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Topic: kill the sustain |
Ronnie Boettcher
From:
Brunswick Ohio, USA
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Posted 13 May 2017 6:19 am |
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I want to kill the sustain on my electric bass. Is there a inexpensive effect pedal to do this? I love the sustain on my steel, but not on my bass. Help
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Sho-Bud LDG, Martin D28, Ome trilogy 5 string banjo, Ibanez 4-string bass, dobro, fiddle, and a tubal cain. Life Member of AFM local 142 |
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Ken Metcalf
From:
San Antonio Texas USA
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Dick Wood
From:
Springtown Texas, USA
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Posted 13 May 2017 6:56 am
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I saw a guy put a piece of foam rubber under the strings at the bridge.The sound was kind of like an old stand up bass.
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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night. |
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Mike Wheeler
From:
Delaware, Ohio, USA
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Posted 13 May 2017 7:52 am
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Try tape would strings.
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Best regards,
Mike |
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Edward Rhea
From:
Medford Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 13 May 2017 8:37 am
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You can mute/deaden the note on the string simply by letting off pressure with the fretted finger...it may take a little practice, but you won't have to raid the garage, cut up any usable furniture, or even open your wallet.
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“TONESNOB†|
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 13 May 2017 8:45 am
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| When I bought a Fender Precision bass back in 1955, it came with a chunk of foam rubber under the strings by the bridge. |
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Darrell Birtcher
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Posted 13 May 2017 8:59 am
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Victor Wooten popularized the use of a women's hair band ("scrunchy") around the nut, now it's available as a product called Fretwrap.
http://www.gruvgear.com/fretwraps |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 13 May 2017 10:19 am
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| Darrell Birtcher wrote: |
Victor Wooten popularized the use of a women's hair band ("scrunchy") around the nut, now it's available as a product called Fretwrap.
http://www.gruvgear.com/fretwraps |
that is not for muting past the nut. thats for stopping the open strings from ringing while he does other stuff like tapping and such.
i had a 62 fender jazz bass that had from the factory individual adjustable string mutes under the bridge cover.
easy is to just put some foam under the strings at the bridge. flatwounds help. |
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Rick Barnhart
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 13 May 2017 11:26 am
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There's a bass mute called Fump, made by Gruv Gear. Available from Sweetwater or Sam Ash, even eBay. Costs about $20. I had a Gibson Ripper that was equipped with a pivoting mute with a rubber strip under the strings at the bridge. I never really found it to be useful.
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Clinesmith consoles D-8/6 5 pedal, D-8 3 pedal & A25 Frypan, Pettingill Teardrop, & P8 Deluxe. |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 13 May 2017 11:36 am
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What Mike Wheeler said. There's joking in some circles about flat wounds killing sustain or just never changing them. My bass playing friend says he changed strings a few weeks ago for the first time in several years.
I know another fellow that absolutely kills every bass note he plays just by his technique. It's not a very desirable characteristic anyway...at least in my opinion. |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 13 May 2017 11:41 am
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| Dick Wood wrote: |
| I saw a guy put a piece of foam rubber under the strings at the bridge.The sound was kind of like an old stand up bass. |
That's what Carol Kaye did and she didn't do too badly. |
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Brett Lanier
From:
Madison, TN
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Posted 13 May 2017 11:45 am
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| Tony Levin used a diaper as a mute on some Peter Gabriel tracks. I'd heard that he was traveling with his family at the time and had diapers stashed in their bags and instrument cases. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 14 May 2017 7:15 am
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I admit I don't spend a lot of time on bass, but I've heard my dad talk about this issue, both for upright and the E-bass.
Avoid the open strings, since you can't control them. The amount of finger pressure on the fretting hand will hugely affect sustain and articulation of tone. Letting off a touch will give you a natural, but faster, decay.
Rather than kill the available sustain, I'd manage it at will.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Mel Bergman
From:
Camarillo, California, USA
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 14 May 2017 11:10 am
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| Quote: |
| I saw a guy put a piece of foam rubber under the strings at the bridge. |
^This.
I've played bass off and on in bands for 30 years and have used this when I needed a "thump" sound. It works great.
But - it also kills the tone of your bass. There are *very* few band (or recording) situations where this technique - killing sustain - is called for as it generally sounds awful by itself. It's normally used to double "normal" bass sounds.
So it'll work - but I wouldn't advise it and I don't understand why sustain is disliked. In normal playing notes are cut off with the fingers (usually the left hand) and there's not much long sustain at all - unless it's intentional.
The foam rubber gadgets installed by manufacturers were for very dated techniques/sounds just not heard much nowadays. And as mentioned, open string should normally be avoided unless played *for* a sustain effect.
90% of "muffling" is achieved with the fingers.
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No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Ronnie Boettcher
From:
Brunswick Ohio, USA
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Posted 14 May 2017 7:03 pm
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Thank you for all your input. Why I wanted to kill the sustain is I was playing bass for bluegrass music, and wanted it to sound more like a upright bass. I agree that you need the sustain for good country music, and I love it on steel. Maybe I should stick to steel, rhythm guitar when I sing, and banjo for bluegrass.
THANKS AGAIN< YALL ARE WONDERFUL!!!
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Sho-Bud LDG, Martin D28, Ome trilogy 5 string banjo, Ibanez 4-string bass, dobro, fiddle, and a tubal cain. Life Member of AFM local 142 |
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