Using you fine people for a bit of market research :)

[sam_]

I have an an assignment for uni due in on wed, basically to present a business concept, mine being custom cut ramps for basses. just looking to see if there is a market for this.

thanks in advance.

[waynepunkdude]

What is a ramp?

[sam_]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='346792' date='Dec 5 2008, 08:54 PM']What is a ramp?[/quote]
[url="http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/theramp.html"]http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/theramp.html[/url]

[waynepunkdude]

Not really for a pick player like me then.

Good luck buddy.

[ironside1966]

Not for me Sorry, but good luck

[bumnote]

or me sorry but good luck with your project

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='346805' date='Dec 5 2008, 09:17 PM']Not really for a pick player like me then.[/quote]

Like he said; though I use fingers sometimes, it would get in the way when I used the pick.

Why not just have a very long thumb rest?

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Nope - I like to shim my neck so I have low action, but with the bridge saddles set as high as they can go, so a ramp would be pointless for me unless I can use it to wheel my cab up some steps.

[MythSte]

I probably would

[Bassassin]

This is kind of turning into a discussion about ramps rather than the viability of a business concept!

Never tried one but I'd be interested in experimenting - however: I am an occasional pick player - in fact probably 25% - 50% of the time realistically. I'm also a heavy-handed fingers player - I like to dig in hard specifically to get the attack from doing so. I think a ramp would interfere with this.

If I got curious enough, I'd make one myself (they're not exactly complicated) and fit it in an easily-removable way.

Jon.

[Hamster]

Not my cup of PG

[alexclaber]

I did once but I wouldn't now, so not sure how to vote!

Alex

[warwickhunt]

Like several others, I'm a finger-style player who occasionally plays with a pick (when the situation warrants) so a ramp (even removable) would be more of a hindrance than a help. I also tend to play two pup style basses with my favoured position over the rear pup, if I need to loosen up the tone I have the neck pup to anchor on (either pup is jacked up VERY close to the strings so my fingers stop on the pup itself), so I've no need for a ramp. I do own one bass with no pups (Variaxe) but that has a long bar to rest on and the lack of ramp is just something you get used to if you use that particular bass.

'IF' basses had always been supplied with a ramp we may well have a different mindset re. ramps and their benefits but as it happens I think that the target audience for a ramp is quite small!

[Kev]

i certainly wood (), i would find it very useful, especially on jazz type basses

fwiw, im a fingerer and a slapper (no twists please!)

Edited December 6, 2008 by BassManKev

[tauzero]

Personally, I wouldn't like a ramp. I played a ramp-equipped bass recently, and it interfered with my right-hand fingers (fortunately not with the left-hand ones, that could have been nasty). I'm sure they're useful for some players, but I am not among the "some".

[MacDaddy]

Have voted, always happy to help a fellow student!

[Prosebass]

Useful but look hideous, I think looks are the key. They are useful but the aesthetics need sorting.

[Delberthot]

You would probably find more people interested over on Talkbs.

More of them go for those than probably would here.

I've voted no.

I watched a lot of Billy Sheehan videos a while back and what he does is jack the pickups really high and wedge stuff between them so they are solid. When he plays a string, his finger comes to rest on the pickup.

I used to do that, in fact before I watched the videos come to mention it. It was really good in that, I felt it helped me play faster due to the fingers traveling a shorter distance but I could not get the same attack that I like.

I am a very heavy player, so much so that I have to use the active pad switch on my amp.

Even though it helped me play faster, I wouldn't have one as it hindered me achieving my trademark sound.


Are you actually planning on doing this or is it all hypothetical?

[budget bassist]

Not for me, i like my bridge pickup as a thumb rest, i can get all the sounds i want from that!

[EssentialTension]

No interest from me. The ramp is solving a problem that doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned. So I'm out.

[bremen]

[quote name='sam_' post='346798' date='Dec 5 2008, 09:04 PM'][url="http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/theramp.html"]http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/theramp.html[/url][/quote]

who is Gary Willis?

Voted 'no'. I like to batter f*** out of my bass.

[mewsie]

i voted no - i have hitchhikers thumbs, and can anchor anywhere pretty firmly.

it claims to improve the sound of the bass, does it actually mean it changes your playing style or position which leads to a different tone?

[ziggenpuss]

I vote no. I use fingers 95% of the time these days and like to think that I can produce a variety of tones depending on how I use the right hand.

Wouldn't want a bit of wood taking the credit for that.

[BigRedX]

Although I'm a big fan of ramps, I've voted no.

The most recent custom bass I had made has a ramp, but it was part of the design of the bass to give a near uniform surface from the end of the fingerboard to the bridge pickup:



It was done because I like the feeling of playing over the fingerboard on fretless basses but because of this I was missing out on tones by not moving my right-hand position. This bass solves all those problems for me.

Looking at my other fretless bass that might now benefit from a similar treatment I'm thinking that it wouldn't be easy - especially on those that have a radiused top.

I also play with a pick, but I use a different bas for that.

[bluesparky]

Not really for me either, my fingering is sloppy enough at the best of times, without adding something else to the equation!
But then again, for every few people who don't think it's for them, there are probably another bunch of people who think it's the mutt's nuts.