- Thread starter kevins
- Start date
bassmonkeee
Well-known member
I can't help thinking how far I get away with an inch thick strip of foam without "fuffing about" cutting things and modifying pickguards and what not.
I wedge one in and then I pull it out, can it get any easier?
You might be perfectly happy shoving a piece of foam under the strings on a $2000 instrument. I think it looks pretty horrible, personally. It's the same reason I buy strap locks and don't simply use duct tape to keep the strap from dropping off.
I still defy you to shove the foam under the strings for only the choruses of a song, too. Or, to not have the band/audience wait while you "fuff about" shoving it under there.
Using a chunk of foam is well established as a means to mute strings. My guess is that the person asking is aware of that method but still thought of asking about the BassMute. I'm happy for you and your foam. I like to have something a little classier looking, and that has more functionality.
Last edited:
WOW...
I have had 7 of the Bass Mutes on various Basses and have a BNIB 4 string version sitting in my bass gear box right now...I LOVE the thing! BUT, I have also got several pieces of foam that are cut just for the purpose stated above. I have them cut to varying thickness so that i can tailor the amount of damping I want for a given song. I NEVER use mutes on just one part of a song (like the chorus) but that does not mean that you shouldn't. On the other hand just because you do does not mean that everyone else should either...
Personally, I can get the foam in or out of position in about 5 or 6 seconds so it is really not a problem for me. I do not use them that often and most of the time it is when I am recording anyway. I find it takes a LOT longer to use the mutes on my Stingray bridge than the foam OR the Bass Mute. They are not practical for live use to me as the piece of foam can be used so much faster...
NOBODY is wrong here...to each his own...Right?
EDIT - SORRY forgot to mention about the looks...I don't think you need a very big piece of foam to make it work. I found a nice piece in some packing materials that I got and cut that up into small enough pieces that it is not very obtrusive at all and it actually looks quite professional. I play for a living and I have never had a single client say a word about how it looks. They ONLY care about how it sounds.
Peace,
T
Last edited:
deaden the sustain abit, and darkens the tone. imagine putting the fleshy part of your palm on the string, just by the bridge, that'll give you a good idea
bassmonkeee
Well-known member
WOW...
I have had 7 of the Bass Mutes on various Basses and have a BNIB 4 string version sitting in my bass gear box right now...I LOVE the thing! BUT, I have also got several pieces of foam that are cut just for the purpose stated above. I have them cut to varying thickness so that i can tailor the amount of damping I want for a given song. I NEVER use mutes on just one part of a song (like the chorus) but that does not mean that you shouldn't. On the other hand just because you do does not mean that everyone else should either...
Personally, I can get the foam in or out of position in about 5 or 6 seconds so it is really not a problem for me. I do not use them that often and most of the time it is when I am recording anyway. I find it takes a LOT longer to use the mutes on my Stingray bridge than the foam OR the Bass Mute. They are not practical for live use to me as the piece of foam can be used so much faster...
NOBODY is wrong here...to each his own...Right?
EDIT - SORRY forgot to mention about the looks...I don't think you need a very big piece of foam to make it work. I found a nice piece in some packing materials that I got and cut that up into small enough pieces that it is not very obtrusive at all and it actually looks quite professional. I play for a living and I have never had a single client say a word about how it looks. They ONLY care about how it sounds.
Peace,
T
Most of my gigs are 3-4 hours. The last thing I want to do is put a piece of foam in every 2-3 songs. That's a gigantic pain in the ass. I probably use the mute on 20-25 out of 40 songs in an evening, and they aren't all together.
And, I have multiple songs where I am expected to solo (guitar player wants me to break up the guitar soloing with bass solos in some tunes since we're a trio). In some songs, I use the mute during the verses and the choruses, but NOT during the solo. I never said that anyone else should do it. I was simply stating that it wasn't even an option with a piece of foam so it is one answer to the question "Why isn't shoving a piece of foam under the strings good enough?"
And, I never said anyone would lose a job because they had a piece of foam as a mute--that's obviously the way most people do it. I just said that I think it looks cheap.
I've obviously developed my style and sound around having the mute options. My guitar player and drummer like the dynamics available with the mute and I probably use a mute more than most people who say, "Durr, a piece of foam is enough for me!" GW has made a point every time someone asks about the Bassmute to point out that he gets along just find with his piece of foam--like it's a revelation, or something. He just can't seem to grasp that someone else might want a different option and acts like anyone is daft for even entertaining the idea of using a Bassmute when they can simply get a piece of foam.
He's happy with his foam. Good for him. We get it. He can stop repeating himself in threads about the Bassmute now.
Last edited:
Big Poppa
Well-known member
real players let their strings ring
hahahhahahahahahahaha
hahahhahahahahahahaha
five7
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2008
- Messages
- 4,296
Obviously it works for you...but so do the other methods mentioned by other people work for them. EVERYONE is entitled to their own opinion. NOBODY is wrong here. Why do I get the impression that you feel like somebody is calling you wrong? You are putting a LOT into defending yourself...You come across as if you think someone is saying your method is wrong and I do not see that happening. I think it is fabulous that your method works for you and I think you should keep on mentioning it every time the topic comes up....BUT let's keep an open mind and let EVERY ONE have the same courtesy...
Just my $.02 anyway...
Peace,
T
BassTerrorist
Member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2010
- Messages
- 7
These look really cool, how much do they cost?
honestly i see why though...the thing is great! great great great! i know exactly where id be without it right now...saving up to buy a classic or a used transition bridge trans teal. and i think the defensiveness is because honestly this methoid is for someone very serious about muting in general. not saying the other people arent serious about muting but there really is nothing that comes near to the flexibility and effectiveness of it. personally if i had the thumbscrews id prefer them because i have no need to switch them on and off or increase the mutage but being able to switch in a moments notice is fantastic!Obviously it works for you...but so do the other methods mentioned by other people work for them. EVERYONE is entitled to their own opinion. NOBODY is wrong here. Why do I get the impression that you feel like somebody is calling you wrong? You are putting a LOT into defending yourself...You come across as if you think someone is saying your method is wrong and I do not see that happening. I think it is fabulous that your method works for you and I think you should keep on mentioning it every time the topic comes up....BUT let's keep an open mind and let EVERY ONE have the same courtesy...
Just my $.02 anyway...
Peace,
T
the things sound great. they can get a slight mute without cutting out all the sustain in the note, and honestly i really thing that is damn near impossible with the other methoids without constantly having to adjust it or worry about the things falling out. ive tried those methoids and they pretty much cut nearly all the sustain out unless you sit there cutting foam to the perfect height or somehow find a way to get them at a decent pressure. with a set of flatwounds the thing sings beautifully.
not to sound like an advertisement but i agree with bassmonkee here, when someone says they can get the same effects from putting a hunk of foam under the bridge that they can from the bassmute they're completely wrong. however...you can get the same sound of a piece of foam under the bridge from the bassmute if you adjust it right.
its 128 USD!
I actually share your love of the Bassmute...I have had 7 of them and I have a brand new one still in the packaging just waiting to be put on a bass right now. Just for the record I CAN and do get the same sonic effect from using varying sized pieces of foam under the strings. Certainly you are not trying to say I am wrong? I have recorded MANY different tracks using both methods and I assure that they are indistinguishable from each other. ANYONE who doubts it has not tried it for themselves...
I think the currency exchange rate goes a long way toward the exact pricing on them. I once paid nearly $200 for one when there was a big hit against the dollar. I think the last one I got was about $145 or so if memory serves me....
Peace,
T
Last edited:
im not doubting the foam shoved in bridge methoid working lol, essentially the foam under the bridge can get the same sound its just a little trickier and a bit more frustrating to get a slight mute from my personal experiences with cutting up mouspads...someone could be a mousepad cutting genius though.
I have never tried using a mouse pad as material for a mute but I guess it could work. I have found that the foam used in packing material works great. My personal favorite is the dark grey foam that came in me Sennheiser IEM3000 system. VERY good quality foam and soft enough to be supple but firm enough that you can cut it quite precisely...
Peace,
T
bovinehost
Administrator
cyoungnashville
Chief Fanboi-ardee
bovinehost
Administrator
By the way, not to denigrate or downplay the significance and importance of little bits of foam or the more highly developed and sensitive bits of machinery that some of you choose to utilize to dampen those ringing notes - but I have been known, under certain very specific circumstances, to use my palm.
Well - not really my palm so much as that fleshy bit of pad at the base of my thumb, truth be told.
My palm is way too hairy and tends to get all tangled up with the strings.
Anyway, we were playing some Christmas songs (yeah, I know) and I decided I needed a more upright thang. Well, every internet genius knows you can't get a real upright tone out of a Bongo and a Markbass rig, who's with me? You just can't do it.
ONLY YOU CAN. Or maybe you can't, but I can and I'm not even that good.
Come on over, have a drink, I can show you. It's dead cheap, too.
Jack
