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Yet another ramp thread

kipsus

kipsus

Physicist
Sep 18, 2005
152
1
Vilnius, Lithuania
www.kipsus.info
#1
I want to make a ramp for my Vintage V940FL. Solid bubinga body, crappy P/J pickups - nothing fancy
564-fl5.jpg


I want the ramp to fit between pickups, preferably covering (radiusing) at least half of the P pickup.

A plank (10x100x1000mm) of balsa was chosen as a material for this because:
a) it's very easy to work with (have no workshop access)
b) light
c) has OK grain that fits the rest of the bass.

Now the problems:
a) balsa is by far too soft, needs serious coating (epoxy? soaking with CA? laminate?)
b) needs some sort of staining or even painting black to match body/PUps

Any suggestions?
kipsus
 
#2
kipsus said:
I want to make a ramp for my Vintage V940FL. Solid bubinga body, crappy P/J pickups - nothing fancy
564-fl5.jpg


I want the ramp to fit between pickups, preferably covering (radiusing) at least half of the P pickup.

A plank (10x100x1000mm) of balsa was chosen as a material for this because:
a) it's very easy to work with (have no workshop access)
b) light
c) has OK grain that fits the rest of the bass.

Now the problems:
a) balsa is by far too soft, needs serious coating (epoxy? soaking with CA? laminate?)
b) needs some sort of staining or even painting black to match body/PUps

Any suggestions?
kipsus
Click to expand...

Transtint has a black dye that I've used with great success. It can even tint epoxy. I would use CA glue in your case, since it's easier to apply. Do it outside and be careful with your eyes and skin.
 
#3
kipsus said:
A plank (10x100x1000mm) of balsa was chosen as a material for this because:
a) it's very easy to work with (have no workshop access)
b) light
c) has OK grain that fits the rest of the bass.

Now the problems:
a) balsa is by far too soft, needs serious coating (epoxy? soaking with CA? laminate?)
b) needs some sort of staining or even painting black to match body/PUps

Any suggestions?
kipsus
Click to expand...

this might seem stupid, but have you tried Basswood? I got a small "plank" from hobbycraft for my ramp.

The grain is light to non-existent, but if you're painting it black to match the pups, then it shouldn't matter.

Just undercoat it well to seal it and you should be able to work up to a good high-gloss or fine satin finish.

(I stained mine dark blue to match my Bass then clear varnished it.)
 
#6
Yellow said:
Sorry I had to ask, what is the ramp for?
I have seen some around, Gary Willis Ibanez some other basses too, is it just for thumb rest or something?
Click to expand...

it allows you to play away from the pickups to get other tones without losing the feel you get when playing over the pickups.

Mind you, it mucks up things if you want to play with a pick... and can interfere with popping by stopping you from getting your finger under the higher strings. I've got two ramps on my Peavey Millenium BXP, one between the pickups, and the other between the neck pickup and the neck
 
#7
Quick question for those of you that have built your own ramps. Did you radius the ramp at all or did you leave it flat? My GWB1 had a radiused ramp, but the pickup itself was also radiused to match the fingerboard whereas with my other basses the pickups are flat so I'm thinking a flat ramp would work well just for consistency...and I'm also not sure what tools I'd need to accurately shape the ramp if I tried to radius it.

If I try really hard I'll bet I can use the word 'radius' a few more times in this post.:smug:

Radiusly,
J.
 
#8
It depends on the purpose of your ramp. If you plan on using the ramp similar to how GW uses it (to stop your fingers from digging in too much into the strings), then you will need a radiused ramp. If you only want a ramp to give you support for your thumb while you move your hand around, then you don't need a radiused ramp.
 
#9
Thanks for the response! I'm looking to make a ramp for my Peavey TL-5, which has a 15" fingerboard radius. Naturally, all the radius blocks I can find are either 14" or 16". Does anyone have any thoughts on whether it's better to go smaller or larger or if I can somehow average the two?

Edit: Just found some good information in another thread on how I can make my own radius block. I do loves me some TB.
 
#10
kipsus said:
Now the problems:
a) balsa is by far too soft, needs serious coating (epoxy? soaking with CA? laminate?)
b) needs some sort of staining or even painting black to match body/PUps

Any suggestions?
kipsus
Click to expand...

Balsa is too soft, allright... Even with a good coating, the soft substrate will give for even rather slight pressure, and the coating crack.

Get a pice of basswood, alder, limetree or pine. Still rather soft, and very easy to work, but miles better than balsa. IME easier to work, too, 'cause balsa requires extremely sharp edges.
 

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