Pickup shape preference for thumb rest players.

[Bolsyo]

I mostly play my P-basses, but the pickup shape on my Yamaha RBX375 is amazing with their built in thumbrest (borrowed pic):

 

[overit]

My favorites are the ones built into the pickup cover. I've had an Xotic with the nice wood and now the lower line Yamaha TRBX305 with the plastic YGD covers.

 

[EmuBass]

Recently bought a wonderful headless Riverhead from the 80ies. It was played a lot, as you can see. The pickup-housing - fat although only single-coil - is rather good for leaving your thumb there (which I do not utilise normally).

 

[bassgrackle]

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.
View attachment 3699816
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?

anything bartoloni makes. There all so comfortable to rest on.

 

[Medicine Man]

The B string is all the thumb rest I need.

 

[DanAdams]

anything bartoloni makes. There all so comfortable to rest on.

I agree. I don't use the sound from this bart too much. but I put my thumb on it often.

 

[zontar]

I'm pretty adaptable to most basses--although some are more awkward than others.
But my Soundgear is great for it.
And so is my EB-3 copy

On both I can easily use either pickup--depending where I want to pick the string.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

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

I used to have Zero Mod rests on my US Music Man Sterlings before I started trying to avoid resting my thumb whenever possible, they looked just fine, worked well, and did zero damage, highly recommended.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

I agree. I don't use the sound from this bart too much. but I put my thumb on it often.
View attachment 3700960

What kind of bass is that? I like it, but don't recognize it.

 

[DanAdams]

What kind of bass is that? I like it, but don't recognize it.

It's an early 80s Ibanez Roadstar RB630. I heavily modified it.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

It's an early 80s Ibanez Roadstar RB630. I heavily modified it.

Oh, of course it is, haha! I always like those old Ibanez basses.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

You can see where I rest my thumb on my L2500 bridge pickup (gloss finish is now matte in that spot)...same place as I do on a stingray pickup - right on that corner (left side in photo, near neck-side adjustment screw). No issues, works fine.