Foam mute?

[Number6]

I've recently started using a soft foam mute under the strings by the bridge on my Yamaha 5 string and i really like the slightly deadened sound. I only started using it as i found a spare piece of foam and thought i'd give it a try.

I don't know untill i rehearse next how it will sound playing with the band but i'll give it a whirl.

I just wondered if anyone else uses this kind of a mute for any particular songs or all the time on their basses?

The bass currently has round wounds but i may try some flats.

[MarkW]

I went the other way: I bought an elderly MM Sterling a few years ago that had the individual foam dampers for each string built into the bridge. I couldn't get on with it at all, so I ripped the foam off (according to a MM tech it's the same stuff foam rubber mouse mats are made of, should I ever want to reinstall them) and screwed the adjusters all the way down. Perfect!

[Geek99]

A slice of washing-up sponge works fine

[Roland Rock]

I have done in the past, and love the sound in certain applications - kitchen roll or mousemat foam for me. The thing is that I seldom want muted tones for the entire set, so now just palm mute when necessary.

[wateroftyne]

I palm mute these days...

[Shedua511]

[quote name='MarkW' timestamp='1427600557' post='2732201'] I couldn't get on with it at all, so I ripped the foam off [/quote] wouldn't it have been enough to tighten the screws that adjust the height of the mutes to avoid them touching the strings? Just wondering, that's what I do on my vintage stingray...

[JapanAxe]

Another palm muter here, or to be more precise, palm-mute and pluck with thumb for a really old-skool sound.

[jonnythenotes]

Those little coloured pony tail bands are perfect....you just have one of them in position around the headstock, and when you need that muted sound, just pull it forward an inch over the nut and bingo. Just make sure you get black or navy blue....yellow or pink look extremely naff...

[MarkW]

[quote name='Shedua511' timestamp='1427619154' post='2732273']
wouldn't it have been enough to tighten the screws that adjust the height of the mutes to avoid them touching the strings? Just wondering, that's what I do on my vintage stingray...
[/quote]
Yes indeed, but they were so manky that they would have had to be replaced if I was going to keep them, so I just whipped them off! :-)

[Number6]

Mine is just an old bit of soft packing foam cut to the length of the bridge. Easily removed if need be and nearly as easily replaced.

[booboo]

I've got one of these wwwbassmute.com
It's a nice (expensive) semi-permanent way of having a consistent degree of muting at the flick of a switch. I bought it to try and make my j bass sound like an upright as that's what I needed at the time. As with any attempt to make BG sound like URB it got me into the better, but still not quite the same territory that all these things do. What it is good for is mid-way through a covers set when I need an old motown/muted p sound. I can just roll of the tone on the bass, flick on the mute and hey presto it's (nearly) a p.
One thing I have found with this or any other muting solutions (besides palm) is that to mute the strings enough to change the sound often pushes the tuning up a bit as I suppose it almost creates a zero fret in front of the bridge or just bends the string slightly. Just make sure you have time to re-tune between car wash and mustang sally ;-)

[chris_b]

Foam works in the studio because it evens out the notes and prevents unwanted resonances. What foam takes away can be added by the desk, but for live work I prefer the dynamics of undampened strings.

[TheGreek]

When I lent Lawrie McMillan my acoustic the first thing he did was to add some foam to mute the strings - he felt that it improved the sound...

Edited March 29, 2015 by TheGreek

[thebigyin]

I've used a bit of sponge especially when new strings have been fitted, I hate the sound of new strings. Watched a guy on youtube called Mo Morris he plays with flatwound strings foam mutes and has had the same strings on for 15 years. But he blew me away with that old school RnB vibe.

[timhiggins]

I used a bit of sponge from the kitchen cut to size last night for recording in studio
took it out today at rehearsal as i find you lose a bit of clarity live
for me old rounds on a jazz get me the reggae sound without the mute,but i like
it on the p more.

[blue]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1427618653' post='2732267']
I palm mute these days...
[/quote]

Me too.

IMO the execution is more dynamic and I can get a nice clean yet aggressive tone using this technique. Muting the strings with the palm of your hand.

Blue

Edited March 30, 2015 by blue

[stuckinthepod]

I used bit of old sponge for a while for old school covers like Brown Sugar. Now just roll off some treble and palm mute where necessary. Would like to buy a separate bass with flats and a mute for the old school stuff/motown sound.