sponge type thing

[retitled]

i was watching a Queen bootleg and they did a close up of John's bass while he wa playing and underneeth the strings near the bridge there was this spnge type thing. any reason why he might put that there?

[jenderfazz]

String mutes. Foam is sometimes put underneath the strings on in the bridge to give it a permanent "palm-muted" kind of sound.

[endorka]

I use a piece of foam in this capacity too, it only very lightly presses against the strings so the muting effect is not as pronounced as a palm mute. What it does seem to do is remove the higher frequency overtones from the strings, allowing the bass to sit in the mix better than it usually does. IMHO it sounds great for most things, especially jazz, although perhaps not so great for slap bass.

[cowsgomoo]

yup, it often sounds great to have that mild damping on... it's a key to getting close to both Jamerson's sound and Paul McCartney's Rickenbacker 'Sgt Pepper' sound...

if you look at the pics in the 'Standing In The Shadows Of Motown', one of the guest players (I forget which one) has a big chunk of foam stuffed under his strings near the bridge... it's a common practice when you need a punchy warm sound (and huge sustain aint a requirement)

[geoffkhan]

I use a rag or cloth just like Reggae bassists do.

[leanne]

Try it out, you'll hear the difference. You might even dig it.