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Bass Mutes?

bassmastan

Guest
Jun 25, 2011
939
192
I saw today a video where a guy had a bass mute on his fender p. I thought to myself wow where can I get me one! After about five minutes on the interwebs I stumbled upon the website for them. They don't give a lot of info about them, but does anyone know where I can get one/get fitted for the mute? Does anyone have experiance with them? Are they damaging in anyway?
 
I have one on my pbass clone. It does work, but you have to be careful about how far from the bridge you put it. (Use the sticky stuff to experiment before you drill! I probably won't drill at all, to be honest.) Search for threads here on TB. Setting each string's mute takes some time. The unit seems well built/engineered.

I like it, but as others have said, there are less expensive options. I'm kind of a gearhead, so I dig it. YMMV.

The guy selling these is, IIRC, in Holland, so communication can be spotty. I had some problems emailing him, but finally connected. He apologized, saying he had been on the road.

Good luck. Let us know how it works out.
 
What's the website? There's some real junk out there. Buy some cheap foam remnants at a local foam shop and experiment.

+1

To save even more money, I use the dark grey foam pads from the box pickups come in. I made a couple sizes to vary the effect.

I cut one 1" thick, 1" wide, and 4" long with a beveled slope cut on one end so it slides under the stings easier. The other one is 1/2" thick, and 3/4" wide. Then back it with adhesive felt so it slides in and out smoothly as the foam tends to 'grab' the finish when stuffing it under the strings.

Or buy a Ric, there is a mute in the tailpiece ;)
 

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I recently bought a Sadowsky with this on it (click on it to see up close)
<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/KevinlaneB/Gear%20FS/?action=view&amp;current=eb9127bb.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/KevinlaneB/Gear%20FS/th_eb9127bb.jpg" border="0" alt="Close up of bridge and the BassMute, Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" ></a>

And suprisingly I liked it. I was VERY skeptical.
Gonna try to replace the mutes on my MM Classic5
 
Wow that brings back memories. I had a very cheapo bass back in the early 70s that had some sort of mute on it, and my brother had a hollowbody electric that also had a mute.

Theoretically it's a great concept, as you'd no longer need to choose between 'live' and muted sounding strings.
 
I recently bought a Sadowsky with this on it (click on it to see up close)
<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/KevinlaneB/Gear%20FS/?action=view&amp;current=eb9127bb.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/KevinlaneB/Gear%20FS/th_eb9127bb.jpg" border="0" alt="Close up of bridge and the BassMute, Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" ></a>

And suprisingly I liked it. I was VERY skeptical.
Gonna try to replace the mutes on my MM Classic5

That is one of the Dutch mechanical bass mutes... they do a great job from what I've heard. I contacted the maker and was informed (after 3 emails) that they are currently waiting for parts before building a new batch.

Andy
 
+1

To save even more money, I use the dark grey foam pads from the box pickups come in. I made a couple sizes to vary the effect.

I cut one 1" thick, 1" wide, and 4" long with a beveled slope cut on one end so it slides under the stings easier. The other one is 1/2" thick, and 3/4" wide. Then back it with adhesive felt so it slides in and out smoothly as the foam tends to 'grab' the finish when stuffing it under the strings.

Or buy a Ric, there is a mute in the tailpiece ;)

+1 to this idea!

Just tried it and fell in love with it after about 30 seconds of playing. If you have some old pickup foam laying around, this is definitely a cheap and easy way to get some old school thump.
 
I use a piece of neoprene under the strings in one my basses, I have used regular cheap plastic sponge, most of the time I palm mute, but I have to add that if you can get a mechanically adjustable one, it does make a difference.... I have my Rick 4001v63 set up so that the RIC rubber mutes just touches the string, a bit more and a bit less you just don't get that Beatles sound in a recording context. And slipping in a piece of inert soft material gets you in the ballpark but if you want to nail that tone, it doesn't do it for me. YMMV. Also the height from body surface to bottom of string vary, as do the density of the inert material and the thickness it presents, the springing action against the strings etc.... you want to try and work it with a scissors till you get the right dimensions that give YOU that right amount of muting to your desire.
 
The bridge cover on my Hi-Flier has a foam mute. Not using it right now because the flats on it now are pretty dead already. Putting on new strings this weekend.

I'm with 'mazareth' on the idea of foam mutes. Be it insulation foam strips, hair scrunchies or foam rubber,
I'm good with using flats. Plenty thumpy in and of themselves. Although I don't discount the use of mutes when needed.
Just not every song, every gig.
 
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I saw today a video where a guy had a bass mute on his fender p. I thought to myself wow where can I get me one! After about five minutes on the interwebs I stumbled upon the website for them. They don't give a lot of info about them, but does anyone know where I can get one/get fitted for the mute? Does anyone have experiance with them? Are they damaging in anyway?
There's a thread here about that mute, the last few pages are relavent, prior to that it's all about the frustration of try to get 'em: The BassMute returns!