How much sustain am I missing?

[Gopherbassist]

Have you ever tried dampening your stings with a mute?

Never.

 

[Nuisance]

That would be an interesting question for a thread of its own. Personally, playing since '72, I never have. IMO seems it could be useful for Motown or Reggae but questionable for anything I've ever played (rock, prog, jazz). Palm muting for on-demand seems adequate.

I guess that's petty much my point. Dampening (in one form or another) has been a need from time to time. But never once have I thought, "Gee, I need more sustain."

 

[BassicJazzy]

I guess that's petty much my point. Dampening (in one form or another) has been a need from time to time. But never once have I thought, "Gee, I need more sustain."

Yeah, I cannot remember ever being asked to sustain a note. Get sued for loosening crowns and dentures. It's really a guitar player thing.

I do remember organ players sustaining the bass, but that was an organ player thing. Or those stupid bass pedals (annoying), which got used in prog from time to time. Rutherford used to use them with Genesis so he could play the 12 string for rhythm guitar instead of the bass. Hackett used them on some of his solo work.

 

[2saddleslab]

I use sustain constantly. Maybe because I typically play in trios? But there are many occasions the geetar player & I let it ring out while the drummer adds his fills.

 

[BassicJazzy]

I use sustain constantly. Maybe because I typically play in trios? But there are many occasions the geetar player & I let it ring out while the drummer adds his fills.

I'm curious, what type of music, what bass do you play? Maybe I'm being ignorant, or even am unaware of what I am doing sometimes? Oh no, I am definitely unaware, much of the time, I'm in a trance.

 

[JimmyM]

A comp can help with sustain, but if you overdo it, it doesn’t sound great to me. But I am not a compression fan, so take that as you will.