Muting the Strings

[Roland Rock]

I'm guessing that Burrito will be able to help here, but I'm open to all advice.

I'm really getting into the muted, picked sound from a lot of 60's music e.g.
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlHMpOypzFg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlHMpOypzFg[/url]
(Pretty sure this was Carol Kaye)

I'd like to be able to mute/demute the strings between songs at gigs.
I play a 78 P Bass with flats and a bridge cover.

I've dabbled with palm muting, and it's gone ok. Perhaps I'm too lazy to become proficient at it, but I can't help thinking that there might be better, more versatile way. After all, Jamerson and Babbett use/d mutes, and no-one accuses them of being lazy or of taking the easy way out!

It goes without saying that I don't want to drill any holes in the bass, and for shallow reasons, I'd prefer to keep the bridge cover on if possibles, because I think it looks cool.

[Fat Rich]

Become a sponge collector!

The kind of muting you're after is probably unique to you so maybe keep hold of all sorts of bits of sponge and foam and try wedging them under the strings near the bridge to get a feel for what works before trying a more permanent solution?

Not sure if there's anything available that you can mute / demute between songs though.

[gjones]

I just picked up a packet of cellulose sponge wipes from tescos (4 per pack) and they make a perfect mute. They're not too spongy or too dense. Cut them into thin strips and they're unobtrusive but very effective and you can vary the amount of mute by packing them tighter or looser under the strings.

I just googled and this guy is selling a specially designed mute on ebay which is pretty effective (as you can hear when you check out the youtube vid) and cheap [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mufler-Bass-Guitar-Mute-Jazz-Sound-/130457789946"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mufler-Bass-Guitar-M...d-/130457789946[/url]

Personally I'd stick with the sponge method because you can experiment with different types until you get the sound you feel is right for you.

But beware! This is a hot topic which some people are a bit 'emotional' about. Here is a thread from back in 2009 which illustates that very point [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=69186&st=0"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=69186&st=0[/url]

Edited January 15, 2011 by gjones

[Roland Rock]

Thanks - I'll collect a variety of sponges and play around. Where's an old sponge mousemat when you need one?
The e-Bay one looks good and ticks many boxes too - thanks.

The £100 job mentioned on the other thread will be a last resort! Not too discrete either

[chris_b]

You're not talking about palm or finger muting here. Generally the "sponge under the string" thing works better in the studio or when you're DI'ing through a PA. Also with sponge the difference between using a pick and fingers is accentuated.

You have to be careful not to kill the note when using sponge on a gig.

Edited January 15, 2011 by chris_b

[Roland Rock]

Yes, I think I'll only be picking when muted, as fingerstyle when muted (when palm muting anyway) sounds way too muffled imo
The picking thing is a whole new skill that I need to work on, as I've been exclusively fingerstyle since the start, but that's another thread for the technique section

[chris_b]

Some advice from one of the originals:

With custom mute


With foam

Edited January 15, 2011 by chris_b

[Roland Rock]

Thanks for that. The second one - was that meant to be one where he plays/talks about muting? It's an interesting interview anyway. I didn't know he played on 'We can work it out". I was listening to the Stevie Wonder album 'Signed, Sealed Delivered' yesterday, and thinking that that bass playing was not typically Jamerson - now I know why!