Muffled sound

[LennyPenny]

Hi all,

Could anyone give me some pointers to get a nice funky, muffled J-bridge-pickup sound?
I play an ESP LTD B-206 and for funk I really like the sound of the bridge pickup through my headphones (Sennheiser HD457) because it adds a lot of tight bass, making it sound a bit muffled but not 'dead', yet I can't seem to be able to find that tone whitout headphones...
Is there a certain EQ trick that would give me this tone?

Thank you!

 

[schecter5string]

have you tried a foam mute under the strings by the bridge, or something like a scrunchie around the neck by the nut?

 

[LennyPenny]

have you tried a foam mute under the strings by the bridge, or something like a scrunchie around the neck by the nut?

I wouldn't know where to get a piece of foam that size, seems to be the sort of thing you only have lying around by coincidence or you don't. My backpack has padded straps but I'm not going to cut them up for a finger-sized piece of foam.
Scrunchies I can probably find at a store, don't think my girlfriend has the bigger ones, only the thin ones.

Thanks for the input!

 

[CrewsControl]

Would a sponge, cut to size, work under the bridge? Or is a sponge to firm for this purpose? I'm thinking of the kind that doesn't dry out.

 

[bigswifty1]

I used a simple kitchen sponge. One of those ones that are usually yellow, with very fine pores and they often have a hard green coarse scourer on one side. Hack the scourer bit off, then just cut to size. Might take a couple of tries to get it right, but kitchen sponges are cheap Don't forget to taper it, so the treble side is narrower than the bass side (one of the reasons it can take a few tries).

There are lots of uses for them, including getting "that" sound. Also I use them on one song where the fingering is difficult for me (I'm crap technically) and my muting is poor as a result. The foam mute is a nice little safety harness for a few notes where my muting isn't perfect.

For context, the main instrument I use it on is a J with TI Jazz Flats.

Mike

 

[LennyPenny]

Don't forget to taper it, so the treble side is narrower than the bass side (one of the reasons it can take a few tries).

Thanks for the suggestions!

Why does the treble side have to be narrower? I suspect it takes less mass and a smaller surface to mute the strings as they get thinner?

 

[LennyPenny]

Oh the irony, I just noticed that there's some really nice foam in my Fender gigbag (it's got a small tear in it)...

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Oh the irony, I just noticed that there's some really nice foam in my Fender gigbag (it's got a small tear in it)...

Try flatwounds

 

[LennyPenny]

Try flatwounds

I have, they don't feel right to me, somehow a bit sticky on my plucking fingers and too smooth on my fretting fingers.

 

[Mushroo]

"Funky" sound in my opinion is all about mids (don't cut them!) and technique/touch on the instrument: left-hand muting, right-hand muting, dead/ghost notes, where you pluck the strings with you right hand, playing with a light touch, etc. For example on Youtube there are some excellent Rocco Prestia Fingerstyle Funk lessons, check them out!