Foam muting

[Emmaporkchop]

Anyone else here use foam under the strings (Carol Kaye type sound is the best way to describe it). I had the foam when I had a Stingray and hated it so I took the pads off, I just stuck a piece under the strings by the bridge on my P bass and I'm really liking the sound. Just wondering if anyone else was doing this or had any tips or opinion about it (placement, type of foam ect..)

[J. Crawford]

Yep. I bought to foam paintbrushes, cut em down, and they fit amazingly under the bridge.

[PilbaraBass]

The trick is to have enough pressure on the strings to mute them without choking the tone. This is subjective and is also a function of how hard you strike the string (either by fingers or plectrum).

I think muting is great for finger funk and old-school type stuff...for grinding rock, however, it doesn't really work all that well

[Emmaporkchop]

Originally Posted by PilbaraBass

The trick is to have enough pressure on the strings to mute them without choking the tone. This is subjective and is also a function of how hard you strike the string (either by fingers or plectrum).

I think muting is great for finger funk and old-school type stuff...for grinding rock, however, it doesn't really work all that well

Yeah I'm having a hard time finding that balance, I have to use fingers, pick and slap. I really don't play any heavy rock or metal though, probably wouldn't use it if I did. How wide of a piece would you recomend?