Skinnyman Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 I have one of them Rickentractor basses and, much as i love it, I've always been frustrated by the lack of anywhere to anchor a thumb while playing the E string (I use the floating thumb technique but do like a good solid place to rest the thumb while I'm on the E). On my Fender Jazz, there's a nice chunky pickup to rest on, ditto my Sandberg. But the accepted place to rest a thumb on a Ric is the top of the pickguard which, for me, is too far away. I saw the Zero Mod which is available from the US but it's £20-odd quid plus postage and it just runs along the top of the PG so doesn't, in my opinion, solve the problem. So I got some modelling putty and made my own as a prototype - once I'd got a shape and position that worked i passed it on to a mate who has a few 3D printers and the appropriate CAD software and received back this. I'm well chuffed with the result - OK, the shape could follow the PG slightly more closely and I'm a bit annoyed that I managed to scratch it when i was drilling it but i reckon it's pretty good for a first attempt, especially as I'm a cack-handed plonker who generally breaks anything I touch. Prototype And the printed article: 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonse Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Dig that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Pictures of the Mark II version - very pleased with this one. All I have to do now is finish soldering the ground connections and screening the electrics as I managed to introduce a loverly hum when i took the pickguard off.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) Very pretty for a RickenTractor™ Some proper product design type stuff going on there! I had a similar problem with the Gretsch - the ideal place to anchor my thumb was on the acrylic neck pickup surround, but it was too thin at 3mm. I 'borrowed' the jet black Coreon sample from work, cut it down, filed it to shape & fitted over the pickup surround using the same screws & holes. You don't see it, but it gives me a great anchor position. Not as clever as your design though Edited January 27, 2019 by Teebs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) That's a very pretty bass. I've been looking at those as I'm thinking of adding a short scale to the stable.... And a nice, neat solution to the rest problem. Edited January 27, 2019 by Skinnyman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Thanks The Junior Jet is a nice little bass & really easy to play. I recommend highly, & they now do loads of colours too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 2 hours ago, Skinnyman said: Pictures of the Mark II version - very pleased with this one. All I have to do now is finish soldering the ground connections and screening the electrics as I managed to introduce a loverly hum when i took the pickguard off.... Great job there. Methinks you should stick a post on the f/sale board for these... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 11 minutes ago, ead said: Great job there. Methinks you should stick a post on the f/sale board for these... I need to see if my buddy is prepared to run off a batch and how much they'd cost. So far he's done these two at mates rates but his printers run pretty much 24x7 so I'd have to order and pay for a few and it would only be fair to pay him the proper rate. I'm also not sure how big the market is for them - but it might be worth getting a dozen or so and seeing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 You could put a post on here (and maybe the Ric forum?), explain there's a lead time and see? Worth doing a design registration if you're serious about it though. Any idea what it's likely to cost? I sold my Ric 'cause I couldn't get on with exactly this issue and in those day additive manufacturing hadn't been invented. Actually not strictly true it was was called rapid prototyping then and still very costly for hobbyists. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 That's an idea. I'll get the costs and then, as you say, stick a post on here, TB and the Rich forum. Might be worth looking into design registration first as you suggest. The actual materials cost will be negligible - it's amending the designs for the different variations of Ric and the opportunity cost of printing (while he's printing my rests which might punt for £15 or £20, he's not printing the commercial components that he charges thousands for. Still, worth investigating... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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