Super-low budget bass mute

[paulbuzz]

In my quest for an ever more thuddy sound from my Harley Benton violin bass, I have just invented (maybe!) the Patent McCartneyizer mute:

Both halves of a strip of velcro, sandwiching the strings at the bridge, superglued together at one end to prevent the two halves from fully separating.
Adjust muting strength for each string by trimming the width with scissors.
Works really well
Total cost: about 20p-worth of velcro?
 

Edited May 30 by paulbuzz

[Supernaut]

Could just use a piece of foam from some packaging? 

[paulbuzz]

18 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Could just use a piece of foam from some packaging? 

I've tried various washing-up sponges etc etc - I find that it's difficult to get exactly the right thickness to get the amount of muting you want, and also that it's diificult to insert/remove them quickly when required.

Also it looks a bit mad having a washing-up sponge jammed into your bass.😁

This works better for me

Edited May 30 by paulbuzz

[BabyBlueSound]

I must try this. I bought an absolutely non-budget Nordymute a couple years ago and unless I barely put it on, just gently touching the strings with the end, it's too muted and useless for me. Putting it on just barely adds the risk that I knock it off with my hand. I enjoyed sponges and packing materials more than the fancy purpose-made stuff.

[paulbuzz]

3 hours ago, BabyBlueSound said:

I must try this. I bought an absolutely non-budget Nordymute a couple years ago and unless I barely put it on, just gently touching the strings with the end, it's too muted and useless for me. Putting it on just barely adds the risk that I knock it off with my hand. I enjoyed sponges and packing materials more than the fancy purpose-made stuff.

I made one of this type a while ago.
It's ok, but not as good as the velcro (because less adjustable), and significantly more effort to make.

 

[dudewheresmybass]

the spongy type pipe lagging works well. It's easy to get hold of and cheap cheap.

[LeftyJ]

On 31/05/2025 at 08:18, BabyBlueSound said:

I must try this. I bought an absolutely non-budget Nordymute a couple years ago and unless I barely put it on, just gently touching the strings with the end, it's too muted and useless for me. Putting it on just barely adds the risk that I knock it off with my hand. I enjoyed sponges and packing materials more than the fancy purpose-made stuff.

 

I'm inclined to agree with this. I bought two Nordymutes last year (because I needed 17mm spacing for one of my shortscales, and 20mm for my other 4-strings) and I feel the string slots are cut too tightly. It would probably benefit from having a slight V-taper to the slots, so the tension can be adjusted more gradually. On one of my basses it's also difficult to put it in the optimal position (as close to the saddles as possible) because the intonation screws are quite long and protrude a good 1-2 cm through the saddles (2 at the E, 1 at the G). 

[mikebass456]

Tony Levin used a diaper once (on his bass).....