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The BassMute returns!

#121
MRlowend said:
Well, I had time to install my Bass-Mute last night, sorry no pictures as of yet, our house has pour lighting when taking pictures. Anyway, the instructions are straight forward for the most part but I found it to be easier to disassemble the device and install the base plate first, then install the lever and each foam mute individually, that way I could cut the foam to length for each saddle. Also note, I had used a dremel sanding wheel to shave the foam down to my desired length. I'm sure there's still a better way to accomplish this task but I didn't like the fact of using scissors as the cutting surface was uneven and my OCD kicked in majorly! :roflmao:
Click to expand...
Flash on your phone.
 
#122
Daveypoo said:
Pics or it didn't happen!
Click to expand...

Oh it happened! But, fair warning, as I said lighting in my house is horrible. Also, @sissy kathy I'm afraid the flash doesn't help either as there's too much glare from the chrome accessories. Anyway, here you go.

IMG_1831.JPG
 
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#124
Daveypoo said:
Nice! What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Overall, I'm happy and quite suprised of the variations with the lever and mutes as you had also described. Each position is distinctively diffrent which is nice. Only thing I didn't like was having to cut the foam pieces for each saddle length. The process wasn't as clean as I hoped for... I think for my 2d installation I will use a new exacto blade.
 
#125
I agree - my trim was pretty rough and going the Xacto route is probably a good idea. I've really become a fan of the 1st position with the mutes just barely touching the strings. I can get a similar effect to that of a hair wrap up at the nut where it just stops the strings from ringing out. It's incredible how sloppy I can be and how much it cleans up my playing ;)

Definitely an unforseen side effect. Do you run into any issues with the higher settings and it pushing the strings out of tune? I've noticed that it happens a bit on the highest setting and the tiniest bit on the E-string with the middle setting. I'm still tweaking it to see if I can mitigate this. Haven't had a chance to play with others since the install so I'm not sure if it's noticeable in a band setting, but I think it won't be.
 
#126
I also agree - 1st setting is by far my favorite, just enough to stop the string from ringing out. I didn't notice it going out of tune, but I could see potential of this being an issue if not installed properly.

I noticed you didn't mount the base butt up against your bridge which is why you might be experiencing going out of tune? The goal is to mount the device as close to the saddles as possible or else you probably are pushing your strings more than the Bass-Mute is intended to do. Just a thought...
 
#127
I had to mount it that way because of the length of the screws for the bridge saddles - I wanted to leave enough clearance. Ellio talks in the instructions about potentially trimming those screws, but I'm really not comfortable doing that escpecially considering how nervous I was just about trimming the foam. As it is I had to trim the bottom of the foam in an 'L' shape to clear the base plate of the BadAss. I also wasn't comfortable cutting even more length off the foam to bring it closer to the bridge plate and help it to clear the screws.

It's a compromise for sure, but I think it's the best I'm gonna get without cutting down the bridge screws and I'm definitely not doing that. So far it's not really THAT big a deal. It's liveable - as a buddy always says "It's close enough for jazz"
 
#129
So I've been having some trouble with my Bassmute, but not because of the mute itself. I exclusively use gig bags because I HATE hard cases. Long story, but just know that they are a pain in the @$$ for me. Anyway, I've noticed that when I put my P bass away in the case and pull it out again, the mute has moved. I can only guess that the inside of the case is rubbing around on the mute and pushing it out of alignment.

Well, this has happened a couple of times and between that and the adjustments I've been making the tape has basically worn out. I was playing the other day and the mute just sort of fell out of place.

Now - please don't panic. I did a fair amount of seating the mute then unseating it and reseating it to get it in the right place, so it's my fault not the mute or the tape's. I emailed Ellio about what kind of tape to replace it with and here's the response:

"So far I know doublesided tape does not damage the finish.
The best type to use is tape similar to what I use with a course woven (textile?) fabric in it.
First off all these tapes are slightly thicker and fills up minor curvatures of the body.
Tapes that have the glue on both sides of a thin plastic sheet, might hold but don't fill up
that well and in case of removal it is easy to remove the glue on top using white spirit
but then the plastic foil prevents to solve or soften the glue under it.
My experience is that these type of tapes are harder to peel off because it rips of in pieces
and then you have to find a new spot to start peeling again.
The tape with the fabric is in fact a glue layer reinforced with the fabric and with using
the thumb you can rub it off and aftewards clean the remains of the glue.

Hope this helps. I can send you some of the tape by snail mail if you cannot find
a suitable tape. No problem.
I think of starting to supply a spare piece, once I receive the proper tape on precut width rolls."

Just thought I'd pass the info along. I picked up some tape last night and while it's not exactly made of fabric it is more like a foam in between. It's thin enough so I think it'll work. I also bought extra strength and plan on installing this correctly the first time (the second time).

I'll take pictures again when it's re-mounted.
 
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#131
Yeah, I looked at that as well. I should've paid more heed, frankly. I haven't gigged with it yet, so I figured that just storing it in the bag wouldn't be an issue. Apparently I was wrong....

I thought about making a cover, but I'm going to be making a major move in the next few months and I think I'll just end up ordering a hard case for it and problem solved.
 
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#132
I've been trying to get in contact with him for a while now, maybe I'm emailing the wrong address?
I'd appreciate it if someone can PM me his email.

As a side note, if anyone here has a bassmute that they aren't using anymore I may be willing to buy it if you post it at the classifieds .
 
#133
Sean92 said:
I've been trying to get in contact with him for a while now, maybe I'm emailing the wrong address?
I'd appreciate it if someone can PM me his email.

As a side note, if anyone here has a bassmute that they aren't using anymore I may be willing to buy it if you post it at the classifieds .
Click to expand...

Sean92, in the previous posts, page 6 of this thread I provided (2) email addresses to contact Ellio other than filling out the order form. Here they are again: [email protected] or [email protected]
 
#137
Personally, I haven't had any issues in regards to the tape and the device coming loose; I'm either practicing or playing during church service. Otherwise, my bass sits in it's hard shell case... I wasn't particular pleased with my trim job I had to perform on the foam mutes during installation, but I've mentioned this before. Secondly, there's a slight difference in tuning with the device engaged/not engaged according to my tuner... However, I've adjusted the mute to always be on in the first position which has helped to clean-up a sloppy technique. When I'm not playing live then I disengage the mute while practicing in hopes to improve. Overall, I like the slight thump that the mute produces in first position...
 
#139
I wasn't able to find tape with the fabric as Ellio described so I used something like this:

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It's made of a foam-like material. It's been working fine for me since the re-install.

Bones - I agree with your using the first position to clean up sloppy technique. This was eye-opening to me when I first installed it and was a completely unexpected benefit. I'd be interested to see how much your mutes touch the strings in the first position; I spent a lot of time trying to dial in the "just-barely-touching-the-strings" setting.
 

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