Unwanted Notes

[steeleyes]

Hello all Im still pretty new to this so hope Im asking this question the right way in the right place.
My problem is that when playing I sometimes hit a note that vibrates one of the open strings on my base.
I would like some input or feed back as to how you guys manage this problem?
I know back in the day when you brought a fender bass there was a piece of rubber glued to the back cup covering the bridge and some bases even came with a little lever that allowed you to bring up a piece of metal with rubber on it to mute the strings.
Please how can I stop one string from causing another string to vibrate.
Thanks
Steel

[Valerus]

Change your picking technique.

To get rid of this problem for me...When I move up to higher strings, I lock my thumb on the E string (sometimes even the A string when I'm playing a lot on the D and G).

Either use the lower strings as a thumbrest or do the floating thumb technique (search TalkBass, there's a big thread over this technique).

[needmoney]

Floating thumb is great for this. Bit of a clash of sub-forums but check out the Todd Johnson forum and his FT video on Youtube.

Alternatively you can anchor on the lower strings as Valerus suggested and mute the other strings with other unused fingers. Just be conscious of what strings are ringing and when.

[steeleyes]

Thanks alot guys will give it a try and also look for the floating thumb technique
Thanks again

[Lokire]

I think it's called 'sympathetic vibrations' when open strings start ringing when you play certain notes. It's always going to happen, so you just have to work on ways to mute the strings that you're not playing. The floating thumb technique is a great one. You can also mute string with your left (fretting) hand. A lot of times I'll rest my thumb on the string right above the one I'm playing, so if I'm playing the A string, I'll rest my thumb on the E to mute the E (and B, on a 5-string), and then either my right hand pinky will mute notes on the D/G strings or I'll use free fingers on my left hand. It just takes a lot of experimenting, and eventually it'll become natural and you won't even have to think about it anymore

[sflajimmy]

As noted the solution is called string muting and it's a basic in bass technique. Several ways to do as noted here as well. You just need to learn one that feels comfortable to you. If you play fingerstyle the floating thumb is good or anchor your thumb on a pick up and as you reach for D & G strings with your index and middle fingers you'll notice that your ring finger and pinky naturally rest on the E & A stings muting them. Hope this helps and good luck!

[nortonrider]

I put a hair tie thing on the neck like Whooten does. It works.
Easily movable up past the nut when not required. You may want to give it a try.

[Sorax]

In the long run it'll be better for your playing to just develop your technique so it doesn't become an issue. You don't want something like a hair tie as a crutch, when muting sympathetic vibrations doesn't take a whole lot of work.

[sflajimmy]

Originally Posted by Sorax

In the long run it'll be better for your playing to just develop your technique so it doesn't become an issue. You don't want something like a hair tie as a crutch, when muting sympathetic vibrations doesn't take a whole lot of work.

+1

[nortonrider]

Hair tie
It's a great aid when tapping. If it's a good enough "crutch" for Vic to use, it's good enough for me.

[Lokire]

Hair ties are fine for tapping, because they mute the string noise that happens below your fretting point (if you're tapping the 20th fret, then you're going to get plenty of string noise from all the frets below) and it's harder to mute that. Playing fingerstyle though, you shouldn't rely on hair ties, since they'll mute your open strings when you don't want them to and any other bass that you pick up isn't going to have one. Victor Wooten only uses them for tapping anyways, and even then only occassionally it seems.

[janekbass]

resting the thumb on the lowest string works for me as an anchor point. You have way more control over the instrument the more you're attached to it. Whereas the floating thumb technique seems to have some limits in the range of dynamics you can attain with great control at the same time. I move my right hand as a unit as I get across the finger board. My left hand will take care of any muting on the top string (the C string in my case) while I play notes on the E and A strings. as I move across the strings and play notes on the D and G strings my thumb will move to the A string and mute that one. My pinkie on the right hand will also mute whichever string is open the further I move across the strings.

right hand technique differs for everyone. I know that the floating thumb technique words great for some people, just not for me. I came from a classical guitar technique which is very specific and I feel it makes the best connection to the instrument with the greatest control.

Find what works for you, and stick with it!

Easy,

Janek

[steeleyes]

Thanks much guys Sorry its taken so long to reply but my computer is down right now.
I will try all the techniques youve suggested and see which works best for me
Steel