Bassmutes, which one are you using

[Reggaebass]

I’m always messing around with various mutes, i like the sound and it suits some of tracks I play, I usually just put foam under the bridge which is ok but it can put the intonation out a touch so I’ve been making a few of my own, I had trouble keeping the slots square ,but I found my grandads old little square and with some masking tape it’s worked a treat.

which ones are you using 

[yorks5stringer]

I use this below which came with the Bass. However have made some close replicas which are essentially the same as yours and Nordies. I used thick foam 'rubber' from a floor mat like yours  to the right of the green one, rather than just bog standard foam.

https://nordstrandaudio.com/products/nordymute

[Reggaebass]

2 minutes ago, yorks5stringer said:

I used thick foam 'rubber' from a floor mat like yours  to the right of the green one

That one is a nordymute I bought but I bought the wrong size, the rubber is good though , Nice one, I hadn’t thought of the floor mat material, where did you get yours from 

[chris_b]

I have a piece of soft foam under the flats on my P bass, which seems to control the tone by the right amount. Can't remember where it came from.

 

I've tried various types, including a harder foam from a washing up sponge, but it was too hard and killed the tone.

[mowf]

I've done a similar thing to Reggaebass (not as neat though!). I bought a length of neoprene off eBay, it's self adhesive on one side which is handy so I cut it to size and stuck it to a bit of wood. Does the job.

 

I like the Bassmute that Sean Hurley uses, but it's megabucks and I wouldn't be comfortable sticking it on a vintage bass as it could damage the finish if you tried to remove it. However it did occur to me that you could modify the base plate on it to attach to the bass using the screw holes for the bridge ashtray.

 

And then I spent a fiver on a bit of neoprene instead.

[fretmeister]

I use a variety of adhesive foam strip and plastic lolly sticks.

 

I avoid needing a square by sliding a craft knife along the string while cutting the slot.

Ive also experimented with cutting the foam into a point rather than square so more or less damping buy pushing it on a bit further or easing it off.

[Reggaebass]

1 minute ago, fretmeister said:

Ive also experimented with cutting the foam into a point rather than square so more or less damping buy pushing it on a bit further or easing it off

Thanks that’s a good idea I’ll try that 👍

[Skin Lewis]

I have the Fender Jaguar-type mute on my Sean Hurley sig Precision, it works very well, so I bought another to fit to my Nash P. Trouble is it's a faff to fit, and needs holes drilling etc, so has remained in a drawer somewhere. I need one that is selectable as I use it at different times in the set. Luckily, I came across a Ellio Martinez bass mute for sale on here, it arrived this morning and it's now fitted. It works very well, 3 positions, no more fumbling with bits of foam mid set.

[Reggaebass]

I took the foam off some spare face shields at work, so I’ve got lots to practice with 😁

[pbasspecial]

I use either a bit of old foam from a scouring pad, or roll the tone down/off or use the side of my palm. Seems to work well enough

[Reggaebass]

1 minute ago, Skin Lewis said:

Ellio Martinez bass mute

I’ve found those to be the best but they are expensive I thought, mine came unstuck so I put a few screws in it, it’s on an old precision that’s got some marks on so I wasn’t too bothered about the holes, but I didn’t want to fit one to my new jazz 

[Reggaebass]

13 minutes ago, Skin Lewis said:

I have the Fender Jaguar-type mute on my Sean Hurley sig Precision

That looks good, can you adjust it to slide it on or off easily or do you lock it in place 

[Skin Lewis]

14 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

That looks good, can you adjust it to slide it on or off easily or do you lock it in place 

 

It's a rocker mechanism that snaps it on or off. A bit Heath Robinson, but very effective when set up properly.

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Skin Lewis

[Reggaebass]

3 minutes ago, Skin Lewis said:

 

It's a rocker mechanism that snaps it on or off. A bit Heath Robinson, but very effective when set up properly. I have a spare one now......

Thanks skin , Can you alter the amount it mutes 

[Skin Lewis]

8 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Thanks skin , Can you alter the amount it mutes 

 

Yes, it's adjustable to taste, but unlike the Martinez, it only has 2 positions, on or off. 

[yorks5stringer]

7 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

That one is a nordymute I bought but I bought the wrong size, the rubber is good though , Nice one, I hadn’t thought of the floor mat material, where did you get yours from 

I bought a sample piece from one of the ebay vendors, it cost a crazy £6 for a piece 10cm X 10cm X 10 cm thick and some of that was the interlocking bit which is useless... I've since noticed there are other sellers much cheaper but not sure if they are as thick and rubberlike?

[Reggaebass]

1 minute ago, yorks5stringer said:

I bought a sample piece from one of the ebay vendors, it cost a crazy £6 for a piece 10cm X 10cm X 10 cm thick and some of that was the interlocking bit which is useless... I've since noticed there are other sellers much cheaper but not sure if they are as thick and rubberlike?

Thanks yorks5, I’ll have a look 👍

[drTStingray]

I use these when available - these are based on when Leo and co finally got it right on mutes!!

 

 

When not available I use left and right hand muting and v occasionally one of these 😀
 

[Aidan63]

I've a couple of Nordy style ones I made myself using neoprene foam and wood, the thin one is for the mustang as a thick one just killed the tone too much, and I will make another half way between the two for Jazz/P

 

thick is roughly 12mm wide, thin is roughly 5mm, foam is 12mm deep slit to about 8/9mm

 

 

[Reggaebass]

2 minutes ago, Aidan63 said:

I've a couple of Nordy style ones I made myself using neoprene foam and wood, the thin one is for the mustang as a thick one just killed the tone too much, and I will make another half way between the two for Jazz/P

 

thick is roughly 12mm wide, thin is roughly 5mm, foam is 12mm deep slit to about 8/9mm

 

 

Great job 👍,I did the same, I made mine too thick at first and it was too much , about 12mm is what I’ve found is good but I’ll try some thinner like you’ve done, I’ve got foam everywhere at the moment 😂

[deepbass5]

I have also messed about with various foam to push under the strings on my P bass. I like the idea of the Nordy with slots you can apply from above, as I usually end up pulling the spong out if i find it stops the tone ringing too much in the live situation. One thing i have learnt over the years is the old soft rubbery foam we used to get works best The sort we used to get in boxes e.g Sure microphone box foam was great. much of what is used in packaging now is expanded plastic foam which is harder and tends to kill the sound. I have also tried to taper the thickness so less pressure is on the lighter strings, as i feel each string would benifit from a differing degree of damping. any comments on your observations on this?

[mowf]

17 minutes ago, deepbass5 said:

I have also messed about with various foam to push under the strings on my P bass. I like the idea of the Nordy with slots you can apply from above, as I usually end up pulling the spong out if i find it stops the tone ringing too much in the live situation. One thing i have learnt over the years is the old soft rubbery foam we used to get works best The sort we used to get in boxes e.g Sure microphone box foam was great. much of what is used in packaging now is expanded plastic foam which is harder and tends to kill the sound. I have also tried to taper the thickness so less pressure is on the lighter strings, as i feel each string would benifit from a differing degree of damping. any comments on your observations on this?

I've done the same thing. My first attempt at a mute was using a Draper kneeler mat I found in Halfords; there's a hole cutout for a handle but they leave the bit of foam in so it was like I bought a bass mute and got the mat for free. After a bit of trial and error (and some pretty rough work with a hacksaw) I ended up with a sort of long wedge so there's less material damping the lighter strings.

 

[Reggaebass]

36 minutes ago, deepbass5 said:

as i feel each string would benifit from a differing degree of damping. any comments on your observations on this?

While experimenting I’ve found it’s better to cut a slot to suit the string width  , ie 2 cuts, it’s a bit tricky but with a sharp craft knife it’s not too bad, and you can cut it wider  so doesn’t over dampen 

[ped]

59 minutes ago, deepbass5 said:

 I have also tried to taper the thickness so less pressure is on the lighter strings, as i feel each string would benifit from a differing degree of damping. any comments on your observations on this?

 

I agree - when using foam under the strings (my fave is a piece of quite open textured foam that came with an extractor fan!) I cut it to taper down so that the G is barely muted at all, as I like to do accents on there. However with a light push it slides down further and mutes it more. 

[Reggaebass]

3 minutes ago, ped said:

I cut it to taper down so that the G is barely muted at all

Is it kinda wedge shaped