P Bass Rubber mute-above the strings or below

[Joebone]

I've also done it both ways (with the exact same type of foam rubber) , and, as far as I can tell, it makes no difference at all.

I've never thought of doing it with foam rubber. And both ways? Interesting...

 

[Batmensch]

You and the horse you rode in on ...

 

[Latitude94941]

Of course it does change intonation. The fact remains that piles of classic sings were recorded that way and all sound great. Why? Because obsessing over a few cents of intonation that human ears can't hear in a mix is in vain. If you want a mute tone, you use a mute and don't worry about it. End of story.

Hi, 96tbird,

My thinking is that most of the players on those classic recordings kept the mutes in place full-time, so that their basses were set up to play in tune with the mutes on. My post was about the intonation changes I've personally experienced from adding a mute to an instrument that has has already been correctly intonated without one. On my basses, with my strings, and my pieces of foam, the change in intonation was more than a few cents.

While you are right that many classic recordings suffer from all kinds of intonation problems (some emanating from sources other than the intonation/setup of the individual instruments, such as the lack of climate control in the studios) we live in a different world today. Producers and engineers today would never accept the intonation issues present on those classic recordings. By the mid 70s, producers were citing James Jamerson's intonation problems as a reason for not calling him for their sessions.

 

[Linnin]

Here's something to consider - watch your intonation:

I've been putting foam under the strings in front of the bridge for a long time and only recently checked my intonation with the foam in place and HOLY COW it was way off. Pulled the foam out and intonation was right back to where I'd set it previously.

I'm sure I could just use a softer type of foam or just cut it a little shorter next time so it's not pushing up quiet as hard, but what I'm actually planning to try next is to still use a thick piece of foam, and still put it under the strings, but this time cut slots into it for each string to ride through the foam instead of on top of it. I'm assuming this won't affect intonation, but I'm not sure if it'll provide enough damping. One way to find out....

^^^ Correctamundo! ^^^ I cut slots in mine.

 

[96tbird]

Hi, 96tbird,

My thinking is that most of the players on those classic recordings kept the mutes in place full-time, so that their basses were set up to play in tune with the mutes on. My post was about the intonation changes I've personally experienced from adding a mute to an instrument that has has already been correctly intonated without one. On my basses, with my strings, and my pieces of foam, the change in intonation was more than a few cents.

While you are right that many classic recordings suffer from all kinds of intonation problems (some emanating from sources other than the intonation/setup of the individual instruments, such as the lack of climate control in the studios) we live in a different world today. Producers and engineers today would never accept the intonation issues present on those classic recordings. By the mid 70s, producers were citing James Jamerson's intonation problems as a reason for not calling him for their sessions.

Duly noted. In this age of playing along with cold, perfect machines engineers insist on sucking the life out of the human generated music too. And so it goes.

This is why there'll probably never be another golden age of music.

 

[Ghastly]

I play the way it was designed (not meaning to sound snobby). It looks classier. I love the look of the covers and have learned to play with them in place, and I also love the thud of the muted strings. My foam strip is inside the cover.

 

[Michael King]

I too have the cover on and a piece of black foam attached to it and it sounds great. But I found I really get a better thud, muted woody sound by adding a piece of foam under the strings. I have it somewhat crammed inside the bridge cover.

 

[Ghastly]

I tried the foam under the strings and it definitely works, but it sounded a little too dull for my tastes. It could have been too thick, but I liked the sound of the strip in the cover so that's how I left it.

 

[Michael King]

I tried the foam under the strings and it definitely works, but it sounded a little too dull for my tastes. It could have been too thick, but I liked the sound of the strip in the cover so that's how I left it.

The foam strip in the cover certainly has the sound, that's for sure. Sometimes I take it out from under the strings to get a little brighter thud.

 

[johnhenry]

That seems like what I've been looking for. What kind of foam is that? It appears softer and more porous than insulation foam. More like a photo I have the foam mounted under the bridge cover. Thanks!

 

[JKos]

What kind of foam is that?

Hi John,
Besides the fact this thread is 4 years and 3 months old, whose foam are you referring to?

As to over or under, I've always thought it should make a difference, because... If the foam is under the strings, then, as you move up the neck, more pressure is put on the strings by the foam. However, if the foam is above the strings, then the pressure reduces as you move up the neck. That should make a difference.

- John

 

[ThudThudThud]

I always go under the strings.
Seems like any piece of electrical equipment that you buy these days is packed in some sort of techno-foam.
I always give it a prod to see if it will be suitable for my basses (some is, some isn't).
I think the last batch I got was from a box for a PC tower (my son's gaming PC).
One I really liked, though, came from a bicycle helmet. The helmet was shipped with various sizes of spare foam pads. Some sizes were really good. Clean looking too.
If you try a bike shop they may have some hanging around.
I've also used (in the studio) a yellow dusting/polishing cloth folded up and wedged in. Doesn't look great, but it did the trick.

 

[dsteinschneider]

I was watching a Reverb video about recreating the recordings of Motown. They showed a photo I've seen of Jamerson - I noticed it looks like he has something taped under the strings just past the pickup.

 

[GIBrat51]

On my '78 Fender P-Bass? Weatherstripping foam (from Lowes, since Sears is no more); glued into the bridge cover, over the strings (GHS M3050 Precision Flats); and, played with a pick...