Pickup shape preference for thumb rest players.

[DanAdams]

I specifically like a hum bucking pickup in the typical neck position position. also I like a great thumb rest, and I don't care about improving my technique. I'm an old enough dog regarding new tricks, and satisfied with my ability forevermore. rooting that thumb lets me really dig into a groove best.
I love a p-bass pickup, but they suck as thumb rests.
Some soap bars are too tall, so the pickup top is too far far from the strings. also many have (what I think of as dumb) shapes which do not allow for good thumb rest (G&L I'm looking at you)
jazz pickups make decent (albeit small) thumb rests, but are generally single coil, and I'm an anti buzz fanatic.
Adding a dedicated thumb rest seems unnecessary if a pickup is shaped well, as screws holes can damage basses, and generally a thumb rest may be too far away from the strings and can affect the look of the bass (I edited this line to be less objectionable)
So I'm curious... What basses/pickups make your rooted thumb happiest?

And hey manufactures. take a lesson from the mid 80's Ibanez pickup on the left.

the rest of these shapes don't help anyone's playing right?
Does anyone agree? Is there any reason why a pickup shouldn't have a nice flat top?

 

[kodiakblair]

old Peavey T-20 or 1st gen Fury. Thumb rest is built into the pickup ring.

Holy Smokes,that photo is huge

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

I've been avoiding thumb resting as much as I can the last few years, but I find that Jazz, twin-Jazz, and Music Man pickups (particularly those on the multi-pickup US Music Man basses and I think the Bongos and Stingray Specials that have a smooth arc molded into the cover instead of the square edge with mounting ears) provide the opulent height of thumb resting luxury. I assume the G & L 'MFD' pickup would be pretty comfortable, or any typical soapbar.

 

[micguy]

Adding a dedicated thumb rest seems dumb, damages basses, and generally has to be too far away from the strings.

Huh? Since when does adding a thumb rest "damage" a bass? It puts a lot less holes in it than a pickguard, which has NO real purpose, other than to cover holes made by manufacturing it in a method that was simpler back in the 1950's, but is completely obsolete given modern cnc manufacturing. And why does it have to be too far from the strings? Is there a law I'm violating by putting my thumb rests where they work for me? And how does making a bass more playable qualify as "dumb"?

Here's one of my basses - they all have thumb rests (of a shape and size that works for me) in this location - because that location works for me. If you play closer to the bridge, you'd put it there.

 

[Cheez]

Here's the "thumb rest" on my Sterling.

 

[Mike Vee]

The EBMM Cutlass pickup has the best little thumb spot!

 

[DanAdams]

Here's the "thumb rest" on my Sterling. View attachment 3700076

Oh My! What? Did your thumb skin and/or nail rub through the cover? Did you sand out a little thumb perch?

 

[DanAdams]

I assume the G & L 'MFD' pickup would be pretty comfortable, or any typical soapbar.

. my point was that many soap bars do not work as comfy thumb rests, the MFD included, as it's got this bi level thing happening, as do other basses that I think are super hot, like the Aria SB, Greco GOB, early Ibanez Musicians.

Huh? Since when does adding a thumb rest "damage" a bass? It puts a lot less holes in it than a pickguard, which has NO real purpose,

Here's one of my basses - they all have thumb rests (of a shape and size that works for me) in this location - because that location works for me. If you play closer to the bridge, you'd put it there.

View attachment 3699919

Adding holes diminishes bass value. pick guards are stock, so those existing screw holes don't diminish value.
I'm in favor of you doing whatever works for you. and I don't think your modifications are dumb.
I want thumb rest where pickups are typically placed, so a nice shaped pickup top makes sense to me. having to add wood and screws just because a pickup has an inconvenient shape is what seems dumb.

 

[gln1955]

Huh? Since when does adding a thumb rest "damage" a bass? It puts a lot less holes in it than a pickguard, which has NO real purpose, other than to cover holes made by manufacturing it in a method that was simpler back in the 1950's, but is completely obsolete given modern cnc manufacturing. And why does it have to be too far from the strings? Is there a law I'm violating by putting my thumb rests where they work for me? And how does making a bass more playable qualify as "dumb"?

Here's one of my basses - they all have thumb rests (of a shape and size that works for me) in this location - because that location works for me. If you play closer to the bridge, you'd put it there.


View attachment 3699919

Yes. I out a thumb rest behind the pickup right next to the E string on my Mustang because the stock Mustang pup doesn't stick up far enough.

Dumb is not making your bass work for you with an easy mod.

 

[wraub]

All I really need is a flat and a corner...Soapbar, Jazz, P-Bass... no matter to me, as long as I have a flat and a corner.

The flat is to provide for placement options, and the corner is so I know where my thumb is.

 

[roccobass]

Pickups? I don't need no stickin' pickups for a thumb rest!

 

[lucas303]

Adding a dedicated thumb rest seems unnecessary if a pickup is shaped well, as screws holes can damage basses, and generally a thumb rest may be too far away from the strings and can affect the look of the bass (I edited this line to be less objectionable)

As far as damaging a bass, check out Zero Mod. No damage at all...completely reversible.

 

[nFinnyD]

The CND pickups that Cary designed for Ibanez are great overall and they have a cover similar to the old ones like you show on the left in the picture. I mean how the screws are inside the casing rather than on a tag or dogear section.

 

[Cheez]

Oh My! What? Did your thumb skin and/or nail rub through the cover? Did you sand out a little thumb perch?

No, that's just from the friction of my thumb. It's been my main axe for the past 25 years....I'm surprised it's not worse.

 

[Clark W]

2012 Ibanez SRX2 EX2, pups have thumb rest groove built in.

And for those moments you want to play the bass upside down and behind your head, they have the thumb rest on both sides of the pups...

 

[Chrisk-K]

I'm glad I use floating thumb. I couldn't care less about pickup shape.

 

[KohanMike]

I add a thumb rest to my basses that match the body or pickguard when the pickup is not wide enough to use as a thumbrest. I've also added an additional frame around my Les Paul to make the pickup work better as a thumb rest.

 

[SLO Surfer]

The EBMM Cutlass pickup has the best little thumb spot!

This is true, along with the EBMM Caprice.

Here's a closeup on the cutlass (same shape as the Caprice, too). It's rounded out on the top, perfect for a comfy thumb rest.

 

[Heavy Blue]

I'm glad I use floating thumb. I couldn't care less about pickup shape.

I was wondering if I was the only one thinking this? My thumb is always on the adjacent string when not playing the E and even then when I am I usually just anchor my thumb on the bass itself or the pickguard edge. Imo my Ray's single pup is too close to the bridge for that plus 90% of the time I tend to play very close to the neck. I just got used to it. I do use my Jazz's neck pup for anchoring when playing the E.

I have tried to play conventionally but then I tend to have all sorts of trouble with ringing strings because I use my thumb a lot for muting. I started doing it this way basically because I'm self taught and when I started out it seemed like an awful long distance to the G string when keeping my thumb anchored so I started doing it the way I do. It wasn't till about a decade later I stumble into an article describing the floating thumb technique as an advanced method used primarily by 5+ string players lol.

As far as damaging a bass, check out Zero Mod. No damage at all...completely reversible.

That's pretty kool. I'll have to look it up and check it out.

 

[bbh]

My position moves within the song or for desired tone so since I have never used a thumb rest, I've been trained not to miss it at all.