Van Epps String Dampeners...anyone use/own one?

[joerg petersen]

wow, he actually uses the dampener, first thought its somekind of an officelamp he needs to see the
frets through his mat of hair.

if he could play now like a pianist would be cool, just have the impression around 2.21 his 11th finger gets a little bit stiff ...

[TonyB56]

I can take a guess as to why it's slanted.
Heavier strings have more mass, more inertia. You need more force to get them to accelerate or de-accelerate. So, once the big strings are moving its harder to stop them, they have a lot more energy than the light ones.
Now, the closer you put the dampener to the nut, the closer you are to the non moving point of the string. So the string moves less the closer you get to the nut, but it still carries the same energy per unit length, so it moves less but harder than the wide swinging parts close to the 12th fret. Since the dampener presses lightly on all the strings with the same force....
it has to be placed on a wide swinging part of the big strings in able to stop them the same as the light strings. If not you would over damp the light strings or under damp the high energy big strings. The slanting compensates that.
Did I manage to explain myself? (I'm from Argentina so I don't speak English everyday)

That makes perfect sense to me thanks.

[ArchieTop]

Hi,

I'm an old jazz player. You know, the gray-haired, bald grandpa sitting in a tux up on the stage or in the corner of the room with the quintet. Still gigging, though, doing the low-key supper club/cocktail party/corporate get-together type of jobs. Still playing the standards.

I use a string damper on my 175, which is my main workhorse. I got it a long time ago from Pat Farrand. What a pleasant, nice guy he was. I remember he took great care and asked me a lot of questions about the 175 I was playing at the time to make sure the damper he built would fit perfectly. And, of course, it did.

In reading this thread I see that there are those who say that, basically, those with poor technique use string dampers. I don't know, but I never have claimed my technique after all these decades of playing is something to be admired or talked about. Heck, a speedster on the neck I'm not. I get by, though, at least enough to get called for the next job.

What I like about the damper is that it dampens or mutes sympathetic, open, or non-fingered strings. Makes a big difference to my ear. It allows only the PLAYED notes to ring and when I lift a finger or move my hand there are no unwanted notes or strings sounding. In short, I think it makes a difference. At least enough for me to keep using it after all these years. Really, I guess it's the only "effect" I use. As you can guess, being an old school player, I just run directly into an amp.

The fact that it pretty much prohibits the playing of open strings has never really bothered me. For most of the jazz tunes I play I have to say I rarely, if ever, play an open string note. Oh, maybe an open E or A, but that's pretty rare.