Muting sustain

[fatboyslimfast]

Hi all,

Please excuse the newb nature of this - just want to garner some opinions as to whether this is expected/normal.

I'm finding when playing that even when trying to mute the E/A, the sound seems to sustain for a long time - sometimes 2 or three seconds after touching the unplayed strings to attempt to mute them, I can still feel the bass vibrating. Because of this I'm finding the sound a little muddy/muddled.

Is this to be expected for a J-bass with flats, or is it just my muting technique which needs improving? I'm playing fingerstyle if that makes a difference.

Any comments welcome...

[dc2009]

Get a long hairband, double stretch it over the headstock and let it sit at the first fret. You need a hairband that has good tension in this position. It will change the overall sound somewhat, but will reduce sustain and will keep everything clearer switching between strings.

[lojo]

read the title as Mustang Sally at first glance, must have played that song to many times


Think there was a thread a while back about playing open strings, which is connected to this question

I only use open strings when it suits the sound of the line, sometimes its easier the get what im after by using the fretted notes

[risingson]

Are you using your left hand to mute open strings? If so try and get used to using your right hand instead. Remember that if using your open E and A strings in quick succession is causing you difficulty then you have a perfectly usable A at your 5th fret on your E. Using open strings is effective in some situations but other times it is much easier to fret notes. Being adept at both is the key.

I would personally recommend looking closer at your technique before taking more practical solutions up such as the hair band idea, this is no offense to dc2009 but if the problem is fixable with technique then you should sort your technique out as opposed to compensating for it

Edited June 22, 2011 by risingson

[fatboyslimfast]

I have been using the left hand more yes - maybe that's the issue.

I'll have a play around and see if I can work out a way to mute the E - it's not so much when I'm playing an open A (as I tend to try playing A on the E string), but more when I'm playing things on either the A, D or G strings (normally the top two, as my fingers come to rest on the E when playing on the A) that the E seems to start singing along muddying everything.

Should I be using the side of my hand (i.e. nearest the little finger) to do this?

Whilst I can see how the hairband would work, I would prefer to sort me rather than the J if at all possible

[risingson]

[quote name='fatboyslimfast' post='1278574' date='Jun 22 2011, 02:39 PM']I have been using the left hand more yes - maybe that's the issue.

I'll have a play around and see if I can work out a way to mute the E - it's not so much when I'm playing an open A (as I tend to try playing A on the E string), but more when I'm playing things on either the A, D or G strings (normally the top two, as my fingers come to rest on the E when playing on the A) that the E seems to start singing along muddying everything.

Should I be using the side of my hand (i.e. nearest the little finger) to do this?

Whilst I can see how the hairband would work, I would prefer to sort me rather than the J if at all possible [/quote]

Ahh so the problem is that your E is ringing out sympathetically when you play on the other strings. Most bass players I know including myself anchor their thumbs on their E and A strings, occasionally their pickup as well. This largely helps to eliminate the problem you describe, however, even players that don't anchor their thumbs and and a floating thumb technique instead should be able to play fluently without having to worry about excess vibrations from the strings that they're not playing. Whichever technique applies to you I would recommend practicing scales to get both your hands working together to stop excess noise. I can upload a few examples to my Youtube account if it would help at all

[fatboyslimfast]

That would be handy - if you don't mind! I tend to thumb-anchor permanently on the pickup, so maybe that's where I'm going a bit wrong...

[risingson]

I'll PM you the link in a sec!

[fatboyslimfast]

Cheers!

[ras52]

[quote name='risingson' post='1278585' date='Jun 22 2011, 02:55 PM']Ahh so the problem is that your E is ringing out sympathetically when you play on the other strings. Most bass players I know including myself anchor their thumbs on their E and A strings, occasionally their pickup as well. This largely helps to eliminate the problem you describe, however, even [b]players that don't anchor their thumbs and and a floating thumb technique instead should be able to play fluently without having to worry about excess vibrations from the strings that they're not playing[/b]. Whichever technique applies to you I would recommend practicing scales to get both your hands working together to stop excess noise. [b]I can upload a few examples to my Youtube account if it would help at all [/b][/quote]

Don't just PM, go public with linky please!

This is an area I'm working on having recently switched from thumb-anchoring on the E or p/u. If I'm playing on the upper strings I try to rest my RH little/ring fingers on the lower strings... I'm interested to see/hear what others do.

[risingson]

[quote name='ras52' post='1278662' date='Jun 22 2011, 04:05 PM']Don't just PM, go public with linky please!

This is an area I'm working on having recently switched from thumb-anchoring on the E or p/u. If I'm playing on the upper strings I try to rest my RH little/ring fingers on the lower strings... I'm interested to see/hear what others do.[/quote]

Here's the link + the explanation I gave FSF on the video. I would add that this is the way I like to play, some people will differ. This is merely an example of some scale exercises that will get you thinking about how clean you can get your technique.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLxQpZ_u8Es&feature=channel_video_title"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLxQpZ_u8Es...nel_video_title[/url]

The first example is an F major scale, notice I anchor my thumb on the E string the whole time, it doesn't move. The second example is an F scale moving up in groups of 4, the second example is moving up a 3rd interval at a time, again, my thumb is firmly anchored. All three exercises don't make use of the E string at all, and no sympathetic vibration from the low E either.

The next lot of scales is in the key of C major, the same left hand positioning but dropped a string (perfect 4th below). Notice now that I have to use my E string to fret the relevant notes of the scale, I have my thumb anchored on the pickup (or sometimes no where at all depending on what I'm playing) and then drop it accordingly. Again, I repeat a similar pattern of moving up and down the scale 4 notes at a time in the next example. Breaking up scales in this way is useful as it stops the practice becoming boring and also breaks the cycle of getting too used to playing the standard scale. it also helps out your left and right hands to work together.

It takes a bit of patience to play scales as for a while it can feel lie a real chore, but if you sit in front of the TV and play you'll soon find you'll get used to it. I would also strongly advise playing with a metronome as well as this will help you get your timing together. Start slowly and work your way up from there.


Liam

Edited June 22, 2011 by risingson

[mcnach]

[quote name='fatboyslimfast' post='1278591' date='Jun 22 2011, 02:59 PM']That would be handy - if you don't mind! I tend to thumb-anchor permanently on the pickup, so maybe that's where I'm going a bit wrong...[/quote]

(Steve? (ukmg?))

muting is one of those things that seem to cause a lot of trouble and one day you wake up and... it just works. But before you're there it's very frustrating.

I tend to anchor my thumb on the pickup when playing on the E string, but my thumb switches to resting on the E string when playing the A string.
When I play the D string I may rest the thumb on the E or A, depends on what I'm playing.
When I play the G, I tend to rest on the D, or maybe A.

This is based one what I just found myself doing. It's not on purpose and I have no clue how I arrived to it. It just happened over time.

When resting the thumb on the next "bassier" string, you can mute previous strings by placing the thumb across them. For instance, play on the D string, thumb planted on A string and laying over the E string touching it too. This is the way I mute on a 5-string, where that low B just seems to get in the way when you first switch from 4-string basses.

But a lot of muting can be done with the fretting hand too. When playing on the E and A strings, the D and G are muted by laying a finger across them, much like the thumb explained before.
Sometimes you have to do a bit of both.

I think it helps concentrating on not flapping the fingers too much and not fretting too hard. That reduces noise in the first place. Then use whatever bits of your hands are handy to mute the strings not in use.
It's very much like when you grab an electric guitar for the first time. You invariably hit that overdrive pedal and what you thought would sound ok from playing acoustic or unplugged, sounds absolutely terrible, with all those unintended vibrations. You try to clean up your technique... and before you know it, it works and you don't really know how you do it, you just do.

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1278900' date='Jun 22 2011, 07:04 PM']It's very much like when you grab an electric guitar for the first time. You invariably hit that overdrive pedal and what you thought would sound ok from playing acoustic or unplugged, sounds absolutely terrible, with all those unintended vibrations. You try to clean up your technique... and before you know it, it works and you don't really know how you do it, you just do.[/quote]

and the exact opposite (overdrive hides a multitude of technique sins)

[charic]

I never really thought about it but I [u]think[/u] I tend to left hand mute...