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The "Weinkum-ramp"
Guest teacher series
Harald Weinkum
hwein.com

the "weinkum-ramp"
by Harald Weinkum

hwein.com

ok, you probably know everything about the "willis-ramp" for electric bass (at least you should...).

Click here for more info about the "Willis-Ramp"

I use a similar concept to improve my slap chops (at least that's what I'd like to think): if you run into the problem of your index finger getting "caught" underneath your G (or highest) string when you're ready to pop it, like pictured here:

 

 

bass picture

...especially if your bass does not have a pickguard, then there's an easy solution: the "weinkum-ramp":

bass picture

I try to reduce the distance between my G string and the body to about 8 mm (whatever english measurement that translates to...) using a small piece of wood - you might need to slightly adjust that distance for your fingers.

the benefit: the finger will make contact with the string always in the exactly same spot, like pictured here:

bass picture

the "weinkum-ramp XL":

if you're into the "victor wooten"-double thumb action, and you experience your thumb being caught underneath one of the lower strings when bringing it back up, like below...

bass picture

...then you might be a candidate for the "weinkum-ramp XL":

bass picture

it expands the effect of reducing the distance between string and body to the area where your thumb is active, and thus provides the same benefit:

bass picture

the finger will always end up in the same position underneath the string and thus won't give you any unexpected delays when popping it.

a design tip: after getting the piece of wood (in my case 5 mm thick), I scanned the back of my bass, tried to match the scanned picture to the real instrument in regards to brightness and saturation (and i did a poor job on this one: it's still too saturatedand too bright!), printed it and glued it onto the ramp surface. finally I covered the whole ramp with clear packaging tape and used double stick tape to attach it onto the body (you can take it off anytime without any traces or marks).

Visit Harald @ hwein.com

New CD - ÜBERTHREE

Stay tuned for Harald's my next CD titled "ÜBERTHREE". It will feature Mike Stern, Frank Gambale, Dave Weckl, Steve Weingart, Joe Labarbara and Kirk Covington, and, like the "BASS BOLERO" be exclusively in 3/4 time. Go to hwein.com for some audio samples


Other Lessons by Harald Weinkum

The "Steve Bailey Hazard Exercise"
The "Harald Weinkum PITA Exercise"
No such thing as a boring gig
The Weinkum-Ramp
Before you commit suicide
Right Hand Technique Exercises

What do these bass stars
have in common?

gary willis, victor wooten, steve bailey, jimmy haslip, rocco prestia, alain caron, marco mendoza, abraham laboriel, bill dickens, alexis skljarevski, dave carpenter, ric fierabracci, james genus, jimmy earl

They all play on "A Bass Bolero"