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P bass owners - question about foam muting

chuck3

chuck3

Jun 19, 2009
4,469
1,063
Brooklyn & Rhinebeck NY
#1
First, full disclosure - I am a Jazz guy, also play upright and a fretless Sterling. That said, I had the chance to buy a fretless 1978 P so I did, just because of its awesomeness. (Set my budget back for a few months.)

So I have a regular, once a month gig coming up which is kind of "smooth jazz" for want of a better term. I have been using the fretless Sterling for these gigs, but want to try out the P. However, there is a little too much sustain for my taste, to use it for jazz. (It's strung with Chrome Flats, and I am not inclined to change them right now.)

I was thinking about how the "ashtray" used to have foam muting, originally. I think this was on the P as well as the Jazz, although I could be wrong about that.

I can't get an "ashtray" anytime soon, although I'm thinking about trying to find one. But what about the foam muting generally? Do any of you do that or something like it?

Thanks. :bassist:
 
#2
Just get some foam and cut a piece long enough across to cover all strings and thick enough so the strings rest on it. Shove it under the strings up next to the bridge. Cut or move around to your liking. Many people like to have the foam so it is not hitting the bottom two strings - but experiment and see how you like the sound. Lots of players do it, including the pros and legends. It works great.
 
#3
Yep, I went to walmart, went to the automotive section with the car wash stuff, they got this sponge called a "bug scrubber". It's a yellow sponge with a mess material on the outside, cost a dollar, bought that,cut off the material and there's nice,dense, but soft and pliable yellow foam inside. Works great.
 
#4
Keep in mind that Fender paced it ABOVE the strings, not under them. The net effect of that is that as you go up the neck, the strings ring a bit more. If you put the foam under the stings, you get the opposite.
 
#5
mark107 said:
Keep in mind that Fender paced it ABOVE the strings, not under them. The net effect of that is that as you go up the neck, the strings ring a bit more. If you put the foam under the stings, you get the opposite.
Click to expand...

brilliant! i never thought of that. :smug:

as for mutes, i have tried many different materials and cannot find one i am happy with. the best sound to me is when i lightly palm mute and use a pick. i love that tone! and im sure it would sound great if i could palm mute and play finger style. but until i find a mute that sounds as good as my palm, i wont use one.
 
#7
I do it pretty much as Fender did it, mounting it on the underside of the bridge cover.
I took a piece of weather stripping with adhesive on one side, cut it to length (hangs about 1/4" off the sides of the strings), placed a piece of double sided tape cross the strings, where the strings just come off the saddles, matching the angle as close as I can. Place the piece of foam on the tape, adhesive side up, carefully placed the ashtray over it so it is lined up properly. pressed the ashtray down until the foam is attached to the underside. All this is to ensure that the piece of foam is mounted on the cover so it mutes it just the right amount, and to make sure it doesn't interfere with the intonation. The operation is not as complicated as I may have made it sound, and it seems to work for me. Cuts the sustain just enough without deadening it.
 
#8
I have a '76 fretless P (maple fingerboard) and it really has some balls. The original ashtray cover does have some glue/foam residue underneath, so thanks for adding that little nugget of info, mark107. I'm trying to figure out the scientific basis of the sustain difference in above-string and below-string foam muting, but I'll take your word for it!

That said, I wouldn't be too concerned about too much sustain for jazz. I used my upright for years and it sustains longer than the average bass-line note in jazz. And that '78 FL P should have lots of growly mids to use to great advantage. Don't leave them in the cabinet.
 
#9
Personal preference but I prefer the sound with the mute under the strings - Carol Kaye talked about this as well. Also, while the P-basses had it under the bridge cover on top of the strings, the '60-'63 Jazz Basses had it under the strings (4 separate white felt mutes on metal arms - the original thunderbirds copied this as well). Still, worth trying both ways.
 
#10
I use this on my jazz for reggae, and it sounds beautiful.

Just get a piece of that dense foam (I use the kind that you'd find underneath the pickups). Gut a few pieces of cardboard, duct tape those pieces ontop of one another.

Now cut the piece of foam to match your bridge. With my jazz, the 'E string spring' is furthest back, the A is slightly forward, so on and so forth. Now stick the cardboard 'platform' undearneath the string, place the foam ontop of it, and slide at so it's tight up against the bridge (snug so you know for sure it isn't going anywhere).

Until I can decide if I want to use an ashtray, this is the way I do it.
 
#11
Placing foam under the strings (depending on its thickness) can definitely hose up intonation. The thicker the piece of foam, the more it will push up on the strings from below and the greater the negative effect on intonation.
 
#12
major10th said:
Placing foam under the strings (depending on its thickness) can definitely hose up intonation. The thicker the piece of foam, the more it will push up on the strings from below and the greater the negative effect on intonation.
Click to expand...

True, if heavily muting. Though I think the same is true from above if using a particularly thick piece. Both assume one is using it as a sometimes effect rather than a permanent install. If leaving it on, then one could adjust the intonation to compensate to a degree.
 
#13
SR505bassman said:
Just get some foam and cut a piece long enough across to cover all strings and thick enough so the strings rest on it. Shove it under the strings up next to the bridge. Cut or move around to your liking. Many people like to have the foam so it is not hitting the bottom two strings - but experiment and see how you like the sound. Lots of players do it, including the pros and legends. It works great.
Click to expand...

+1

Plus, you can experiment with different foams/sponges until you get the sound you like
 
#17
what I found was that when I put the foam under the strings it messed with my tuning / intonation , when I used a piece of pup foam adhered the the bridge cover It was too much muting , so i had some grey foam from dimarzio model j's like the size of a sponge I cut a piece about 1" wide and cut grooves in it for the strings there is no pressure on the strings but they are completely surrounded by foam .

I can place it under the strings ,or over the strings ,and move it close to the bridge for less muting far from the bridge for more muting and diagonal if I want say the e string notes to decay faster, and it doesnt affect tuning, you can use it for one song and remove it for the next
 
#20
-=DanAtkinson=- said:
Where do you live? How long did it take to arrive? Been eyeing that thing for a while, but I live across the pond.
Click to expand...

I'm in Massachusetts and I received it a few weeks after I ordered it. I like the adjustability, three settings (open, light mute, heavy mute) and its easy to install. What sold me is when I saw Babbitt using one.
 

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