Muting in fingerstyle funk?

[JayfromDeeKay]

I really like the sound of the bassist from Tower of Power. But I just can't seem to get the sound right. It almost sounds to me as though he's muting the strings while he's plucking them; the notes sound really staccato and funky at times.

Does anyone know how he accomplishes this? Is it left- or righthand muting?

Maybe it's also because he's using a P-bass and I'm playing a J-bass.

[ThaSweet]

There's a series of video's on youtube explaining his fingerfunk style. He uses exclusive left hand muting.

Video 1 of a series of 7 video's.

Have fun watching.

[JayfromDeeKay]

Thanks a lot for that link! Great!

[sammyp]

Originally Posted by JayfromDeeKay

I really like the sound of the bassist from Tower of Power. But I just can't seem to get the sound right. It almost sounds to me as though he's muting the strings while he's plucking them; the notes sound really staccato and funky at times.

Does anyone know how he accomplishes this? Is it left- or righthand muting?

Maybe it's also because he's using a P-bass and I'm playing a J-bass.

his technique is highly original and kinda unorthodox ...you have to decide if it's for you or not .....he plays most of his notes with his 1st finger while his 2nd finger gently lays ahead of the 1st providing a psuedo palm muted effect .....

[Brad Johnson]

Fretting hand muting is largely overlooked or unknown for most bassists IME. You can get some very cool things happening by incorporating that into your toolkit.

[squeally dan]

How do you guys get that deadened note sound without using his method?

[winegamd]

You can palm mute or use rest strokes. If you look at Gary Willis' right hand technique, that is how he mutes.

[Tupac]

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

Fretting hand muting is largely overlooked or unknown for most bassists IME. You can get some very cool things happening by incorporating that into your toolkit.

That's so cool. Why bother totally restricting my plucking hand and swapping positions to palm mute when all I have to do is lay one finger to the right of it?

[henry2513]

Originally Posted by Tupac

That's so cool. Why bother totally restricting my plucking hand and swapping positions to palm mute when all I have to do is lay one finger to the right of it?

You can execute more complex lines when you mute with your plucking hand and it's a different tone too. Both have their uses.

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by Tupac

That's so cool. Why bother totally restricting my plucking hand and swapping positions to palm mute when all I have to do is lay one finger to the right of it?

They're all options and have their place.


For fretting hand, I even do what I call "semi-mute". Using my fretting finger I adjust pressure to get anywhere from a full note to a deadened one at pitch to a ghost note to none at all. Very handy.