unfamiliar with truss rods and instrument setup, please consult a reputable guitar tech. -
Page 8: Intonation
3.3 Intonation Intonation will likely be with the highest pitch string being closest to the nominal scale length, and each string diameter larger being slightly more set back towards the tail end of the instrument. Strings that are articulated, or have exposed cores, will intonate closer to the actual scale length. - Page 9 The following setup procedure is performed in order to align the centerline of the optics with the long axis of the string. This will provide maximum output, as well as accommodate string bending and related playing techniques. This operation can be done by ear, or electronically.
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Page 10: Power And Controls
4. POWER AND CONTROLS Master Volume Bass Boost / Cut Mids Boost / Cut Mids Frequency Warm / Cool Switch (Towards Neck: Warm Towards Bridge: Cool) iceTone Level ™ ™ Standard (Optical/iceTone ) Edition 4.1 Control Elements • Master Volume: Makes the overall signal (optics plus iceTone) louder or softer. -
Page 11: Battery Pack Advisory
• Warm / Cool Switch: This miniature toggle switch provides a switched-in EQ that applies an upward-tilted frequency response curve, to produce a leaner, cooler balance, with less bass and more upper mids. The two positions of the switch are similar to selecting the neck or bridge pickups of a conventional bass guitar with two magnetic pickups. -
Page 12: Instrument Maintenance
• Repeat several times. This will condition the battery to reach full capacity. • This conditioning should be done a couple of times a year, or when the instrument play time seems to be diminishing, or if the instrument has been unused for a long duration. The playing time on a full capacity, fully charged battery is about 15 hours. -
Page 13: Hexfx Edition
LightWave basses with the Magnetic Hybrid option have a conventional magnetic pickup in addition to the LightWave Optical Pickup System. The iceTone piezo transducers have been omitted, so that the fifth deck control knob controls the blend between the magnetic and optical pickup outputs. The knob has a center detent, which represents equal output between the two pickups;... - Page 14 13-Pin Output Jack: This is the standard connection for plugging in a 13-pin cable (not supplied) made by other manufacturers. The LightWave individual string signals, and the single output present at the 1/4” output jack, are routed through the connector pins, in standard configuration.
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Page 15: Appendices
7. APPENDICES 7.1 Motherboard DIP Switch Settings On the Motherboard, next to the rotary switch used for the optics setup, there is a four-position DIP switch, labeled SW2. If your bass has the HexFX option, this will be hidden under the HexFX daughterboard. -
Page 16: Troubleshooting
Slide switches 1 thru 6 = individual string outputs conditioned for MIDI converter or hex DSP (OFF), or unconditioned for simple fanout (ON). If the instrument is played through a MIDI converter or hex DSP device, these switches must be in the ‘OFF’ positions, or the connected device will not perform correctly. -
Page 17: Warranty
Problem: One or more strings sound softer than the others. Cause: Optics out of alignment. Solution: Did you just adjust the action or change string gauge? If so, the optical setup may have to be re-done. Check the condition of the optical setup (see 3.4: Optics Alignment). If one or more of the strings is off alignment, re-do the optical setup for all the strings. - Page 18 LightWave Systems, Inc. 6387-A Rose Lane, Carpinteria, California, 93013 USA Tel: 805.684.3216 Fax: 805.684.6696 www.lightwave-systems.com User Manual Version 1 / Copyright 2005...