Windmill ramp pickup

[jmanfunk]

I noticed this on the Windmill website. A nifty little design; you specify the dimensions and they'll craft one to fit on your existing bass. Its a little pricey for my tastes and I assume that they don't offer any other pick-up beside their own propietary design but I certainly will be taking this idea to my local luthier, Chris Larkin, and have them fashioned for a set of Nordstrand Fatsatcks; nice.

[Buzz]

Ah, pup ramps. Garry Willis springs to mind as a famous bassist with them on his sig model, and Dood had one crafted as the standard on the Doodle (and it's in production little sister I think).

Rather good idea actually.

[SJA]

nice idea, but i can see one drawback- having the pickups joined together like that might affect how they adjust, unless the wood plate between them is flexible.
eg. you wouldn't be able to lower the bridge pickup on the bass side without lowering the neck pickup too and vice versa.

[Buzz]

[quote name='SJA' post='289078' date='Sep 22 2008, 12:15 PM']nice idea, but i can see one drawback- having the pickups joined together like that might affect how they adjust, unless the wood plate between them is flexible.
eg. you wouldn't be able to lower the bridge pickup on the bass side without lowering the neck pickup too and vice versa.[/quote]

Which is why everyone else uses a slightly different style:

(Picture borrowed from Dood's own website, hope you don't mind chap)



Makes alot more sense.

[jmanfunk]

[quote name='SJA' post='289078' date='Sep 22 2008, 12:15 PM']nice idea, but i can see one drawback- having the pickups joined together like that might affect how they adjust, unless the wood plate between them is flexible.
eg. you wouldn't be able to lower the bridge pickup on the bass side without lowering the neck pickup too and vice versa.[/quote]


Huh, I never thought of that It still looks nice despite its impracticality.

Edited September 22, 2008 by jmanfunk

[Dood]

[quote name='Buzz' post='288867' date='Sep 21 2008, 11:39 PM']and Dood had one crafted as the standard on the Doodle (and it's in production little sister I think).[/quote]

Yep! Absolutely right. I helped design the one pictured, specifically for my needs. Nah, it's not rocket science, but it is one of the best bass related tools I have ever used! - Better than the ole 'hair band round the neck' tool!

[quote name='Buzz' post='289104' date='Sep 22 2008, 12:44 PM']Which is why everyone else uses a slightly different style:

(Picture borrowed from Dood's own website, hope you don't mind chap)


Makes alot more sense.[/quote]

Not at all chap! Always nice to get a pic of ma li'l Doodle on a thread!

I used to play Tobias basses; The US version s used to come with Bartolini pups on bopard that had radiused pickup covers. I guess they would serve the same purpose.. but I'm not really a fan of bart pups. I also prefer the Ramp to be in a specific position.. As in the picture, the back pup had to make way for the ramp so that I had enough space in front of the front pickup! All carefully worked out for the tone I was after *and* playing position ;o)

[Galilee]

This is all so that you can anchor your thumb where's there's usually a gap, right?

[LukeFRC]

see that first one at the top. if you built them but had them fix by screwing grips onto the edge of the pups you could fit them without damaging your bass in any way....


edit. (ie screwing in so that the screws grip on the edge of the pups. )

Edited September 30, 2008 by LukeFRC

[jmanfunk]

[quote name='Galilee' post='295659' date='Sep 30 2008, 04:22 PM']This is all so that you can anchor your thumb where's there's usually a gap, right?

[/quote]


It acts as a thumb rest, yes but also facilitates a lighter playing technique by preventing one from 'digging in' too much. It's also a fantastic asset when using a four finger technique.

There's a plethora of info on the ramps and the players that use them on talkbass and here somewhere.

[url="http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=-PigAe4VIMI"]http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=-PigAe4VIMI[/url]

Mike doing his thing

Edited September 30, 2008 by jmanfunk

[Protium]

[quote name='jmanfunk' post='288797' date='Sep 21 2008, 09:45 PM'][/quote]

Off topic sorry: Anyone know what type of bridge that is?

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Protium' post='295747' date='Sep 30 2008, 06:49 PM']Off topic sorry: Anyone know what type of bridge that is?[/quote]

Looks like an [url="http://www.ets-hardware.com/"]ETS[/url]

[BigRedX]

And back on topic here's the ramp on my Sei Flamboyant Offset Bass:

[jmanfunk]

The radiused pup covers is a nice touch. Is the ramp adjustable?

Heres the ramp mod I added to a Chris Larkin single cut-



What I liked about the Windmill concept, apart from the aesthetic value, is the uniform playing surface and also the increased surface area. But as someone already pointed out, it would be uneven if you had to adjust your back pup higher than your front pup to balance the output.

Edited September 30, 2008 by jmanfunk

[7string]

Whenever basses don't have the pickups in the right places I prefer to have a ramp.

This ramp was made for me by Jon Shuker and I'm really pleased with it (which reminds me I need another one!).

Edited October 1, 2008 by 7string

[MoonBassAlpha]

[quote name='7string' post='296029' date='Sep 30 2008, 11:17 PM']Whenever basses don't have the pickups in the right places I prefer to have a ramp.

This one was made for me by Jon Shuker and I'm really pleased with it (which reminds me I need another one!).



[/quote]

That's a really nice looking bass, but what is the rationale for the strange jack mounting bit?

[Mottlefeeder]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='296045' date='Sep 30 2008, 11:37 PM']That's a really nice looking bass, but what is the rationale for the strange jack mounting bit?[/quote]
It's a neutric locking jack socket by the looks of it - they come on a rectangular backing plate like an XLR socket.

[OldGit]

[quote name='Buzz' post='289104' date='Sep 22 2008, 12:44 PM']Which is why everyone else uses a slightly different style:

(Picture borrowed from Dood's own website, hope you don't mind chap)



Makes alot more sense.[/quote]

Damn! I was almost over the gas attack that started when I first saw, and held, and played, and coveted, the Doodle .. I'd nearly put all that behind me .. oh well ..

[7string]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='296045' date='Sep 30 2008, 11:37 PM']That's a really nice looking bass, but what is the rationale for the strange jack mounting bit?[/quote]

[quote name='Mottlefeeder' post='296066' date='Sep 30 2008, 11:55 PM']It's a neutric locking jack socket by the looks of it - they come on a rectangular backing plate like an XLR socket.[/quote]

Thanks for the compliment on my Conklin GT7. It may look nice but it weighs 1 stone. Yup, 14lbs !!

Mottlefeeder's right, it's a Neutrik jack and the Conklin has been designed to use that jack. When you plug your cable in, the socket locks it tight so you can't pull the plug out accidentally. To release the jack, you have to press in the little red button first, then pull it out of the socket. It's a bit fiddly, but you get used to it and it works great. The only problem is that they're quite bulky compared to a regular input.