hofner violin bass open strings ringing

[skinzz]

Hi can someone help me, im new to guitars, i bought a replica hofner hct 500/1 violin bass from a guitar shop on the internet for £370, and ive also got a roland micro bass cube, im very happy with it, i noticed that when im playing strings the open strings that are not being played are vibrating and causing feedback i.e ( i can hear strins vibrating that im not playing, i was just wondering if this is normal or the guitar isnt setup properly, im totally new to playing so i havent got a clue

[Thunderthumbs73]

Congrats on joining the bass community and deciding to be a bass player.

I don't know whether your bass is set up properly or not, but the set up and strings ringing are, IMO, two different and unrelated things.

The best thing to fix the open strings ringing is really boiled down to technique. Both your fretting hand and your plucking hand should share the responsibility of muting the open strings and to keep them from vibrating.

I think this guy has great technique, ability, sound and control:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyTQzA8_kI8

Grab your bass and mimic this fretting hand position, keeping in mind that it's totally fine for your pointer finger to touch the A, D, and G strings when you are playing something on the E string. This is one example of the fretting hand providing muting the the other three strings.

Even though it's a tough song, and it moves quickly, I think it's a good example, as the bass part runs across ALL the strings, and there is no extraneous string ringing, and the bass notes are stacatto and controled. There are probably more simplified (and slower!) examples around, but I always come back to this one.

I'm sure there are folks who who are better wordsmiths, and may better be able to describe this muting process than I can, but I think it's a concept that's tough to put into words, in general.

[lowtide]

Being as you're totally new and don't have a clue, describing solutions is going to be a waste of both of our time. And being as you're probably overseas I suggest you bring to a tech, preferably a bass tech as guitar techs are not to be trusted~! (just jokin sorta)

[fretlessman71]

It is a tough concept to describe. You'd be well served finding a good bass teacher who can talk about that with you. Other than that, simply find a way to hold the neck and fret the strings so you can keep the other strings from ringing with your other fingers. It's something your ear will naturally get you to do in time; it's good that you're noticing it now.

[Pilgrim]

I suspect the problem is not a fault with the bass, but with technique; my guess is that that you are not used to muting the strings that are not being played.

Get a piece of foam rubber and slide it under the strings at the bridge so it presses on them slightly. This will create an effect similar to the mutes which were popular in the 60's, and it will reduce the tendency of strings to ring or vibrate when they are not being played. Once you get used to muting the strings, it won't be a problem anymore.