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GRUV GEAR Palm Mute device!
- Thread starter soong
- Start date
Obviously no price listed yet for the palm mute, but if the price of their fret wraps ($30
) is anything to go by, then I'll be staying with the DIY version. 
I don't know Chef, if it truly is a substitute for palm muting then this device opens up the possibilities for your right hand. You can play rapid fire lines more easily when the side of your palm isn't resting on the strings. Foam mutes don't sound the same as a flesh mute. I'm thinking more like Gary Willis sound. I hate using tools to substitute for technique, but this is may very well be a useful product to augment the muted sound.
Fair enough. You are entitled to your opinion. However, IMO if "tools" help to get the sound you require, then I dont see any reason not to use them. Victor Wotton has been seen using a hair "scrunchie" as a fret wrap, and Carol Kaye has being using the foam mute for years.
Doubt if their technique is lacking in any way.
Woah, I think you're taking that line a bit out of context. I didn't say those players had bad technique, nor did I say using a tool like a gruv gear mute is necessarily a substitution or compensation for technique. Victor Wooten needs the fret wrap because his down up pluck pluck technique makes it nearly impossible to mute the other strings on the bass. Carol Kaye and a litany of other players use the foam mutes because they achieve a unique sound that only foam can obtain. I mean, I even defended the tool in the post if you look after the comma.
And when I say something like: I hate using tools to substitute for technique, it means that I hate doing just that. It has nothing to do with how I look at other players.
An update for those interested; the mute is released next week: GRUV GEAR · Fump - Bridge Muter/Dampener for Bass Guitar · MAKE LIFE GRUV
Misleading title. It's not a "palm mute" device, it's a bridge mute device...you know, like they used to have on Fenders, Stingrays, and Rics.
Looks like a tater chip clip. Looks incredibly goofy. Shove a piece of foam under the bridge or use your palm.
It's not "new technology". Fenders, Stingrays, and Rickenbackers have all had factory mutes in the past.
Here's the thing - you can have all the technique in the world and be a master palm-muter and you'll STILL not get the same effect as having foam mutes on the strings. Like elgecko said, this is nothing new. When the P bass was introduced it had mutes under the bridge cover to cut down on sustain and make the electric bass sound like the more familiar double bass. Fast forward to 60 years later and that particular tone has become desirable again. I challenge you to play "What Is Hip" by Tower of Power while palm-muting: it ain't gonna happen.
That being said, I'm not entirely sold on this mute. I like the idea of just being able to slide it on, but the tone from all the videos I've seen is TOO muted. It doesn't quite have that classic, Motown thump. Not that there isn't merit in the tone it creates - I'm sure that someone will use this to great effect. I'd love to hear someone use this on a P or a Jazz - strange that the demo videos are on an active 5 stringer. Wouldn't have been my first choice.
That being said, I'm not entirely sold on this mute. I like the idea of just being able to slide it on, but the tone from all the videos I've seen is TOO muted. It doesn't quite have that classic, Motown thump. Not that there isn't merit in the tone it creates - I'm sure that someone will use this to great effect. I'd love to hear someone use this on a P or a Jazz - strange that the demo videos are on an active 5 stringer. Wouldn't have been my first choice.
And I've used a piece of scrap foam, too. What I won't use is some manufactured device selling for $20 that does nothing better. But there's a buyer for everything.
What is amusing to me is how people in this thread jump to the defense. I didn't insult yo' momma, just made a personal observation.
That's a valid point...essentially what the Fender mute was. I was just responding to the people saying that it's a new invention to mask bad technique. It's a new invention to approximate historical factory mutes...I don't even like mutes.
Gruv Gear does make a bad ass cart though!
the one advantage I can see to this over foam is the quickness that you can get it on and off, I will probably pickup one for rapid fire changes on some of my Corporate band gigs which seem to have about 10-15 seconds max between songs. Getting foam in and out of the strings in that amount of time is a real pain in the butt
I got one as an add-on to a string order. It mutes way too much. I had hopes for freeing up my right hand technique and the ease of getting it on and off between songs. Even all the way at the saddles, it is just too much thud for me. I like a little muting and I do it often with the side of my hand. My flesh can feel the instrument and I can make micro adjustments, and I'm actually more musical with just my hand. So I'll just stick with that. I get the exact sound I want, and have built a muting technique that I'm happy with. Just my $.02
Bummer - based on the videos, that was my concern. I'll stick it out and wait for the BassMute to start manufacturing again: The BassMute - A smart muting device for Bass Players
Can you comment on the type of foam they used in the Fump? In the video you could hear the foam scrape against the strings as he put it on and it sounded like a harder, more plasticky foam than that on the Bassmute. Thoughts?
Can you comment on the type of foam they used in the Fump? In the video you could hear the foam scrape against the strings as he put it on and it sounded like a harder, more plasticky foam than that on the Bassmute. Thoughts?
There is the outer plastic arm, then a layer of foam rubber, then the part that actually contacts the strings is velcro loop material (not the hook part).
