Foam mute -- Why didn't I do this years ago?

[BlackThursday]

Foam mute--Why didn't I do this years ago?

Because it wasn't a trendy TB must-have, that's why. But yea looke now upon what thou hath wrought--you done gone and kicked-off the Next Big TB Craze: foam mutes! Flatwounds are SO last year, y'all; but if you rush there may still be time enough to jump on the Foam Mute Bandwagon before it becomes passé (again).

And yes, your suspicions are correct--I myself keep a few different foam strips to use when appropriate, which is frankly not all that often. And I have a bass strung with flatwounds, too.

 

[Osprey]

I've become so used to having clean sustain on my Status bass (graphite neck) that playing melodic lines on my P bass sometimes sounds surprising. But I LOVE the use of foam sometimes under the strings on any bass for several reasons:
1. It's so low-tec and simple.
2. It gives me extra tone-flexibility.
3. I read Bob Babbitt about recording "Standing in the Shadows of Motown": he said he grabbed a bit of sponge from the washroom and pushed it under his strings. How's that for fuss-free greatness?

 

[bassbenj]

So far this thread's been all about damping near the bridge, but what about damping near the nut? Anybody using Jennifer Batten's String Damper that mounts on the headstock and flips up out of the way? Kinda like the one from the 80s, it was called the Kleen-Axe.

Don't know about Kleen-Axe, but you can still get the Batten String Damper through All Parts

I don't see damping at the nut being useful since it doesn't damp any fretted notes. It's used for people into tapping to damp the unwanted side of the strings, no?

I'm not a tapper, but it seems to me that these dampers are just fancier versions of the scrunchies tappers use to damp the strings when tapping, right?

 

[JimB52]

Does anyone find that a piece of foam stuffed under the strings near the bridge affects intonation? Sure seems to for me.


.

 

[dastarichoff]

I just found out today about the whole foam mute thingie. As a pick player I find it unconveniant to mute strings with my palm all the time, since it does affect my potential speed and freedom of movement. Tried out mounting a foam straight from a pack in which my SPB-3 came last week - it's just so simple, yet so amazing! Will see how it works out after few days.

 

[Duckwater]

I love foam mutes. I play with a band with 3 loud, fuzzed out, mid scooped, long sustaining, overtone abundant guitars going off at once so I go for the exact opposite sound. I get a clean, full range, percussive sound with flats that always asserts itself in our instrument mix and sliding a foam mute in front of the bridge contributes to that percussiveness.

 

[Duckwater]

Does anyone find that a piece of foam stuffed under the strings near the bridge affects intonation? Sure seems to for me.

Never happened to me, but once I jammed a big piece of foam way too tightly under the strings for it to mute them properly. It ended up creating an almost sitar-like vibrato which was really cool sounding but wasn't translated through my pickups.

 

[Old Fart]

I love foam mutes. I play with a band with 3 loud, fuzzed out, mid scooped, long sustaining, overtone abundant guitars going off at once so I go for the exact opposite sound. I get a clean, full range, percussive sound with flats that always asserts itself in our instrument mix and sliding a foam mute in front of the bridge contributes to that percussiveness.

Yup. Percussive. As I mentioned, you can actually drive your tone down BELOW that of the kickdrum. Rave-esque. Uber-turbo-THUMP.

 

[Clark Dark]

I see there's a whole lot of bougieness going on. I have a soft cotton towel that I just roll up and place under the strings near the bridge and it works just fine. Plus side is when it's muggy I can also dab the sweat from my brow. I don't need no stinkin' foam LOLLOLLOL

 

[dirtbeard]

Yes, if you use too thick a piece of foam it can throw off your intonation, but if you keep the mute so it just fits snug under the strings there wont be a problem.

 

[soxhats]

This is a great thread.

 

[Feral Feline]

I don't see damping at the nut being useful since it doesn't damp any fretted notes. It's used for people into tapping to damp the unwanted side of the strings, no?

I'm not a tapper, but it seems to me that these dampers are just fancier versions of the scrunchies tappers use to damp the strings when tapping, right?

Right! My entire post was a feeble attempt at humour since I've nothing substantive to add to the thread. Just yearnin' to learnin' as much as possible.

I'm going to go try some latté foam under my bridge now, I heard it gives you a creamier tone. Sorry, milking it. C'mon now, don't be lactose humour intolerant. The next time I take a shot at being funny, I'll think butter of it. Admit it, at least 2% of y'all think it's funny. Ahh I could keep skimming along 'til the cows come home. Have you herd the one about...?

 

[thelimey]

I think the cool thing about foam mutes is it's an instant tone changer which allows you to play with anchoring your hand (like palm muting). It's isnt for everyone but $2 for a sponge (or skip diving for some foam) is a pretty cheap experiment.
I use one on my violin bass during recording and it still has plenty of attack but more upright type thickness, really does something special tone wise.

 

[missbassfreak]

Because it wasn't a trendy TB must-have, that's why. But yea looke now upon what thou hath wrought--you done gone and kicked-off the Next Big TB Craze: foam mutes! Flatwounds are SO last year, y'all; but if you rush there may still be time enough to jump on the Foam Mute Bandwagon before it becomes passé (again).

And yes, your suspicions are correct--I myself keep a few different foam strips to use when appropriate, which is frankly not all that often. And I have a bass strung with flatwounds, too.

I think the cool thing about foam mutes is it's an instant tone changer which allows you to play with anchoring your hand (like palm muting). It's isnt for everyone but $2 for a sponge (or skip diving for some foam) is a pretty cheap experiment.
I use one on my violin bass during recording and it still has plenty of attack but more upright type thickness, really does something special tone wise.

Trendy?? Really??

It is a certain sound that with the help of something as simple as a sock.. rolled up towel.. or the like can be obtained. The type of sound that definitely has its place. But, As some have made it very clear, is not for everyone. Or maybe you have just not used that particular color yet. When you sit down to color you don't just stick to black white and grey...right? (well I'm sure some do) Anyway, the good thing about the Patton Mute is it is covered. The cover is something that is picked out by you. Something to reflect you personality/playing. It is not going to crumble away on you like a sponge would. It is also even in thickness from E-G. No messing around trying to get that towel just right. Also, you can remove it easily, no drilling holes or disfiguring your bass to get that sound.
so yeah...Trendy no...its like a pedal ..or just another color in the crayon box.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f233/patton-mute-pad-985663/


All the best,
Amy

 

[Bassic Playing]

I tried the whole foam mute thing as a test. Sounded awesome solo, but when I then played with a drum it became indistinguishable from the kick drum.

 

[PaulieBe]

Foam mutes can really make a bass sound pop in a counter-intuitive way; modern basses are so sustain-y, aggressive and often compressed to the point that they can easily become just a constant layer in the cake. I feel like the space they (mutes) force can really make for some interesting choices.

The prob for me has always been dealing w going back and forth on the fly live or during a song w a piece of foam. The bassmute (bassmute.com) is the most elegant solution I have yet seen.

It has three different settings and is a very engineered piece of gear. Kind of similar to a Hipshot D tuner in how ubiquitous it deserves to be. The prob is that the guys manufacturing are notoriously hard to get in touch w about it and seem to have stopped production for the moment. I have them on a couple of Fenders.

Other than that, I have been shoving foam in front of bridges for a couple of decades. Great sound. Classic.

 

[bassbenj]

I tried the whole foam mute thing as a test. Sounded awesome solo, but when I then played with a drum it became indistinguishable from the kick drum.

Which is why it is important to adjust the amount of muting. On my Carvin AC50 there is no birdge pickup so simply by sliding the foam away from the bridge (more damping) or toward it (less damping) you can control the tone.

The idea, of course is to make the bass tend to be more like a kick drum (which is so damped as to have virtually no pitch) but not so damped that you start to lose the bass pitch needed as base for harmony.

Which is why that "bassmute.com" thing seems nice if you do have a bridge pickup in the way as it has three damping setting. Doesn't seem readily available though. Maybe TB can talk GC into carrying them!

 

[Jimmythebass]

I seem to remember a rocker type switch on my Fender VI bass. It pivoted in the middle parallel with the bridge and had foam on the back edge about 3/8" thick that rotated up.

 

[Ferret]

Just buy a Ricky - they all have them my 69 did, my 98 did my 2012 does

 

[huckleberry1]

I just now put mutes on my Fender Jazz 5 after reading this, wow!