Went ahead and drilled holes in my Classic...

[jbiscuti]

Boy, I sure do love this bass to death. Since getting it back in March (one of the first Powder Blues to ship, methinks), every other bass in my studio has just sat; their chrome parts pitting, their flatwound strings getting, well flatter.

Yep, my trusty Classic 4 has seen a TON of action over the past six months or so. To say we've bonded is an understatement. But sometimes, by the third set, my right hand fingertips are ABLAZE. After a few gigs of this, I figured out the reason - while my fingers are digging into the strings, they're also digging in to the polepieces! And HARD.

My solution was simple and hearkens back to the basses of yore: give myself another place to rest my thumb:

Oh yeah, one must really love a bass to take a drill to it.

 

[five7]

Love is a wonderful thang!

 

[nashman]

I almost always play close to the neck - IMHO a better tone.

 

[syciprider]

There's a time and place in the music for both positions. I go over the pup to get the unmistakable SR snap and between the neck and the bucker for phatter tones.

 

[bassmonkeee]

Love is a wonderful thang!

So is a floating thumb technique.

 

[syciprider]

I could never perfect this. I still end up resting my thumb at the waist or the pickguard itself. I've been practicing using my thumb to play @ the bridge while palm muting though so maybe I'll get used to holding my thumb out in the air.

 

[drTStingray]

Nice job. Lovely bass as well.

I guess you don't play slap style as this might get in the way?

 

[Rano Bass]

I guess you don't play slap style as this might get in the way?

Ouch

 

[Chuck B]

If this works for you? I've seen this before and even had a Ray where the pre-owner had installed a thumb rest too.

I've never felt the need of such a thing all over the decades.

 

[Kristopher]

Anyone looking to do this without drilling holes in your bass take a look over here:

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/18563-thumb-rest-5.html#post441413

You basically attach the thumbrest by putting the screws through the back of the pickguard. The thumbrest attaches to the pickguard itself and not the bass, thus altering only the pickguard.

No disrespect to those who drill their basses! I just wanted to throw the idea out there.

 

[Freddels]

^^ That's the way I would do it too. I would also put some type of barrier b/w the screw heads and the body of the bass so that they wouldn't mark the bass.

 

[fly]

There's a time and place in the music for both positions. I go over the pup to get the unmistakable SR snap and between the neck and the bucker for phatter tones.

this.........

Anyone looking to do this without drilling holes in your bass take a look over here:

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/18563-thumb-rest-5.html#post441413

You basically attach the thumbrest by putting the screws through the back of the pickguard. The thumbrest attaches to the pickguard itself and not the bass, thus altering only the pickguard.

No disrespect to those who drill their basses! I just wanted to throw the idea out there.

this............

^^ That's the way I would do it too. I would also put some type of barrier b/w the screw heads and the body of the bass so that they wouldn't mark the bass.

and this.........

 

[jbiscuti]

I guess you don't play slap style as this might get in the way?

I only play slap on one song in our set, and therefore one song in my life, and the thumb rest does not get in the way.

 

[jbiscuti]

Anyone looking to do this without drilling holes in your bass take a look over here:

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/18563-thumb-rest-5.html#post441413

You basically attach the thumbrest by putting the screws through the back of the pickguard. The thumbrest attaches to the pickguard itself and not the bass, thus altering only the pickguard.

No disrespect to those who drill their basses! I just wanted to throw the idea out there.

That is a pretty cool idea! I certainly don't mind having holes in the ol' thumper though. She'll be mine forever (this is something I almost always refrain from saying but I truly believe I have found a mate).

 

[jlepre]

I just use the B string on my 5ers. Lazy?? Naaaaa...

 

[danny-79]

The thumb rest sure doesn't look out of place on there, in fact id go as far to say that it looks like its always been there !
Nice one an congrats on finding your keeper!

 

[fly]

She'll be mine forever (this is something I almost always refrain from saying but I truly believe I have found a mate).

this is awesome...........

 

[jbiscuti]

Funny; I just came back from my first gig with it with the thumb rest installed. First set, I'm shocked at how different the tone is when playing closer to the neck as opposed to resting on the pickup like I used to. Midway through the second set, a realization - I had engaged the mutes the day before and forgot.

 

[TheAntMan]

Midway through the second set, a realization - I had engaged the mutes the day before and forgot.

So, did you keep them on or back them off?

Did anyone comment on the change in tone?

Just curious.

--Ant

 

[jbiscuti]

So, did you keep them on or back them off?

Did anyone comment on the change in tone?

Just curious.

--Ant

I backed them off and re-tuned first chance I got, probably during the looooong intro to "Here I Go Again".

To be honest, we don't get a lot of musician-types at our shows, and even the ones who show up wouldn't notice the difference there.

IMO, the EBMM string mutes are very subtle compared to the mute on a 4001/4003, which is a good thing. I never found that one especially usable since the effect was SO drastic. On my Classic, the mutes just add a touch of extra thump which is really nice.