Getting that thumping sound

[okieman]

Well, I call it a thumping sound. It's the sound in my mind that I want to get out of my bass. I bought a Pandora PX5D that lets me tap into different amp and cab sounds. It's a poor man's substitute for the modeling head I can't afford. But even it doesn't get me that sound. Here's the crazy part: I can get the sound if I let the soft side of my hand rest on top of the strings near the bridge. But then I can only play with my thumb. I've heard that famous session bassist Carol Kaye did something similar like sticking a piece of foam rubber up under the strings right where they came off the bridge. Now, I'm trying to figure out a good place to buy some similar material. It'll save me the trouble of an electronic solution to this challenge.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by okieman

Now, I'm trying to figure out a good place to buy some similar material. It'll save me the trouble of an electronic solution to this challenge.

High density neoprene weatherstrip, 1/2" thick. Back in the day Jazz basses used to come through with a strip of it on the bridge.

[m.oreilly]

play with a pick and use your right palm to mute? and install the rubber?

[BassmanPaul]

If you look at pictures of James Brown's bass players most of them had a hair "scunchie" around the neck at the nut. Deadens the strings without messing with the tone.

[okieman]

Man I'm onto that weatherstrip tip!

Didn't understand the scrunchie idea. Wouldn't that only work if the string was open? Once you pushed the string down onto a fret, there wouldn't be anything between it and the bridge to deaden the sound?

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by okieman

Man I'm onto that weatherstrip tip!

Didn't understand the scrunchie idea. Wouldn't that only work if the string was open? Once you pushed the string down onto a fret, there wouldn't be anything between it and the bridge to deaden the sound?

+1. But the main reason for it was to damp only open strings, the hand damped fretted strings. Thinking about it some more I believe the weatherstrip was under the palm rest, not on the bridge, but you could put it on the bridge. I doubt if palm rests have been around for 30 years except maybe on some Jazz reissues.

[Marty Forrer]

I quite often use a piece of low density foam under the strings, right up against the bridge. Works good for that pre 1960 sound.

[JimmyM]

carol takes a strip of felt and tapes it to her bass with double sided tape.

[okieman]

Don't know whether or not you're talking about Carol Kaye, but I just found this link where she talks in two different places about getting a good deep sound. And she uses a pick for cryin' out loud!

http://www.carolkaye.com/www/library/faq.htm

[JimmyM]

right...well carol knows what she's doing. and yes, i was talking about carol kaye.

[Mike]

need flatwounds, maybe?

[YL_Bass]

I use a rolled up shop cloth.

[Interceptor]

What Bill said.

I also cherish flats with a few years worth of funk in them on a a fretless.

I play 1940's jazz with a Barker fretless with old dead flats. It thumps hard.

[pfschim]

The foam muting strip on Jazz basses was under the "ash tray", otherwise known as the bridge cover. One of the reasons that so many rock players took these off from the 60's onward was that once roundwound strings, and that roundwound singing/pingy tone, were the thing everyone wanted, that mute just had to go! because it killed that kind of tone.

to the OP, there are many ways to get the thumping tone.

Foam mute - tape it over the strings, put it under the strings right at the bridge, get a replcement "ash tray" and put foam on the inside pressing lightly on the strings
RH palm mute with or without a pick
LH fretting hand/finger muting (harder to do and limits the complexity of what you can play)

so much fun to find new (old) playing techniques
play right on the fret
the old scrunchy trick (some slappers use this too)

[m.oreilly]

my old p came with rubber under the ashtray, muting the strings at the bridge. yes, carol uses a pick, i thought this was known

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

I play 1940's jazz .

That would be some collector's item! Methinks you're off by 20 years.

[Hnz]

This is a quite handy device:
http://www.bassmute.com/bassmute/bm_mainframe.html



Used on my P-bass with TI flats - thumping sound garantueed!

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

That would be some collector's item! Methinks you're off by 20 years.

ba-dum! he was referring to jazz from the 1940's

[Interceptor]

OK, that's funny.

Thump is king when the charts say swing.

Jim

[Rickett Customs]

Like it was mentioned before, you also may want to try flats.