Question Considering a ramp for my Bongo HH5

[tunaman4u2]

I really love my Bongo HH5 & I've decided its a lifer bass... its the perfect weight, color, tone, feel

I do enjoy playing off the bridge pickup on my Reflex more, the Bongos bridge pickup is harder to play off as plucking the strings down that far dont give the same bend, volume output & exact tone I'd like. If I play off the B string inbetween the 2 pickups I freaking love the slight change in tone

So...

Anybody have pics of a ramp or have done it? Recommendations where to get a ramp that would mimic these pickups? Maybe a bad experience?

I did a search & found ONE post in 2006 but nothing since

 

[tbonesullivan]

interesting. I hate playing over the pickup, as I don't like hitting it with my fingers.

 

[njhammer]

Interesting idea. There are a couple of sites out there offering custom ramps. Look nice but not cheap....

 

[Duarte]

My old Bongo had a home made ramp on it from the previous owner, and it worked a treat...I think it was just a piece of wood with the pickguard material stuck on top! Made playing reeaaaal easy.

 

[Moose308]

Making your own ramp should be fairly easy. It's just a chunk of wook with a flat bottom and an arched top. I would suspect you should be able to bang one off in about an hour with just a few simple tools.

I have no desire for a ramp, as I never "dig in" enough for it to be an issue. That said, if I were to make a ramp, I would...

-set up my bass all perfecty, for string height and action, etc.
-get a nice planed, smooth, chunk of wood, say maple, long enough to snuggly fit between the pickups, and about the same width as the pickups. Make sure it is tall enough that it would touch the bottom of the highest string.
-try and figure out the radius made by the bottom of the strings at the point where the ramp will be sitting. You can get close enough by measureing the pickguard-to-bottom-of-string height for the top, bottom, and middle-ish string.
-transfer those measurements onto then ends of the wood, top and bottom, so you will have a little pencil arch on the block that should be the maximum height of the ramp.
-get an electric palm sander and some course grit pads. Grind away the surface of the block following the pencil marks until you have a nicely radiused top, that should match the curvature of the bottom of the strings. This sounds like a lot of work, but really, with a course grit palm sander it will only take 20 or 30 minutes or so.
-Ideally at this point, stick the ramp under the strings, and of course it should just barely touch the strings.
-Keep grinding the ramp arch down until you have as much relief as you desire. You will likely want to grind the ramp down further, since you will need to mount it to the pickguard somehow, and that will likely be 2-faced tape, which will add thickness. Or drill through the back of the pickguard and attach with 2 hidden screws.

That's how I would do it. Out of plywood. Then duplicate in exotic wood, once I have it all made up all perfect like.

 

[tunaman4u2]

I'm thinking more about this... I'm going to try just having a piece of hard plastic between the pickups... let me dig in lower down & bring in more aggression. I'm loving these basses!

 

[TWISTEDSTRINGS]

I'm thinking more about this... I'm going to try just having a piece of hard plastic between the pickups... let me dig in lower down & bring in more aggression. I'm loving these basses!

Have you thought of something simple like this. It`s just one of those rubber no slip feet for the bottom something like a cable or modem box with the sticky on the back, easy to put on and take off, won`t leave a lasting mark or hole in your beautiful Bongo....

 

[tunaman4u2]

Have you thought of something simple like this. It`s just one of those rubber no slip feet for the bottom something like a cable or modem box with the sticky on the back, easy to put on and take off, won`t leave a lasting mark or hole in your beautiful Bongo.... View attachment 21783

Thats a damn good idea. Really all I need... shouldnt leave any damage on the pickguard either... but i intend on keeping my basses forever... i mean it with the Bongo 5HH & Sterling 5HH!

Thanks for that

 

[tunaman4u2]

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/1/SJ5000%20Series-34702.pdf

Heres the PDF... I got them from mouser electronics as I had the ability to choose quantity size & color

I got 2 different sizes to see which one works best. Worth a shot for $5 shipped.

SJ-5008
SJ-5018

Cool.

Results to follow

 

[TWISTEDSTRINGS]

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/1/SJ5000%20Series-34702.pdf

Heres the PDF... I got them from mouser electronics as I had the ability to choose quantity size & color

I got 2 different sizes to see which one works best. Worth a shot for $5 shipped.

SJ-5008
SJ-5018

Cool.


Results to follow

Now that`s cool, to have all those options. Good find, thanks for posting. I really like the hemisphere one, gonna have to order a few. I stole mine from one of my studio speakers. haha!

 

[tunaman4u2]

They were perfect man, I liked the bigger one. Almost same height as pickup, a tad smaller. Works like a charm, sticks like a bastard & leaves no residue on the pickguard, great call. I ordered a few to put on various basses & if I lose em.
Total score!
Tonal variety playing there is awesome

 

[TWISTEDSTRINGS]

Glad you liked the idea and it worked out for ya, I`m gonna order a few myself that way I can put them back on my monitor speakers and stop scratching the furniture...lol Hey pass the idea along, we gotta stick together...PEACE

 

[tunaman4u2]

i did on TB... get the circle one, these things hold to your finger good. I got the square for a firm surface afraid I'd slip on the circle... I dont see that happening now that I have it

 

[TWISTEDSTRINGS]

I just ordered five of them, the dome style like you suggested and the ones to replace the ones I stole from my speakers..PEACE