How to make my bass sound dull?

[Jayy]

I guess it is kind of wierd because most people don't like their bass sounding dull and "dead", but I wish mine did.
I've always had a copy of P-bass of such a bad quality that it is not even worth the effort of throwing it to the garbage, and i've just recently bought a new one, a Marcus M v9.
I thought I could still use my old P if I managed to make it sound really dull, acoustic and "dead". Maybe I un-fret it myself and put some flatwounds on it, but I'm a student, flatwounds are expensive, and I don't have much money, so I might leave it for later (i'm guessing it is a bad idea to un-fret it and leave it with the roundwounds it has: it would damage the fretboard, right?).
So, how can I achieve that sound? The strings i have on are like a year old or so and already sound slightly dull. How can I accelerate their ageing process? Any other tip?

 

[michael_t]

The strings i have on are like a year old or so and already sound slightly dull. How can I accelerate their ageing process? Any other tip?

Play, play... and play some more...

(I personally don't subscribe to the idea of smearing all kinds of crap on the strings to "speed up the aging process", like some people will inevitably suggest in this thread. Just wait and see...)

 

[two fingers]

Foam under the strings near the bridge. There are a zillion ways to do it.... some prettier than others.

 

[shoulderpet]

I guess it is kind of wierd because most people don't like their bass sounding dull and "dead", but I wish mine did.
I've always had a copy of P-bass of such a bad quality that it is not even worth the effort of throwing it to the garbage, and i've just recently bought a new one, a Marcus M v9.
I thought I could still use my old P if I managed to make it sound really dull, acoustic and "dead". Maybe I un-fret it myself and put some flatwounds on it, but I'm a student, flatwounds are expensive, and I don't have much money, so I might leave it for later (i'm guessing it is a bad idea to un-fret it and leave it with the roundwounds it has: it would damage the fretboard, right?).
So, how can I achieve that sound? The strings i have on are like a year old or so and already sound slightly dull. How can I accelerate their ageing process? Any other tip?

I know you don't want to hear this but Flatwounds are what you need, if your strings are a year old there not going to go much deader sounding than they already are, a year is a long time to not change roundwounds, you can get Fender flatwounds relatively cheap and flatwounds will last you for years

 

[buldog5151bass]

Foam under the strings by the bridge, and turning the tone knob down on your bass and amp. Other than flats, that's about all you can do.

 

[Linnin]

Foam under the strings by the bridge, and turning the tone knob down on your bass and amp. Other than flats, that's about all you can do.

^^^this^^^ + KFC and a half full glass of straight bourbon whiskey (for you).

 

[buldog5151bass]

^^^this^^^ + KFC and a half full glass of straight bourbon whiskey (for you).

Thank you. I'll be here all week. Be sure and try the veal, and tips your servers...

 

[dkelley]

Seriously. Silly love songs tone, right? Rickenbacker with the foam bridge mutes engaged. Awesome tone for that style

 

[16notes]

 

[Epitaph04]

Could also just turn the treble or tone pot down..

 

[devnulljp]

And if you can't afford foam, learn to palm mute

 

[Doctor J]

Seriously. Silly love songs tone, right? Rickenbacker with the foam bridge mutes engaged. Awesome tone for that style

Can't afford flatwounds? Buy a Ric!

 

[2tonic]

How to make my bass sound dull?

Sorry, there are no dull basses..........only dull bassists.

 

[equill]

Second-hand flatwounds? They'll already be pre-deadened, as well as being cheaper.

Don't bother de-fretting your bass, unless you really want to learn fretless (in which case, prepare carefully and go for it). You can get a perfectly dull sound with frets.

 

[interp]

Foam under the strings near the bridge. Bite the bullet and get some TI Jazz Flats; they are the cheapest flats available based on cost-per-use. Put out some cash once and you're set for at least 5-6 years.

If you don't like them for some absurd reason there are plenty of TBers (myself included) who will buy them from you used.

 

[nnnnnn]

a year is a long time to not change roundwounds

Only for some people. I haven't changed the round-wound strings on my main bass for several years, and they still sound good. Not dull. No longer bright enough for slap, but I don't often slap - I'd change them more often if I did. I find that once the initial new string brightness wears off they tend to settle into a tone that doesn't really degrade much further. I do keep them clean though: only play with clean hands, and wipe the strings down when I finish playing.

I know there are other people on this site who leave their rounds on indefinitely.

 

[Biffa]

Seriously. Silly love songs tone, right? Rickenbacker with the foam bridge mutes engaged. Awesome tone for that style

He can't afford the 30 bucks for flatwounds, the 3 grand for a 4001 is probably out

 

[teh-slb]

View attachment 3391160

Is the pick essential for the dullness of tone?

 

[admh1972]

 

[admh1972]

Is the pick essential for the dullness of tone?

Probably not, I found the thumb is. But I personally like the sound of the pick v my flats but if I use a pick I'm using 1.14 mm