Custom Finger Ramps

Shaped for your playing hand

A finger ramp changes the surface beneath your strings. Its height, contour, and position can help establish a consistent reference for your plucking or floating hand technique, but the right feel is personal.

Bass Foundry develops ramps for the space between pickups, over or beside the pickups. String clearance, body curvature, pickup adjustment, and mounting access all inform the final design.

From the workshop

Small part. Big personality.

Fitted ramps, CAD, printing, laser work, and CNC machining. Select a photo and zoom into the details.

Purple figured-wood finger ramp with rounded edges and four mounting holes

01 / FinishPurple with purpose

Purple bass with a matching finger ramp fitted beneath the strings

02 / On the bassIn its element

Natural-wood finger ramp beside a pickup on a purple-burst bass

03 / Fitted rampNatural contrast

Blue-purple patterned finger ramp fitted beneath the strings of a blue headless bass

04 / Pattern and profileA different texture

Blue figured-wood bass with a purple finger ramp engraved with a monogram

05 / Engraved identityYour signature, in place

Glossy purple figured-wood ramp resting on a wooden workbench

06 / Surface detailFollow the grain

Underside of a wooden ramp with two purple recessed areas and mounting holes

07 / Underside detailThe other side

Purple ramp with a recessed underside beside a metal ruler on the workbench

08 / Workshop viewDetails on the bench

Recessed underside of a wooden finger ramp beside exposed pickups on a multicolored bass

09 / Underside and clearanceUnder the ramp

Purple figured-wood ramp mounted over the pickup area on a multicolored bass without strings

10 / In-place fitBack in position

Figured-wood blank secured to a CNC spoilboard

11 / In the makingBefore the curves

CAD sketch of a finger ramp outline with mounting features and construction lines

12 / CAD layoutPlan the fit

Purple finger ramp being printed upright on a 3D printer build plate

13 / 3D printingLayer by layer

Purple wooden ramp face with an engraved monogram beside laser-cut frame pieces

14 / Laser cutting and engravingCut, engrave, assemble

CNC router cutting recessed areas into a wooden ramp blank on the machine bed

15 / CNC machiningCutting the recesses

Wooden ramp blank with CNC-cut recesses and mounting details on the spoilboard

16 / Machined detailRecesses and mounting points

Wooden ramp surface with parallel machining marks resting on the CNC bed

17 / Before finishingSurface in progress

CNC router and dust shoe over a figured-wood ramp blank secured to the bed

18 / CNC in actionAt the cutting stage

19 / CNC profileProfile revealed

Fit first, finish second

We establish the footprint and clearances before refining the visible surface. A 3D-printed sample can help evaluate fit and playing height; CNC machining can produce shaped surfaces in suitable solid stock. Printed finished parts are considered where the material and performance requirements support them.

Pickup spacing and ramp footprint
String clearance at the intended setup
Surface radius, taper, and edge comfort
Body contour and underside fit
Mounting method and finish compatibility
Material, color, and surface treatment

The mounting approach is agreed before fabrication, including whether changes to the instrument are acceptable. We do not assume that one attachment method is appropriate for every finish or body construction.

Bring your bass into the design

Provide the instrument model, clear photographs of the playing area, pickup dimensions and spacing, and the height you want to explore. A physical reference or fit prototype may be needed where the body contour or clearance cannot be established reliably from measurements alone.

For luthiers, we can develop a repeatable ramp design alongside your instrument platform rather than adapting a generic accessory after the build.

Review Project Requirements

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