Ramps on fretless?

[Brass Nut]

Anyone tried them?
Like them?
Pro's & Con's?
Sounds like a good idea,,, but that gal at the tavern did in the beginning too!

[Bryan R. Tyler]

It's inconsequential whether your bass is fretless or fretted- a ramp will perform the same function on either. I keep them on all of my basses.

[santucci218]

ramp?

[Bryan R. Tyler]

A block of wood (that should be radiused to match the fingerboard) that goes in-between the pickups or inbetween the pickups and the neck.

http://www.bryanrtylermusic.com/ramps.html

[DocBop]

Originally Posted by santucci218

ramp?

I piece of wood that sits between your pickups and is around the height of your pickups. Basically when you finger your bass the ramp keeps your fingers from dropping too far down between the strings. They need to be made to match the radius of your fretboard. The only basses I can think of off the top of my head is the Gary Willis model Ibanez and I belive the Todd Johnson model Zon. Most ramp users make their own or have a repair shop make one.

[santucci218]

a cool idea! but with my peavey cirrus, the pickups basically are the same radius, AND the perfect height at the bridge!

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Only problem with just the pickups is that they aren't very wide- limits your space a bit as far as plucking goes. I wish Bartolini was able to produce pickups faster- I'd like to order radiused pickups for my basses, but it would take forever.

[Brass Nut]

Okay, know what they are, question remains-

Originally Posted by Brass Nut

Anyone tried them?
Like them?
Pro's & Con's?

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by Brass Nut

Okay, know what they are, question remains-
Anyone tried them?
Like them?
Pro's & Con's?

We were explaining what they were to the guy above who asked "Ramp?"

As for your questions,
1. Answered when I said I have them on all of my basses
2. Answered when I said I have them on all of my basses
3. Pros are the possibilty of a far more even attack, aids in obtaining a light touch, allows for easier multi-finger plucking, and can possible add more speed to your plucking as your fingers recover more quickly than theay do when plucking deeply.
Cons are that using a light touch and not digging in isn't some people's bag. You can stick pluck plenty hard- the difference is that you pluck the strings upwards rather than slamming your fingers down through them. The fretless or fretted part won't have anything to do with it though, as a ramp is designed to aid just your plucking hand.