Hair tie looking thing..?

[jblmusic1994]

What are these hairtie-esque things that I see on some basses? They are usually at the very top of the neck near the nut, and a good percentage of the time, they are on 5 or 6 stinger basses.

My only guess is that they are there to kill any unnecessary overtones on the low strings.

Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Fat_Joe]

Do you have a picture? I have no idea, but someone might recognize them if they see them.

 

[Rockin Mike]

Yes they are there to dampen unwanted open string resonations, especially when tapping.

 

[ArtechnikA]

You can pay $20 for an o-fficial string damper.
Or you can buy a bag of scrunchies at any grocery for $1.

I learned this from watching a Victor Wooten interview, and it works for me...

I'd probably buy the gauzey terrycloth style if I had a choice, but the day I went shopping, all I could find were lacey frilly ones. Mneh. They work fine...

 

[Rockin Mike]

I find a wrist sweatband works well. Sometimes I have to sew them up a bit to get them tight enough.

 

[hrodbert696]

You can pay $20 for an o-fficial string damper.
Or you can buy a bag of scrunchies at any grocery for $1.

I learned this from watching a Victor Wooten interview, and it works for me...

I'd probably buy the gauzey terrycloth style if I had a choice, but the day I went shopping, all I could find were lacey frilly ones. Mneh. They work fine...

+1. Used as a damper when slapping or tapping.

 

[Slade N]

tapping is for kegs and a$$e$....really tho, its a great simple fix

 

[mark beem]

Back when I still played 7 & 8 string basses I found the rubber, no-skid shelf mat material worked better for me than the hair ties. Just cut a small slice and run it under the strings at the nut.

 

[jlepre]

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[jblmusic1994]

Thanks, guys.