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

[Tim Skaggs]

A thumb rest is more an item of utility, not style, or at least it is in my opinion. I don’t know anyone installing a thumb rest for looks unless it’s on a vintage or vintage reissue bass to make the bass look original.

In my opinion, the thumb rest on a PBass was put in the wrong place & should have been just above and parallel to the E string and located between the pickup & bridge.

Thumb rests lost a lot of their utility when two-pickup basses became more common, so they mostly reside on single pickup basses, like PBasses, where they were born.

It’s unlikely they will gain style or utility.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Zero Mod continues to sell and remain in business, so are they really out of style? Will everyone begin using them again? No.

 

[Wisebass]

Hi MAJOR METAL

Either on the bass or treble side of the strings?

When Ineed my thumps to rest,

I just put my hands in my pockets!

That's never out of style.


Wise(b)ass

 

[2saddleslab]

Thumb things never go out of style.

 

[klattman]

If you want one, install one where it works for you and use it. Otherwise, who cares?

I make and/or add them to everything. Useful when playing the low string.

 

[HardNHeavy]

never needed one...

 

[40Hz]

They never "went out".

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Could be. But I never thought they were “in.” Just there.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I don't like/need them. I sometimes do stupid things like slapping, strumming, etc. and they get in my way, and they look ugly IMHO.

 

[jthisdell]

Took mine off in 76...

 

[ClassicJazz]

Thumb rests are not a matter of style but functionality. I’ve added them to certain basses just for that reason. Like my ESP electric/acoustic since there is no place to put your thumb. In this case I also made it look better than a typical thumb rest. Plus the longer length covers more areas to play.

 

[Vincent Van Low]

Ole Leo got it right....just like about most of his inventions. The tug bar I installed on my bass saved me recently as I had 4 hour gig where my picking index and middle finger cramped HARD on last set, I could not use them, mid-song. So I utilized the tug bar and thumb thumped my way through the last set. When using your thumb the tug bar is exactly where it needs to be, Leo was right. I only thumb thump occasionally but when I do, I tug on my tug bar...

 

[Chrome Dome]

Previous owner put the thumb rest on this Marcus Miller U5. I always used the pickup,or even the Estring for thumb rest myself.

 

[MartialDylan]

Finger Ramps are the re-incarnation of the thumb rest. I had a finger ramp on an Ibanez that I enjoyed using.

 

[Trailertrash74]

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.

Please tell me another bed-time story, Daddy!

 

[mdogs]

In my opinion, the thumb rest on a PBass was put in the wrong place & should have been just above and parallel to the E string and located between the pickup & bridge.

This is exactly what I do with most of my single pickup basses, Stingrays have the pickup far enough back that I can use that. Double sided tape keeps them on without drilling holes in the top. For my 2 pickup basses, I normally use the rear pickup.

 

[Ostie]

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.

A+ for creative writing.

 

[salmon256]

I would say they never went out of "style" since if you are on R/bassguitar everyday someone ask "What is this thing for on my bass?" which is the tugbar/thumb rest. Also tons of people installed reverse one's actually for their thumbs like on stingrays or some are built on like custom basses.

 

[bassdude51]

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.

Reading this post, I learned more about the Fender Bass and Stingray in 2 minutes than I have in the past 10 years!

 

[bolophonic]

I love thumb rests. I put them on almost all my basses.

 

[G On Bass]

A thumbrest/bar is a personal preference, and while they may change and evolve, IMHO preferences are never really in or out of style.