Sonus Lightwave Bass by Zon Guitars


Sonus Lightwave Bass by Zon Guitars
by Josquin Des Pres
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Magnetic pickups have been around as long as the good old automobile carburetor...at least it feels that way. During the past 30 years, we have seen a few small changes like active electronics but nothing really has changed from early 1900's technology.

The Sonus Lightwave bass represents an exciting and radical departure from traditional magnetic pickup design and the process of translating string vibrations into amplified sound. At the milled aluminum/brass bridge, special LEDs emit beams of infrared light across the width of each string to sense their movement. The shadows created by the vibrating strings are read by infrared phototransistor receptors. The signals from the individual strings' receptors are summed together and fed into an active EQ system. The Sonus Lightwave also has a piezo-electric pickup that can be mixed or used separately from the optical system. There are master volume, bass, treble boost/cut controls and a piezo/optical blend knob. The whole system runs on another great feature, the rechargeable Ni-Cad battery for 15 hours playing time.

My review instrument was made of two pieces of hand-selected swamp ash, laminated with a master-grade, book-matched curly maple top and finished in clear high gloss polyester. Other optional master-grade bookmatched tops available are: koa; walnut; goncalo alves; zebrawood; curly, bird's-eye or quilted maple; myrtlewood and flame redwood. The composite material, 34-inch scale neck was equipped with Gotoh GB 7 tuners and finished in satin polyester.

I played a four-string fretless model, while recording tracks for San Diego-based country singer/songwriter Tammy Eldridge. (The five-string fretless with burl redwood top is pictured) I recorded direct, using an Aphex 107 pre-amp followed by an Aphex 661 compressor. I must say the results were very surprising! The instrument delivered a rich acoustic-like, warm and inspiring tone. The strings respond quickly and accurately. The instrument's flat response allowed me to spend less time "correcting" for typical magnetic response curves and more time finding the sound that was right for the song. One small caveat about the instrument is the absence of a rear pickup creating a bit of a problem for those of us who, over the years, have used the pickup as a thumb rest. An optional thumb rest would be a welcome addition.

Optional see-thru colors are: Charcoal, Amber, Cough drop red, Cobalt blue, Caribbean blue and vintage tobacco sunburst colors, the fretted four-string Sonus LightWave bass sells for $3,275 MSRP while the five string sells for $3,575. Other options include: master-grade figured tops and the fretless version I played.

For more information contact: Zon Guitars at 780 2nd Avenue, Redwood City, Ca 94063. Phone them at: 650-366-3516 and FAX at: 650-366-9996 or visit: www.zonguitars.com For more about the Lightwave pickups system call: 805-684-3216 or visit: www.lightwave-systems.com

Josquin des Pres is a San Diego-based Producer, Songwriter & Bass Player. Visit his websites at www.josquindespres.com or www.trackstarstudios.com

Edited by: Barry Rudolph

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