Fretwraps: Cheating?

[Anatosuchus]

Just got my new Dingwall six on Tuesday and as expected I'm going to need to work hard on my muting technique. Not as expected, this bass is way more prone to ringing than my Ibanez five string - far beyond the fact that there's an extra C on there, it just seems to be way more "alive" or finely balanced and picks up a stack more sympathetic noise from pretty much everything I do.

Obviously the final goal is for me to be so great at muting that it doesn't matter, but short term I find myself eyeing up those neat Fretwrap things. My worry is that this will make me lazy and I'll come to rely on using one instead of sorting myself out.

So, what are your opinions or experience of wraps? Should I suck up more noise in the short term and make sure I work to avoid it or is wrapping not such a crime?

 

[bass12]

Not a crime, but I would be inclined to work on technique first and refine that as much as possible before resorting to a fret wrap of any kind. I’ve been dealing with the same issue recently while working on certain pieces and I find that incorporating some floating thumb helps a lot.

 

[eriky4003]

I puchased a Sterling by Musicman Stingray5 about a year ago. After trying to reduce the ringing for most of the year, I recently got Fretwraps and is saving that bass with me. I have four other basses that I did not have a similar issue with. Is it cheating? I'm going to sell it as 'sweat bands for the bass'!

 

[Watchootognbout]

I use a FretWrap.
Not to mute the B when regular playing,but to mute open strings when tapping.

If you are using all your fingers to tap,the left hand fingers are not available to mute open strings.
So it's not cheating.

The floating thumb works for regular playing.

 

[ClusterFlux]

Wraps can be useful, but should not be a substitute for undeveloped or bad technique. They alter the tone and reduce sustain, which may not be what you bargained for.

It shouldn't take too long to get the technique down, so I'd work on that instead.

 

[TOOL460002]

Depends what you want to achieve. Is treble cut/compressor cheating? That and low action help my prefered fingerstyle tone. Otherwise there would be some unwanted clack or buzz, especially at lower frets. Maybe I'm being a little lazy, but I do prefer a light left hand touch and an aggressive right hand.

Some tricks that work for me and my setup. Two hand tap guys will have super low action and a scrunchie/wrap at the nut, becauae they don't really need open notes. I've used chunks of foam and some basses have built in mechanical mutes.

I say if it is efficient, sounds right, and feels right, use all the tricks you have. Being able to do it "the hard way" is good too. More options. But no, I would not stress on "cheating."

 

[Gustopher]

There is no such thing as cheating. Use a wrap if it helps increase your enjoyment of playing that instrument. I like using one and I can mute really well at this point. It still helps with noise and I like how it sounds especially when playing solo without a band taking up all the space around my playing.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

I don't use a wrap, but I don't see anything as cheating... Music is art. Whatever gets you to the desired result is what you need to do.

Think about it... you could say electric basses, or even frets, are cheating if you come from a stand up bass.

 

[Lesfunk]

I think you can accomplish the same thing without spending $30
For $1 you can get a lifetime supply of these.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I think the OP is hearing the unmuted strings more because a) there's an extra string, b) this bass is more alive. So the same strings were just ringing all the times but couldn't be heard because they were not loud enough or didn't exist. It's more of a technique thing.

Wraps are completely fine. It's just another tool and if it makes you sound better, use it. If you think using wraps is cheating, then using a noise gate is too IMO. An instrument is a tool and the best tool is the one that accomplishes what the musician has in mind the easiest way. Music is no competition.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Is it cheating? Let’s say you’re out at a party and someone has a bass and they say, hey, Tommy plays bass. (Not sure what your name is, so substitute as needed.) They hand you a bass and your response is, nah, I don’t have my fret wrap. Yes, it’s cheating, but sometimes cheating is perfectly fine. But if you’re reliant on a thingy, then you’re just hurting yourself.

 

[phillipkregg]

Totally cheating.

I'm reporting you to the Bass Player's Ethics Association immediately

 

[Bikeguy57]

Nonsense. pros use them. It's not a competion. Anything that helps your sound is fair game.

 

[wmhill]

It's not a capo... you're okay

 

[bigswifty1]

I would use them live if I needed to, and definitely for recording. I would practise without them, except as needed to make sure they work with your playing and sound. Having said that, they only mute the strings “below” your fretting hand so they might not do exactly what you need.

 

[misterCRUSH]

I have one but i only use it for recording certain solo pieces. Live and in practice i go without

 

[Killing Floor]

It's no secret Bjorn Borg wore fret wraps to draw our attention away from his hot pants.

 

[singlemalt]

Congrats on getting a Dingwall six string! They have an awesome all their own.

It’ll take a while to get used to the wide neck and new muting techniques. I found wearing the bass a little higher helped, I could flatten my left hand more. And get more right hand meat on the strings if I was slapping.

I also had to put all the other basses away and only play the six string. It’s a brain rewire thing. So much fun with a looper, layering the awesome Dingwall low end with chords and noodling. Octave down and octave up makes it exponentially more fun. Throw in some synth sounds and dirt.....

I used a fret wrap. Worked great for cutting down on ringing overtones. Really helped focus things when slapping, tapping, or playing chords. I’d push it over the nut for open string stuff.

The wrap won’t sit quite as nice with the slanted nut and headstock shape, it’ll always be a little on the B and E. Try both the large and medium size. I think the large was a little too large and didn’t quite tighten across the strings evenly. I think the five string size worked better.

Well worth the money, and a nice thing to have.

Need pictures of the Dingwall....

 

[darwin-bass]

Frets are cheating.

Don’t worry about it. FretWrap away!

 

[Malcolm35]

IMO they are just another tool in the tool chest, if they help you use them.
I use flats and foam rubber and no one cares.