Palm Muting with a finger ramp.

[funkydanbass]

Hi Janek,

I have a fairly crude technique question:

I recently bought a Fodera Imperial with the Ebony finger ramp b/w pickups. I find it really hard to incorporate my fingers into the palm mute/thumb style of playnig with the strings being SO close to the finger ramp...

I have adjusted the string height, but it is still very difficult to produce a clean, consistent finger pluck tone.

Did you have to adjust your figure ramp? Encounter this problem? I would appreciate any feedback.

Peace - Dan.

[janekbass]

Dan,

I have a very low action on the bass so I've nver really had to raise the string height over the ramp and pickups. I love to play like that, and it's where I feel most comfortable.

I would suggest that you just really take some time working on that right hand position. It's a new instrument and is going to take some getting used to. It was at least a year before I felt really comfortable on my bass. It's just time and hard work with the instrument that makes those things natural. Practice everything slowly and really experiment with as many hand positions as possible until you find what's right for you.

And after all that you might find that the ramp isn't the best thing for what you want to do. You might thrive on a high action and no ramp at all. You won't know any of these things until you spend a good amount of time working on it.

I hope that helps a bit.

Easy,

Janek