the "weinkum-ramp"

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

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:

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

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:

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...

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

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:

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).