NGD: Bassmute

[ped]

NGD = New Gadget Day in case you were wondering!

 

I used to have a fantastic switchable mute on a nice Bacchus jazz bass I had years ago. I found it really useful but I sold the bass where it was installed and although removable I didn't fancy risking any damage to the bass so it went away with the instrument.

 

I have tried using various types of foam since which normally works just as well but can have a tendency to mess with intonation and I always lose the foam at some point.

 

Recently playing my Musicman bass with built in mutes has reminded me of the usefulness of the Bassmute so I put up a wanted ad for one, not expecting to find one any time soon (I've been looking on and off for a while) but then @2x18 came through with the exact model I needed, even the right colour. A deal was done, it's here already and I've bunged it on my bass. It sounds delightful; position 2 mutes everything a small amount and the G string a bit less for 'accents' (each pad is adjustable) and position 3 mutes everything. bit more.

 

I can palm mute but something about the angle my wrist ends up at, especially when sitting (which is where I do most of my planing, naked) isn't comfortable enough given how comfortable everything else is, and I'm a lazy git really.

 

Couple of pics below. Thanks again BC wanted section!

 

 

[Geek99]

Does it have branding on it ?

[ped]

Just now, Geek99 said:

Does it have branding on it ?

 

Not unless it's underneath, no. Here's the website (although the company haven't been responding for some time now)

https://www.bassmute.eu/bm_mainframe.html

 

[Jakester]

Wow, had to look twice to even notice it - I thought the first pic was a 'before' it looks so 'factory'. 

 

I think I'm still on the 'bit of foam' stage but do think it'd be a nice thing to have. 

[Geek99]

Thanks @ped bass direct are out of stock 

[Reggaebass]

I’ve got one on a precision, great aren’t they, I found it’s worth taking the time to set it just how much you want it to mute, on the higher setting it put the bass out of tune, great for switching on and off quickly 👍

[Skin Lewis]

I tried to order one of these months ago, but never heard back from them. I have the Fender Jaguar one on my CS Sean Hurley, it works very well, so I've just got another one from Allparts for my Nash. £40 delivered. Quite invasive to fit though, what with holes to be drilled etc. I think I'll leave it to my tech.

[ped]

Just now, Skin Lewis said:

I tried to order one of these months ago, but never heard back from them. I have the Fender Jaguar one on my CS Sean Hurley, it works very well, so I've just got another one from Allparts for my Nash. £40 delivered. Quite invasive to fit though, what with holes to be drilled etc. I think I'll leave it to my tech.

Yeah I considered one of those too. I don’t mind drilling holes in this bass but the Bassmute attaches very well with double sided tape. You can use screws too if you need to. I think the Jaguar one pivots on the screws doesn’t it, so guess you have no choice there. 

[Skin Lewis]

2 minutes ago, ped said:

 I think the Jaguar one pivots on the screws doesn’t it, so guess you have no choice there. 

 

Yes it's a bit Heath Robinson and difficult to adjust effectively, and it needs a big hole of precise depth for the spring plunger thingy. Would have preferred the Bassmute, but hard to get. Well done on finding one, got to love the BC wanteds.

[2x18]

5 hours ago, Skin Lewis said:

 

Yes it's a bit Heath Robinson and difficult to adjust effectively, and it needs a big hole of precise depth for the spring plunger thingy. Would have preferred the Bassmute, but hard to get. Well done on finding one, got to love the BC wanteds.

Ped's is more Will Robinson   😉                  Happy N.G.D Ped -- Glad I could help

Edited April 1, 2022 by 2x18

[Owen]

Can you take the foam off and put other things there? I messed with felt once and it was different from foam. Just wondering.

Edited April 1, 2022 by Owen
becaue of the spelling. As usual.

[ped]

I think so. The foam is glued to the blocks I think. It might need replacing one day

[LeftyJ]

These are made by Ellio Martina, a Dutch luthier of Italian origin. I have a bass of his that's great. He is notoriously hard to reach, but I think the Bass Connection (a bass store here in the Netherlands) is more or less his distributor. 

www.connectionbult.com

Edited April 2, 2022 by LeftyJ

[ped]

I’ve added a red tip to the lever 

 

Here’s the old one I had in the Bacchus jazz. That was a cool bass but I’m not really a five string player. I had to sell this one due to a tax return balls up

 

[JohnR]

I've messaged him several times through his website contact form to ask a question about left handed compatibility and heard nothing back. I've given up and gone back to sticking a bit of foam under the strings.

[ped]

33 minutes ago, JohnR said:

I've messaged him several times through his website contact form to ask a question about left handed compatibility and heard nothing back. I've given up and gone back to sticking a bit of foam under the strings.

Bit weird isn’t it; you’d think he’d take down the website

[Jack]

On 01/04/2022 at 11:40, ped said:

which is where I do most of my playing, naked) ... Couple of pics below. 

Very disappointed. 

[LeftyJ]

On 03/04/2022 at 11:20, JohnR said:

I've messaged him several times through his website contact form to ask a question about left handed compatibility and heard nothing back. I've given up and gone back to sticking a bit of foam under the strings.

 

I see in the source code that his info form links to [email protected]

I would try at [email protected]

 

Those addresses might be linked to one another, but I'm not sure. Ellio is a great and very helpful guy, but he can be a bit absentminded, especially since a biking accident he suffered years back. If that doesn't work, he is active on Facebook regularly. His page is very quiet (last post was January 15th), but his personal profile most certainly is not. And if that still doesn't work, I suggest you contact the Bass Connection store I linked to above. The store owner Edwin van Huik is a friend of his.