tip 100
Hi Jeff! And thanks. About muting: The way I mute the strings is by folding over a piece of felt muting (buy at the sewing section at Target, Walmart etc.) so it's doubled to a width of about 1-1/2". Take it and tape it (I use masking tape) to on top of the bridge area, but laying slightly ahead of the bridges. It won't be too loose but you will have to re-tape it tighter from time to time. Thus, it lays on top of the strings and kills the over- and under-tones, making your bass sounds more defined. You use a doubled up piece of felt *on top* of the strings when you play *only* with a pick. If you play with fingers (or even with fingers sometime and then pick sometime), then get a piece of foam about the same width, but fit *underneath* the strings, barely touching the strings. This takes some doing. You don't want the foam to mute the strings so much it gives off a "plunk" sound, yet you need it to touch all the strings relatively the same amount. The strings in all instances should ring almost as much as if there wasn't any muting at all. You'll notice an immediate difference in sound and your band will too as well as the audience noticing the bass sounding great and projecting very well too. In recording, it's a must. If you have a bridge cover and are using a doubled up piece of felt, lay it between the that rubber "mute" (that is practically useless) in the bridge cover and the strings, but....do raise the bridge-cover slightly so the strings ring....you will have to stick a couple of wedges underneath the bridge-cover so it stays up without rattling (I always used 2-3 picks). This is the sound you want, a ringing sound but without all the extraneous noises of over- and under-tones the strings get. This will work fine. You'll see my mute (with the "fancy" masking tape) in my pictures with the Aria Pro II (Steve Bailey bass), my bass w/Seymour Duncan Basslines PUs and Thomastik jazz flats.
