Quick question: Sympathetic Vibrations

[Lowpro]

Assuming I have the definition pertaining to playing bass correct: Sympathetic vibrations on the strings is when you are, say playing on the A string, and your E strings starts to vibrate freely.

How to I keep the vibrations from occuring, or perhaps dampen them. They get pretty loud and the only way to mute em is to take my thumb off my pickup and rest it on the string.

 

[tplyons]

Technique. There are two ways to do this: left hand muting and right hand muting.

I personally do a lot of left hand muting, whereas the fingers that aren't fretting a note are resting on the other strings, preventing sympathetic vibrations.

The other option is right hand muting, basically meaning moving your thumb to where it needs to be to keep this from happening.

 

[Lowpro]

Hmm, well I've tried both, but my technique for both is off. With left-hand muting, I keep ringing out harmonics, even when I try the 4th fret area and using three fingers at once. With left hand muting I'm just a little slow moving my thumb away from the current string if I have to go through strings quickly. I know that it's a matter of practice, but I hate practicing it wrong. Sometimes when i'm alternating fingers i'll kinda press it against the lower string just to prevent the ringing, but it's still not too effective.


Any way you can think to help describe left hand muting which will stop harmonics from ringing out, as well as be practical?

 

[PrimusNut]

I think that right hand muting is a hell of a lot easier, altho I use both, I find right hand muting to be more effective. Rest your thumb wherever you want (on the pup, or 2 strings above the one you are playing, if you are playing D rest on E, and G rest on A. When you pluck the string (we will use G as an example), after you pluck, follow through with it, and stop when your finger hits the D string, your finger hitting the string (just stopping on it, not plucking it) will prevent it from vibrating.

Left hand muting is a lot harder and I tend to barely ever use it, because I can effectively mute with my right hand.

Just practice it for a while, it comes naturally eventually. I don't even have to think about it anymore.

Hope this helps.

--Curtis

 

[rainbownorth]

I find it handy to use my ring and pinky fingers to mute on my left hand (im a lefty, so right if youre not). It can be hard to get the hang of, but along with using my thumb as well, i can mute fairly well these days. That way youve still got two fingers left to pluck, or at least that if you can use more (im up to three), not to mention, if you ever needed to you could mute more than one string to stop sympathetic vibration.

Primusnut is right though, it just gets easier eventually. Youll find yourself doing it without thinking about it. Hell of a lot easier than fret hand muting as well.

 

[EricF]

Correct muting - both right and left hands - is essential. It's a technique that needs to be worked on and practiced unitl it becomes automatic.

I play with a pick most of the time, so left (fretting) hand muting is critical. I use my index and ring fingers for muting most of the time.

If you're having a hard time with muting (or ANY technique), consult a teacher.

 

[Larry Balara]

There is a problem with this approach. Neither approach works if the sympathetic vibration is behind the fretted note and certainly doesn't work for chords.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Isn't this what fret wraps are for?

 

[Watchootognbout]

Fretwraps are a hardy tool.
Especially for those who tap and use all four fingers.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

At the newer player level muting is THE difference between being a decent or shite bassist. Everyone starts thinking about “hitting notes” but equally important, ending notes!

 

[SteveCS]

...
the only way to mute em is to take my thumb off my pickup and rest it on the string.

There is nothing in the basss guitar methods that compels you to anchor your thumb on the pickup or anywhere else for that matter. Floating over the strings allows you to deploy the thumb as a highly effective mute:

Been doing it for decades;