New Nikki 541 bass

[Blackbird]

Ah yes...FINALLY!

[TBird1958]

Lookin' Good! Congratulations.

I think you, Uwe and I are the only owners of them here -  I like mine quite a lot 

[Pilgrim]

Pretty!  Nice finish color on that one!

[uwe]

That was always a purdy bass and it hasn't lost it.

[Nocturnal]

Looks great!! Congrats!!

[wellREDman]

wow thats beautiful

[daan]

OK I gotta ask, 'cause you guys would know, what IS that thing behind the bridge? What is it for?
And it is a pretty bass, is it made of maple, or is that a veneer on the top?

[TBird1958]

OK I gotta ask, 'cause you guys would know, what IS that thing behind the bridge? What is it for?
And it is a pretty bass, is it made of maple, or is that a veneer on the top?

You're gonna think I'm making this up.........

It's an Opti-Grab, (it's named for the device Steve Martin invents in his movie "The Jerk") designed by Nikki to hook his pinkie finger into as he prefers to play with a pick very near the bridge. Like this.


As T Birds go I really like mine, of course I prefer something a little more gaudy so all it's bits have been chrome plated - Likely the only chrome Opti Grab in existence.

[66Atlas]

That thing is the "opti-grab".  Nikki hooks his pinkie finger through it when he plays to anchor his hand. The body wings are solid maple, the neck is essentially stock thunderbird IV. I always thought it would have been interesting if they had made a full maple neck version with a gloss finish. Really an attractive bass, but not that big a fan of the inlays.

[66Atlas]

Oops..he beat me to it

[mc2NY]

NICE looking bass!!

...but that picture of Nikki using his Opti-Grab sure looks like a tendinitis inducing assessory IMO.

[Dave W]

NICE looking bass!!

...but that picture of Nikki using his Opti-Grab sure looks like a tendinitis inducing assessory IMO.

Maybe, but at least it won't do what the original Opti-Grab wound up doing. 

[Blackbird]

The position of that opti-grab is useless for me.  If it was up at the E string, it would be GREAT for me.  I tend to anchor my pinky finger around the G string when I play.

[TBird1958]

I always thought it was kind of strange too, in the pic it almost looks painful.......

Then I saw how my pinkie lays in pretty much every shot of me playing live......

Not all that different.

[lowend1]

I always thought it was kind of strange too, in the pic it almost looks painful.......

Then I saw how my pinkie lays in pretty much every shot of me playing live......

Not all that different.

Upskirt shot! WooHoo!
I just reviewed my own picking position - er, my right hand position, er, where I put my pinky - oh hell, there's no way to make it sound right. The edge of my hand lays across all four strings, and anything that's not holding the pick is anchored to or around the bridge pickup (on a two-pickup bass). I lift up when I want the notes to ring.