Do you think thumb rests will ever come back in style?

[consectaneus]

I like it below the pickup (tug bar position) on Fenders. Just for looks, but sometimes I actually do curl my fingers around it and thump with my thumb like Leo thought it would be used.

 

[GretschWretch]

suspenders have been around along time too and plenty of old guys wear them, doesnt mean that they are “in”.

Im not knocking them btw, I think they look cool on some basses and not on others

I agree with you about the coolness factor; some basses would look hideous with them. My objection was to the word "never." One can say with confidence that these bars are not in now, but once upon a time it was the rare bass that did not have them.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Love the location Al Cisneros thumbrest.

 

[Thumpin6string]

I hope not.

 

[Passinwind]

Nope.

 

[MrAB4003]

They were never out of style. They're a necessity for me as a fingerstyle player. I have Zero Mod thumbrests on both my Ric 4003s and my Fender Precision basses.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Just get a 5-string and use the low B as one continuous thumb rest.

Who knows, maybe then you can apply only light pressure to the low B and double that resting thumb as a mute!

What's next? Letting your thumb "float" over the strings so it can mute as needed? Naaah. That's just crazy talk.

P.S. 4-banger here with thumb posted up on the pickup low side. Just sayin'.

 

[Katoosie]

I like it on Fenders. Even if they magically disappeared, I would still find a way to get one mounted

 

[rantbot]

Putting a "thumb rest" just outboard of the G is just one of those ridiculous things which makes a Fender a Fender. Much like calling a vibrato mechanism a "tremolo".

 

[Snert]

What is this thumbrest thing of which you speak?

 

[comatosedragon]

I love the thumb rest on my Kingston CRB 5. It's built into the body like a contour, and is one of the most ingenious things I have seen in a while.

I'm at work and don't have a photo right now, but I'm sure someone knows what I am talking about.

 

[Dragan]

It’s a little known fact that Leo put the so called “tug bar” below the G to prevent slap bass playing. He hated slap bass. It drove him nuts. When he sold Fender to CBS in 1965, Leo stipulated in the contract that the tug bar must remain below the G string as a slap guard for 9 years. Then, in 1974, having fulfilled their contractual obligation, CBS executives gave the long anticipated order to move the tug bar slap guard to above the E string to be used as a thumb rest. Finally, free of the restrictive anti-slap engineering control designed by Leo Fender, bassists started beating their instruments mercilessly with their thumbs. Much bass slapping ensued in the years since 1974. In the mid 1980s, the execs at Fender were surprised by research data showing the thumb rest was rarely ever used due to the preponderance of bassists slapping instead of plucking their basses, so the thumb rest was removed as a cost saving measure thereby saving the company from a most certain looming bankruptcy. Leo recognized he lost the “war against slap” years prior to Fender removing the thumb rest and had already designed the Stingray to cash in on the slap trend that he predicted would last until he invented punk rock the following year.

You’re welcome.

They 've called me conspiracy theorist but I'm not alone!

 

[SpiderBass1965]

It’s a little known fact that Leo put the so called “tug bar” below the G to prevent slap bass playing. He hated slap bass. It drove him nuts. When he sold Fender to CBS in 1965, Leo stipulated in the contract that the tug bar must remain below the G string as a slap guard for 9 years. Then, in 1974, having fulfilled their contractual obligation, CBS executives gave the long anticipated order to move the tug bar slap guard to above the E string to be used as a thumb rest. Finally, free of the restrictive anti-slap engineering control designed by Leo Fender, bassists started beating their instruments mercilessly with their thumbs. Much bass slapping ensued in the years since 1974. In the mid 1980s, the execs at Fender were surprised by research data showing the thumb rest was rarely ever used due to the preponderance of bassists slapping instead of plucking their basses, so the thumb rest was removed as a cost saving measure thereby saving the company from a most certain looming bankruptcy. Leo recognized he lost the “war against slap” years prior to Fender removing the thumb rest and had already designed the Stingray to cash in on the slap trend that he predicted would last until he invented punk rock the following year.

You’re welcome.

 

[OnTheDownLow]

I personally love them and pretty much every fender that I have owned in the last 10 years has either had one already or I put one on. Same with ashtray covers, It started off as just an aesthetic thing but since I've been playing with them on for so long now the bass feels naked without them.

 

[Vinny_G]

Either on the bass or treble side of the strings?

If it's on the treble side of the strings, it can't be a thumb rest

 

[themickster]

Either on the bass or treble side of the strings?

I hope so. I see great utility in placing them between the pickups on a 2 pickup bass.

I rest my thumb against the pick I'm holding

 

[el murdoque]

I don't think they have ever been 'In Style'.

 

[Watchootognbout]

The floating thumb is used here.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

I don't allow my thumb to rest.

 

[B-Mac]

suspenders have been around along time too and plenty of old guys wear them, doesnt mean that they are “in”.

Im not knocking them btw, I think they look cool on some basses and not on others

Braces. The real ones on expensive high quality clothing are Braces.

Back to basses…
Pick player here, so I don’t give a hoot.
The top ones look retro if original. Don’t like them if some hack added it. Especially the abominations you’ll sometimes see added to an ABG. Oy Vey!