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Making a Bass ramp


Jimothey
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I don’t know if anyone will be interested but I decided to make a bass ramp just to try them out and see if I like them so I thought I’d do a little thread for anyone else thinking of doing it??

Firstly I made a template for the ramp60332B3E-C5E2-4DA4-89B7-A631A374D999.thumb.jpeg.5a4aee6463a78594cc90513824226b39.jpeg

Using the the edge of the pickups I marked out the size of the pickups and the gap between them

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Then cut the template to size and started marking out for the pickup lugs

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Next you need to cut out the semi circles for the lugs and check that your template fits nice and snug

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Next you need to get the radius of you fretboard so you can shape the top of the ramp so it sits nicely up against your strings 

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Now it’s tome to transfer the template on to the material your going to use, because I’ve never used one before I didn’t want to shell out for a nice lump of ebony so I’m using 12mm ply 

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I find it easier to drill the holes first before you cut the ply to the correct width but remember not to drill all the way through as it just needs to be slightly deeper than the height of the pickup lugs and screws

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Then I cut the ramp out  and marked out the radius of the fret board

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I used a upside belt sander to sand the radius on the top

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I sanded the edges slightly more than the radius just to give it a smoother edge

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Then I used a permanent marker to blacken off the two edges that butt up against the pickups

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Next I cut some Matt Black vinyl to cover it with

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I cut the vinyl back at a slight angle so it makes it easier to wrap round the edges then trimmed the width

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Once you’ve wrapped it here’s the finished ramp, all in all I think it took about 15mins to make 

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When I get home from work later I’ll check it fit’s and the post an update........... 😀

Edited by Jimothey
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If you made a big enough one out of lead, or gold of course, would it counter neck dive? 🤔

Now, where would you measure the turning moment from, with it on the strap on a peg on the wall, but that would have a different radius and co-efficient of friction than a shoulder. Hmm, I may actually think about this properly.  🤔🤪

Edited by Si600
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7 minutes ago, Si600 said:

Is this the part where we make snide comments about research and forum searches and then rubbing our superiority in by posting a link to the thread in question?

 

You must have already read the thread then!!😆

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45 minutes ago, Christine said:

I have no idea what that is, educate me :)

 

26 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

What does it do?

Do you slap against it?

I’m not entirely sure myself yet but from what I’ve read and the comments on the thread linked it has something to do with making you have a lighter touch by stopping you digging in to much and can help with playing faster with more accuracy?????

I think you may be able to slap against it but it will make the pops very difficult tho.......🤔

Edited by Jimothey
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32 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

 

I’m not entirely sure myself yet but from what I’ve read and the comments on the thread linked it has something to do with making you have a lighter touch by stopping you digging in to much and can help with playing faster with more accuracy?????

I think you may be able to slap against it but it will make the pops very difficult tho.......🤔

I imagine that it stops you sticking your fingers too far into the strings by accident so that you just clip them with the fingertips. 

I should learn fingerstyle at some point for that inevitable moment when drop the pick mid song 😂

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30 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

 

I’m not entirely sure myself yet but from what I’ve read and the comments on the thread linked it has something to do with making you have a lighter touch by stopping you digging in to much and can help with playing faster with more accuracy?????

I think you may be able to slap against it but it will make the pops very difficult tho.......🤔

That's ^^^^^ exactly what I was thinking.

I have one bass that I tend to play in a rather 'spunky' fashion, and for popping, just the pickguard on or off makes quite a difference for getting under the strings. So a ramp near the neck wouldn't work...

Though I definitely do plan to try a ramp on another bass.

Thanks for putting this thread up. 👍

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All it does is raise the surface of the bass closer to the strings. It’s all about feel. If you’ve played neck thru basses all your life going to a bolt on you can feel like the strings are miles away from the body, for example. For most of us we already use the pickups as a kind of ramp - and thumbrest. 

It doesn’t interfere with pooping as you’ll probably pop near the neck and the ramp tends to be further back between the pickups although some fret less basses have them at the neck too to give you more of a double bass feel. 

The benefit will vary from player to player - it might help you play more quickly or it could have the opposite effect depending on the player. 

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I suppose a good analogy would be to say it’s like writing - you can write without your hand touching the page at all but you have more fine control when you rest the side of your hand on the page. Kind of feels like that. 

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I guess it's very much down to the player.

I generally keep my thumb muting the next string down, but where it goes when I play the E varies a LOT, depending on the bass I'm playing. Thinking about it, I'd say it's a major part of why each bass I have feels different.

I can see more benefit in something fairly wide set parallel to the e-string than something under them.

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3 minutes ago, cLepto-bass said:

Out of interest, how do you stick the ramp to the body?

I made my one to fit quite snug but I also used a few small bits of double sided tape .  Some ramps are fitted using the existing pickup screws 🙂

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8 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I made my one to fit quite snug but I also used a few small bits of double sided tape .  Some ramps are fitted using the existing pickup screws 🙂

I did the same I’ve just stuck it on with double sided tape and if it’s a snug fit it won’t move anywhere..........😀

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