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Show your Ramps!

#101
Hey all,

I had a colleague make a ramp for me out of ebony earlier this year, for my Pedulla Thunderbass. He radiused it to 15" also.

I installed it on the bass (using the thin double sided tape), realized it was too high, and sanded some material off of the bottom. I reinstalled it & it seemed to work fine - except that it negatively affected the sustain of plucked notes. They would decay more rapidly than without the ramp. I took it off after about a week.

If anyone is interested in it, I am willing to part with it (no charge). The dimensions are for a Pedulla Thunderbass, but I'm sure it would fit between some other pickups as well. It just wasn't for me.

ian

here's a photo:
DSC_0118.jpg


And without it:
PedullaThunderbass111707.jpg
 
#102
Very Nice Middlebit. Yes, definitely go with the matte black finish. The idea is to not draw attention to the ramp. Yours is the first decent one I've seen posted here for a jazz style bass. I'm in the process of getting one for my Sadowsky jazz but I'm going with the clear acrylic for its transparency and since the plastic will have the same feel as the pickups. I know wood feels so good under the fingers that eventually I would run the risk of playing more over the ramp and not appreciate the feel of the pickups underneath as much.
 
#103
Hi,
I have asked this before, but since this thread is still alive I thought I would ask again: In the history of the world, has anyone ever seen a ramp on a J/P configuration? If you have one, please post a picture, or is you know of a picture of one,please post a link, or if you are a luither reading and is willing to craft one please contact me.
Thanks
Maurice :bassist:
 
#104
Chebass88 said:
Hey all,

I had a colleague make a ramp for me out of ebony earlier this year, for my Pedulla Thunderbass. He radiused it to 15" also.

I installed it on the bass (using the thin double sided tape), realized it was too high, and sanded some material off of the bottom. I reinstalled it & it seemed to work fine - except that it negatively affected the sustain of plucked notes. They would decay more rapidly than without the ramp. I took it off after about a week.

If anyone is interested in it, I am willing to part with it (no charge). The dimensions are for a Pedulla Thunderbass, but I'm sure it would fit between some other pickups as well. It just wasn't for me.

ian

here's a photo:
DSC_0118.jpg
Click to expand...

Beautiful bass.....in no way should the ramp effect how the strings vibrate. You may need to either make the ramp lower still, or else create a slight angle to follow the angle of your strings when you push down on them with your left hand fingers. If the ramp has anything to do with the strings vibrating it means the ramp hasn't been properly set up, that's all.
 
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#105
emjazz said:
Beautiful bass.....in no way should the ramp effect how the strings vibrate. You may need to either make the ramp lower still, or else create a slight angle to follow the angle of your strings when you push down on them with your left hand fingers. If the ramp has anything to do with the strings vibrating it means the ramp hasn't been properly set up, that's all.
Click to expand...

Agreed, Andy. Something's wrong... that's not how ramps are supposed to work.
 
#106
jinithith2 said:
if I'm not mistaken, are the knobs tinted reddish???
Click to expand...


Sorry I missed this earlier. Better really late than never I guess:D

Kevin's been experimenting with refinishing hardware so yes, the metal knobs have a burst finish like the body. On a friend of mine's bass, he took it way past that... green knobs, bridge, tuner pegs, strap buttons, pretty much every metal piece (except the frets) on his Spalted Maple topped bass is matched to the green color. He even did a metal burst finish on the Bartolini pickups.
 
#107
Man, it's a shame that ramp is 15" instead of 12", I'd be all over it.

Has anyone done a ramp AND pickup covers to match it? I'm going to ramp my Zon Sonus Special, but the pups are so close together that I feel like I'd gain a lot more if I also added radiused tops on the pups.
 
#111
kesslari said:
Man, it's a shame that ramp is 15" instead of 12", I'd be all over it.

Has anyone done a ramp AND pickup covers to match it? I'm going to ramp my Zon Sonus Special, but the pups are so close together that I feel like I'd gain a lot more if I also added radiused tops on the pups.
Click to expand...

Zon does it a lot- almost all of the Todd Johnson models have radiused pups to go with the ramp, as well as the Gary Willis Ibanez models. Some luthiers have done them on occasion as well, like Benavente. You used to not be able to get Barts with radiused tops because there was some sort of contract with Ibanez and Tobias for them, but now you can, so they're popping up more and more.

mkrtu9 said:
do all these ramps have a radius? nice basses too.
Click to expand...

Most of them do. Unless you have an unradiused fretboard, an unradiused ramp will give different distances below each string, which negates a lot of the point of a ramp.
 
#112
Zon does it a lot- almost all of the Todd Johnson models have radiused pups to go with the ramp, as well as the Gary Willis Ibanez models. Some luthiers have done them on occasion as well, like Benavente. You used to not be able to get Barts with radiused tops because there was some sort of contract with Ibanez and Tobias for them, but now you can, so they're popping up more and more.
Click to expand...

That's cool news. I have a Willis bass, and I love its ergonomics.
I didn't know Zon made a bass-with-ramp. I recall hearing about the TJ bass but never saw it on their website.
 
#113
Here's a pic of my clear ramps for my Sadowsky UV70 and MTD 635. I prefer the clear acrylic because for aesthetic reasons you do not know its there until you get very close to the instrument and also because the feel is the same as the plastic pickup covers so there is no difference in the feel and this is about as invisible as you can get.
l_469a549fedb54b34a3173df8eb24f206.png

l_632f9416dc684fd39aae1c4e85f0126d.png

l_bfb6f84269424754b9bb491cecfe9f7d.png

l_5debae3989cf4e0db7a84edcdc8163d8.png
 
#117
kencasino said:
I have done about four of these so far, none of which I radiused (sp?)

THe pickups are not radiused, so I never thought about doing it. ON one I made for my peavey TL-5, I needed to round out the back side where it sticks to the bass due to the radius on the peavey body, but the top is even with the pickups
Click to expand...

You should try it- it makes a very big difference, unless your fretboard is close to flat.
 
#118
They really are a cracking idea - the transparent ramps.
Where did you acquire these? DIY? Also, how are they attached - I can't see any screws or double sided sticky tape between them and the bass - it would kind of ruin the illusion wouldn't it really!?
Compliments on the cleverness.

BassSlave said:
Here's a pic of my clear ramps for my Sadowsky UV70 and MTD 635. I prefer the clear acrylic because for aesthetic reasons you do not know its there until you get very close to the instrument and also because the feel is the same as the plastic pickup covers so there is no difference in the feel and this is about as invisible as you can get.
l_469a549fedb54b34a3173df8eb24f206.png

l_632f9416dc684fd39aae1c4e85f0126d.png
Click to expand...
 
#119
Thanks on the compliment but I was just trying to go for the most transparent look as I do not like the look of any bass with a ramp that will obscure the profile of the pickups. I'm getting these made by a pickguard maker who is helping me with my desogns so I cannot and won't disclose the name as of yet until I can finish my designs for a ramp that can also be adjusted for height. Instead of using screws and springs to adjust the height, like a pickup, I will opt to use slices of the ramp in 2mm thicknesses so that they can be shimmed underneath and when you stack the shims, you still cannot notice that it is not even one single piece. What I use to glue the piece to the bass is some removable glue dots I found in Walgreens. They are not very sticky and feel almost like boogers which almost disappear when pressed agains the body. The only problem is that you can still feel the shim move a little, especially when you get aggressive, so I might have to opt for the permanent glue dots which come in a non-removable version. The removable dots stick much better on the bass with the pickguard because of the same material underneath and also the pickup ears makes the ramp grip very good so the glue dots only have to hold the ramp down and feels very sturdy even when playing aggressively. I may still even opt for the screw holes and transparent screws for the bass with the rectangle ramp for a more easier way to hold it down while allowing for heigt adjustment. The only issue is that drilling screw holes can lead to blurring the finish so once I have my designs figured out, I will share with the rest of the world.



barteroo2002 said:
They really are a cracking idea - the transparent ramps.
Where did you acquire these? DIY? Also, how are they attached - I can't see any screws or double sided sticky tape between them and the bass - it would kind of ruin the illusion wouldn't it really!?
Compliments on the cleverness.
Click to expand...
 
#120
BassSlave said:
Here's a pic of my clear ramps for my Sadowsky UV70 and MTD 635. I prefer the clear acrylic because for aesthetic reasons you do not know its there until you get very close to the instrument and also because the feel is the same as the plastic pickup covers so there is no difference in the feel and this is about as invisible as you can get.
l_469a549fedb54b34a3173df8eb24f206.png

l_632f9416dc684fd39aae1c4e85f0126d.png

l_bfb6f84269424754b9bb491cecfe9f7d.png

l_5debae3989cf4e0db7a84edcdc8163d8.png
Click to expand...

Did you make those ramps or buy them? I like the clear idea because of its near invisibility factor.
 

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