Bob Babbit talks Motown technique

[pobrien_ie]

[indent=1]Hi all, this is my first post. Did I read somewhere before that a mute should be placed below round wound strings and above flats? Would appreciate your thoughts on this. I recently acquired a 57 AV P bass with flats and a bridge cover and am interested to know where the foam mute should be placed in this configuration. Great to see a thread on Babbit, who I feel sometimes is very underated. Just love his lines on signed, sealed, delivered and midnight train to georgia.[/indent]

[lojo]

[quote name='pobrien_ie' timestamp='1333548545' post='1603347']
[indent=1]Hi all, this is my first post. Did I read somewhere before that a mute should be placed below round wound strings and above flats? Would appreciate your thoughts on this. I recently acquired a 57 AV P bass with flats and a bridge cover and am interested to know where the foam mute should be placed in this configuration. Great to see a thread on Babbit, who I feel sometimes is very underated. Just love his lines on signed, sealed, delivered and midnight train to georgia.[/indent]
[/quote]

Welcome to the mad world of basschat

I doubt there is a must with regard to how someone mutes their strings, never heard of this rounds/flats idea, but would be interesting if there were something in it

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='pobrien_ie' timestamp='1333548545' post='1603347']
[indent=1]Hi all, this is my first post. Did I read somewhere before that a mute should be placed below round wound strings and above flats? Would appreciate your thoughts on this. I recently acquired a 57 AV P bass with flats and a bridge cover and am interested to know where the foam mute should be placed in this configuration. Great to see a thread on Babbit, who I feel sometimes is very underated. Just love his lines on signed, sealed, delivered and midnight train to georgia.[/indent]
[/quote]
The muting foam on a P bass was glued under the bridge cover, so above the strings. The muting system on the J bass was below the strings, as it was on Gibsons and Rickenbackers. All those basses had factory flatwounds in the days when they had mutes. I don't think it makes any difference. Or, at least, what makes more difference is what material you use for the mute and how close to the bridge it is.

Edited April 4, 2012 by EssentialTension

[bigjohn]

I'm temped by one of those Bass Mutes...

I've tried socks and pieces of foam etc, but find it hard to get the right level on each string, esp if I'm removing it / installing it on stage and trying to do it quickly. A lever arrangement with preset dampening per string seems like a jolly good idea.

Edited April 4, 2012 by bigjohn

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='bigjohn' timestamp='1333561119' post='1603638']
I'm temped by one of those Bass Mutes...

I've tried socks and pieces of foam etc, but find it hard to get the right level on each string, esp if I'm removing it / installing it on stage and trying to do it quickly. A lever arrangement with preset dampening per string seems like a jolly good idea.
[/quote]
... and don't those Bass Mutes damp the string from the side rather than over or under?

[pobrien_ie]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1333557558' post='1603558']
The muting foam on a P bass was glued under the bridge cover, so above the strings. The muting system on the J bass was below the strings, as it was on Gibsons and Rickenbackers. All those basses had factory flatwounds in the days when they had mutes. I don't think it makes any difference. Or, at least, what makes more difference is what material you use for the mute and how close to the bridge it is.
[/quote]

Ok that blow's the above/below the strings out of the water. I might have imagined that one up myself!

[bigjohn]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1333561422' post='1603641']
... and don't those Bass Mutes damp the string from the side rather than over or under?
[/quote]

Looks that way.

I'm confused as to why up/down/in/out/shakeitallabout would make any difference though.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='bigjohn' timestamp='1333570041' post='1603812']
Looks that way.

I'm confused as to why up/down/in/out/shakeitallabout would make any difference though.
[/quote]
I can't see how it would make any difference but maybe 'shakeitallabout' would be a kind of mute-unmute-mute-unmute tremolo effect.

[bigjohn]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1333578925' post='1603954']
I can't see how it would make any difference but maybe 'shakeitallabout' would be a kind of mute-unmute-mute-unmute tremolo effect.
[/quote]