thumb rest or ramp?

[nowontonsforme]

Hey all, I have a problem playing on the lowest string on my basses. When playing the higher strings I always need a firm thumb anchor to keep things in check so to speak. When playing on the lowest string however, the only place for me to anchor my thumb is on the pickups, which i find very limiting. I often want to play somewhere in between the pickups for different tones. I'm thinking that adding a ramp or a thumb rest to my bass would be a helpful addition to help me play on the lowest string more, since i tend to avoid it more than i should at the moment.

I like the look of a ramp much more than a thumb rest, but i dont know if a ramp would be stable enough to act as an anchor. I also like the added bonus of the original funcion of a ramp, that will help me from digging in too much (which isnt really a problem i have, but every little bit helps you know?). Does the double stick tape hold well enough to be able to anchor on it? I dont use a lot of force in my playing, but its a concern of mine. Would adding a thumb rest decrease the value of my bass? Im already concerned that it will decrease the visual appeal.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I'd advise against adding a thumbrest if it's the standard screw-in type, as that'll diminish your bass' value greatly. Double stick tape- specifically, the foam-style Scotch tape- is quite strong and would work fine to anchor either a ramp or a thumbrest so long as you don't press down on it with a ton of force. In fact, I've advised people several times to de-stick your doublestick tape on some fabric a few times before attaching it to your bass, because it forms a much stronger bond than you'd think it would (if you don't remove some of the tackiness of the tape first, removing your ramp later can be difficult).

[bassteban]

I voted ramp- I haven't tried one but I think I'd like to.

[The BurgerMeister]

i didn't vote.
ramps are nice.
you can rest your thumb on them, the pickups, or the strings. (alotta options!)
AND they help you play MAD fast, mang.

[spindizzy]

Add the ramp but don't use it for a thumb rest. Learn to float your thumb instead. The ramp is a fairly good way to aid in controling how much you dig into the string and will help to smooth your technique. Anchoring ultimately limits you and freeing your thumb leads to tremedous possibilities for your playing. Your low string problem is solved then as you now can incorporate your thumb as another plucking finger and even if you just go back and forth between your thumb and forefinger to play the lower string you will improve both speed and stamina. All of this is of course IMHO. See floating thumb sticky for more on that technique. Buy Todd Johnson's instructional DVD if you want expert help.

[.matthew e wengerd.]

you beat me to it!

[Richard Lindsey]

I vote neither. If you want to play at different locations on the string, neither a ramp nor a thumbrest is necessary. You can learn to play without either one. It may be hard now, but it can be done. Sometimes the answer to a problem is not to add a device but to alter your technique. There's no reason to assume that just because you've always played a certain way you have to keep playing that way.

[nowontonsforme]

im quite comfortable with a psuedo slap style of using my thumb as another plucking option. I also can strum proficiently and slap normally. however i do like a traditional fingerstyle sound. ive tried floating my thumb before and my problem is that i lose speed when i have nothing for my fingers to rebound off of after ive plucked the string. It just doesnt feel comfortable. I'll look into how much ramps cost. thanks for the replies.

[vyse933]

i said ramp. why? it's a thumb rest..and a ramp..and you can take it off. but as far as technique goes, i use the floating thumb technique..but instead of just using my thumb to rest/mute on other string..i use it to pluck if it saves energy to make a quick pluck with my thumb vs having to move my intire hand to go down just to the one note. i also use my thumb to do triplets or anything that requires spanning three strings so that i just use my thumb first and middle finger..thus not having to move my hand. and yeah, that last part about techinique, is just my little rant about how you can do floating thumb and still incorporate your thumb into playing.