Bass Mute - Anyone use it?

4003seagreen · Post by **4003seagreen** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 6:21 pm

Anyone use the bass mute on their 4003 or 4001? I must admit that I hadn't really used it before, but I toyed with it last night and really loved the effect I got. Cut those nasty ringing undertones right out and tightened up the tone very, very nicely. When played unplugged it sounds muted with no ring, but plugged in it sounds meaty and sustains nicely though it's muted. And when I switch it over to the neck pickup, it gives me an tone something like an upright. I'm really digging it, anyone else using it?

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 7:23 pm

I've used it on my 4001 to get an upright bass sound. It does a pretty good job of getting that sound if you tighten the mute screws to just the right pressure against the strings. I needed that sound for a particular song in a band I was in. I got several inquiries about how I got that sound from audience members.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 7:26 pm

I use it occasionally, it gives a nice percussive thump to my bass, decays quickly like an upright. I have a SMGreen 4003 by the way. I bought it used in the GC on Com Ave. in Boston, it's like new, even had the original strings on it when I bought it about two years ago. They thought it was an 87 for some reason. I had never seen that color before and had to have it, I thought that it was a special order at first. I think I payed 750.00 for it, which I thought was a deal and a half, the salesman didn't like the color. I want a Turquois 4003FL next.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 2:56 am

Tried it once ... too cumbersome ... too lame ... if you use a pick then palm muting is the way to go ...

eddied · Post by **eddied** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 3:06 am

If you are using the mute, the intonation will change drastically with increased pressure on the strings. The lightest touching of the mute is the way to go for your Rick being in-tune. If you use it often, re-set the bridge accordingly to compensate for proper intonation. Just my 2 cents. For recording, Paul almost always used it and even added an extra piece of foam muting right in front of the bridge piece. I have pirtures of him recording during RAM that show this extra piece that he added.

levykev · Post by **levykev** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 3:08 am

anyone's mute screws ever loosen or get in the way? any remedies?

bassduke49 · Post by **bassduke49** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 3:23 am

I tried adjusting the mute one time, just to see what it did. Maybe my old one is defective, but it seems that the rubber mute was pushed up in the middle, touching the A and D strings, but not on the ends to touch the E and G. Am I doing something wrong?

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 3:59 am

Paul, mine was like that, the E string couldnt be touched. shaved the sides of the foam down, so it is flush with the metal plate it sits on. This is a brand new tailpiece. I discovered that most of the old rick basses have this slimmer piece of foam also. It works fine now

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 5:20 am

I play in a Beatles tribute band and use the mute on a few tunes. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", and "A Little Help from my Friends" for instance.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 5:24 am

Sometimes on the older basses, 4001's especially, the rubber becomes hardened and does not seat correctly and requires too much pressure for all four strings. I like the old more narrow rubber myself though. I would like it closer to the bridge also so it would dampen the strings less.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:50 pm

Like I've said somewhere else in the Forum, the mute has a major drawback: it messes up intonation big time, thus I have no use for it.

4003seagreen · Post by **4003seagreen** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 5:08 am

On my tuner I do see the notes getting sharper as I move up the neck, but to my ear it doesn't sound off. I have not tried to play it live yet though. I'm not the greatest in recognizing tones though

I've talked to my luthier about the mute, and yes, it does alter the intonation, but he feels that it shouldn't be too much of an issue playing live or recording even. He told me that a mute will always mess up the intonation because it doesn't allow for the free ringing it needs at the bridge. In fact, he said it's pretty useless intonating it with the mute in place, that you should intonate it without the mute and then use the mute sparingly. I wonder how the greats like James Jamerson, Carol Kaye, and Bob Babbitt got by using foam mutes on their basses and still managed to produce a great sound on all those hits (perhaps because they used Fenders?)

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 6:32 am

I think it also messes up the intonation by stretching the strings upward a little bit, that is why it is best to use as little pressure as possible as mentioned elsewhere here. That is also why I would like to see it closer to the bridge and more narrow.
If the screws for the mute fall off, you might have to take the tailpiece off and rescrew them back in, it is possible with a lot of patience and ingenuity to get it started again without taking it off, but it is almost less trouble just to take it off. The tailpieces are often too loose anyway. I also think that the newer rubber on the 4003's is better than the old stuff on the 4001's that hardened, you need much less pressure to damp the strings, hence less intonation problems.
With the Fenders the stuff was more like foam rubber than rubber and pressed down on the strings. I took mine off the day I got it (71 P bass) so I don't know if the intonation was screwed up or not. But with the Fenders the cover either stayed on or off, you couldn't take it off one day, then put it back on the next unless you wanted to strip the wood, so they would have been intonated with them on when new.

You can get a sound just like those old Motown guys with a 4003 and Pyramids, just put the treble pickup as close as you can to the strings without really overdriving it, just enough for some bite and keep the volume all the way up, and back off the bass pickup volume a little bit. With Pyramids these things can sound better than P and Jazz basses IMHO if you experiment with them. Then experiment with your plucking hand, closer to the neck is better for that type of stuff.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 10:03 am

When using a pick, I like to use the edge of my palm for occasional muting effect. And like Bob, play up towards the neck, anywhere in between to achieve the effect you want.

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 3:45 pm

The mute pad seems to be lifting off the bassplate on my V-63, seeing how I never use it should I remove it or repair it? Will it hurt the value of the instrument if I do?