Lightwave Bass Technology Discussion and Tone Demonstration
This video is about a Lightwave 4-string Fretless Bass, serial number 100259, manufactured in March of 2003. In this video I discuss the technology and tone of this bass.
I acquired this bass shortly after Lightwave started shipping instruments. I was fascinated by the optical pickup technology, which happens to be very similar to the technology used in the laser scanners that we manufacture at Pangolin.
The optical pickup is indeed very interesting, imposing no "pulling" action on the strings in the way magnetic pickups do. For that reason, the sound is deep and the sustain is long.
In addition to the optical pickup, each string features its own piezo pickup as well, and you can vary the mix of the piezo and optical pickups. They call the piezo pickup portion "Ice Tone" and that's a good name for it. This really emphasizes the treble sound of the strings and helps to pronounce picking and slapping styles.
Lightwave basses feature three separate tone controls, and a switch that gives yet more tonal control and combinations. So many sound combinations are possible with this bass!