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Double Bass how to play silently

jj.833

jj.833

Oct 19, 2006
1,412
2,240
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prague czech republic
#1
Hi,
I'm practising in the evening and neighbours have a small kid. Apartment house, acousticaly insulated, but still they can hear me. To my comfort, I'd like to find a way to practise without disturbing them.

I'm hoping there might be some simple methods to make the bass play more silently, without losing much of the feel. Maybe putting the endpin on some polystyrene pad, or putting a towel around the bass body, etc. (Yes, this sounds stupid even to me.)

I don't play bow (almost), just plucking.

Does somebody have experience in this?
 
#3
Well, I wouldn't say what I do makes it "silent" but it does quiet it down:

Big rubber mute on the bridge (I have even seen some that have a brass piece as well as the rubber, so I would expect these are even more effective)
Stuff socks into f holes
Set the end pin on a piece of foam rubber.

If I play softly, I don't think it's any louder than a TV set at a medium level. The low frequency does mean it will transmit through floors and walls almost despite anything you do.

Personally if I really really needed to make no noise, I would get an EUB that is set up the same as your bass, and use a little practice amp and headphones. That way you can play with a full pizzicato touch and not develop a habit of just lightly touching the strings which could be very difficult to break when you need to play with full volume.
 
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#5
jasonrp said:
If you're happy with note toned thumps, wrap a bandanna around the strings above the bridge. Then I can play full strength and not make too much racket when I'm working on different slaps for a song. If you require some sustain, loosen the wrap around the strings. It's a surprisingly adjustable little trick
Click to expand...
That also works well with a piece of foam (sponge might work too) with cuts in string distance. Depending on the distance from the bridge the note is more or less damped.

You can also cut foam in the form of your f-holes. Glue a bit larger foam piece onto that and it won't fall into your bass.

For the endpin find a wood plate or a disc where you can stuck the endpin into to distribute the weight onto the foam. That way the foam doesn't get compressed so much. Not too large or you have a new resonance plate (but it gets damped if it sits completely not the foam). Don't forget to compensate the endpin length for it.
 
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#6
Thank you, nice ideas. I'll try them all.
(I have lots of odd socks, and if I use all sponges, I won't have to wash my dishes anymore, right? :)

About the EUB options: how many of you will advocate practising on EUB while gigging with DB? I personally doubt it will work very well, as I find the fingerwork/acoustic relation extremely vivid and sensitive, I could probably say that the troublesome beauty of acoustic sound is a sole reason to use double bass at all. But I haven't tried EUB for many years, maybe they leaped in technology...
 
#7
For EUBs that won't get too expensive look for the Italian MK EUBs.

I think an open cell foam like sponge is not ideal for the f-hole, better is closed cell foam like rubber foam. Sorry for misguiding you, but you can try with small cell open foam if that much cheaper than closed cell foam.

A solid body EUB is still more quiet than a damped acoustic double bass but specially bowing is less good on an EUB (I know, you only play pizzicato).

For practicing, even if you get an EUB also practice on your damped DB when possible since the instruments are always different in some way.
 
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#9
i agree with muting, but it is also good to practice your touch-related dynamic volume control. Not that most acoustic double basses are screamers, but as you practice touch-related dynamic volume control on any instrument, you also dramatically improve your touch-related tone sensitivity.
 
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#11
Yesterday I tried:
- covering the F-holes. It helped just a very little, the playing feel didn't change
- muting the strings on the bridge (with variety of sponges and textiles). This helps a lot, but kills the sustain and harmonics (of course)
- putting the endpin on a insulated board. Don't know whether this helped, because my poor physics theory knowledge tells me that it could only be evaluated in the next room. I'll ask the neighbours.

I ordered this thing and will check it out.
 
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#12
I have a similar mute and it does quiet things down but the neighbors say they can still hear me. You don't really notice how much it quiets unless you have someone take it off while you are playing
 
#16
My best results (I use a bow to practice): Rubber practice mute, Portable isolation booth, thick foam mat with a carpet underneath, small fan blowing to help "cover up" some sound. I've found this to really work, work enough that I can get my 2am practice sessions in without waking everyone.
 
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