Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Here's a question I posed RE a pic of P MAC using a piece of foam in front of his mute assembly: (see in "paul and is RIC")
"Do you guys think he is using it in place of the Rick mute or in conjuntion with it and actually "double muting"?" Would love to disuss muting and the use of the mute assembly, recently strung up 4001 w/flatwounds and am obsessed with the "Macca meets Mowtown" sounds I'm getting. Any other "Mutes" out there? Speak up

Clarke: A cool sound indeed. I love McCartney's sound on Oh Darling.

When I first posted that question,I was being tongue in cheek....for me, one mute is too much and sort of the antithesis of what makes a ric bass sound so wonderful....but that's just me. Why not just shove a ferret under the strings ....

LOL,

Carol Kaye lays a piece of foam across the bridge and tapes it down for that "old school" sound...I can't imagine doing that on a RIC for DOUBLING the effect.

woodyng wrote:When I first posted that question,I was being tongue in cheek....for me, one mute is too much and sort of the antithesis of what makes a ric bass sound so wonderful....but that's just me. Why not just shove a ferret under the strings ....

Can't do it, fur is murder. When I first started toying with the mute, I Thought the same thing, why take such a beautifully voiced instrument and effectively "choke" it ? But the combination of flatwounds the mute and my '69 b-15 flip-top (w/a fried tube or two) produced a joyous "thud" that is unmistakably Rickenbacker. It's like some sort of growling upright bass. No, it's like a bear playing an upright. No, it's.... it's, it's just another amazing sound from a versitile instrument.

ajish4 wrote:LOL,

Carol Kaye lays a piece of foam across the bridge and tapes it down for that "old school" sound...I can't imagine doing that on a RIC for DOUBLING the effect.

I thought she uses felt.

Didn't Macca have the improvised mute on his Hofner for the "Revolution" promo video? Kind of odd given the instruments were prerecorded...

On the main issue, I have recently taken to using the mute on my Ovation Magnum to get that string bass effect for '40s/'50s standards and it sounds fantastic. I really want to try this out on the V63 but need to string it with flats first....too much like hard work!!!

The double mute concept is something I'll leave to others....

ken_j wrote:

ajish4 wrote:LOL,

Carol Kaye lays a piece of foam across the bridge and tapes it down for that "old school" sound...I can't imagine doing that on a RIC for DOUBLING the effect.

I thought she uses felt.

Yes, Carol uses a piece of felt material doubled over and taped down either side. She has used it on all her basses and everything she has recorded.

I've used the mute off and on since way back, especially for recording.

This is why it's fun to play devil's advocate sometimes....it's interesting and fun to discover how people get their sounds on. I admit I have tried the mute on the ric bridge ,as well as foam under the strings on other basses,maybe a couple of times over the years,but just wasn't that satisfied with it. I seem to get a better result with palm muting.

I have a big ol' piece of foam that I've used on my P's and J's; love the sound, but sometimes I feel like it's screwing with the intonation, or playing tricks on my ears, or something. I never feel like I'm totally in tune.

I like the Rick mute a lot, when it's working right. I've used it in conjunction with some slapback and playing in the higher register to get a tic-tac bass sound (doubling my upright).

My old band's first EP is chock full of muted Rick bass (4/5 tracks if memory serves): http://thejazzfuneral.com/

The mutes on my Stingray are not so great.

The rubber mute in my '79 4001 is stiff and rigid (can't believe I typed that) compared to the soft foam in my '88 s/5. Did they change up the design from 4001-4003.? Also I notice more intonation issues w/ the 4001 if I crank the mute too tight, have to have it in the sweet-spot so to speak.

ricken5er wrote:The rubber mute in my '79 4001 is stiff and rigid (can't believe I typed that) compared to the soft foam in my '88 s/5. Did they change up the design from 4001-4003.? Also I notice more intonation issues w/ the 4001 if I crank the mute too tight, have to have it in the sweet-spot so to speak.

The mute becomes a new witness point for the strings, which will make the intonation go sharp

ricken5er wrote:The rubber mute in my '79 4001 is stiff and rigid (can't believe I typed that) compared to the soft foam in my '88 s/5. Did they change up the design from 4001-4003.? Also I notice more intonation issues w/ the 4001 if I crank the mute too tight, have to have it in the sweet-spot so to speak.

I'd guess the '79 mute has dried out and hardened.

The mute is great for string bass tones on fretted Rics. So far it has been unnecessary on the fretless. Although Rickenbackers do the edgy rock thing really well, their versatility is often overlooked.