Well some of you know I am learning to play bass guitar, and I have been tuning in the sound I am after. Yesterday as I was playing my Jazz bass through a Fender Bassman 150 amp, I became annoyed with all the substain my setup was producing. So I stuffed a gym sock under the strings down near the bridge and let the top half hang over the strings. Holy cow, the sound I was after appeared. So I know there must be a way to mute the Jazz bass somehow other than having a gym sock hanging under and over the strings.

If you know of a string mute made for the Jazz Bass please let me know. otherwise I am open to suggestions. So please let me have your ideas.
No my wife's bra just didn't produce the sound I was after!

Thanks
Joel

Here's Carol Kaye responding to a question on her website about mutes:

Carol Kaye
tip 34

Yes, Fender had that in their tailpieces but it wasn't adequate. The mute thing is so tricky, too much and you have that "plunk" sound that you don't want, you want the strings to ring. And they couldn't ever get it so that every string was muted about the same -- just wasn't that useful. I loved that tailpiece tho', it held the piece of doubled-up felt just great if you stuck a pick or two in between the tailpiece and the body, using them as shims to it kept the tailpiece up to let the strings ring but the felt sat on top of the strings just right. I just use some masking tape and tape the felt on top of the strings right next to the bridges, and that works just fine (altho' it might not look that great, sure gets a lot of questions and others have followed suit who use a pick). It has to be on top of the strings when using a pick. For finger players, it has to be underneath the strings and NOT felt, has to be foam rubber. The foam doesn't work that well for the pick sounds, just a nice piece of doubled-up felt (buy it cheap at any sewing center, even at Target, etc.). This is so critical to get a good clarified sound that will project through from either a combo or a big band. Works every time, and is a critical necessity also for recording. I believe that bassists have over-bought all kinds of gear trying to define their sounds when all it takes is a mute (the accessory gear manufacturers will hate me).

There are 3 big pages filled with her tips on bass playing at:
http://www.carolkaye.com/www/education/tips1.htm

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I am now playing trumpet with Prince Buster tribute band 'Balzac'

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

I have a P-Bass bridge cover on my Jaguar Bass, and I put a piece of foam that I got with my graptech string saver saddles in it, and it sounds great. I wanna try the felt suggestion though, but from what I understand, felt is really thin right?
Either way, it sounds great, and it does not mute as much as palm muting (which is what I thought it would do a while back).

I am super sweet
www.myspace.com/thetremblors

BigBottom
I went to the local Home Depot and picked up a bunch of different sizes of weather stripping (foam) and furniture protectors (felt). They have self-adhesive backing so I made up about 20 different combinations with foam on one side and felt on the other. That way I can flip the mute over to go from pick to finger-style. Protects the finish on the bass, too.

The mute is under the bridge, so it's not exactly like Carol Kaye's suggested method, but it sounds great none the less. And you wouldn't believe the sonic difference between the different combinations of felt and foam!

Works for me...and it's cheap!

What kind of combinations did you use? Inquiring minds want to know!

I am super sweet
www.myspace.com/thetremblors

ShaunNecro

BigBottom
I went to the local Home Depot and picked up a bunch of different sizes of weather stripping (foam) and furniture protectors (felt). They have self-adhesive backing so I made up about 20 different combinations with foam on one side and felt on the other. That way I can flip the mute over to go from pick to finger-style. Protects the finish on the bass, too.

The mute is under the bridge, so it's not exactly like Carol Kaye's suggested method, but it sounds great none the less. And you wouldn't believe the sonic difference between the different combinations of felt and foam!

Works for me...and it's cheap!

What kind of combinations did you use? Inquiring minds want to know!

Unfortunately, I don't have a way to post pictures at present, otherwise I'd show you examples. I bought 1", 3/4", 1/2", and 1/4" weather stripping and various sizes of felt pads from 1/4" to 1/16". I made combinations of foam-to-foam for all sizes and then made foam-to-felt for all sizes. Weather-stripping foam isn't as dense as traditional foam mutes, but I still found that it works quite well, especially the 1/2" and 1/4" sizes which are a little denser. The mute I use most often is the 1/4" foam backed with 3/8" felt.
Of the 40+ combinations I made, I found about 5 that work the best and keep them in my case. I rarely play without one of these home-made mutes now - pick or finger-style. It's become part of "my" sound.

Bass Wabbit
The Fabulous Blue Wabbits
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQj7B3Vql1vxjYxEM29vmQ