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It's interesting because on my archtops I like a dull, muted sound ala joe pass joy spring so I use flats. On my kessel and seventy seven I'm using flats. The strings on the kessel are deliciously dead so they sound wonderful for the tone I go for.
On my semis and solidbodies I like a brighter round wound string and a lighter guage but I want to deaden the strings on my seventy seven so they sound muted and dull like the older ones.
Anyone have any experience accomplishing this?
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09-08-2017 09:40 AM
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I see a lot of folks with the hair tie/scrunchie around the nut, but i think that's more to avoid unwanted open strings ringing out.
I wonder if you did the candle trick, rolled a candle up and down the strings to get a little wax on the roundwounds, if that would do anything? I assume the issue is more with the wound strings, correct?
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Jack,
Play, play, play. This does the trick!
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It's actually flats I want to deaden. I'll try the wax trick but I'm not sure there's much for it to get caught in on a flatwound.
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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I'm playing 3-4 hours a day and after 2 weeks, they are still bright. Originally Posted by Greentone
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Ah, no kidding...I've wondered about boiling strings...I've heard people do that to extend life, but every time I hear someone talk about that, somebody else says "yeah, it cleans 'em but then they sound dead." Originally Posted by jzucker
I know what you mean about that great dead string sound...I think I've had the strings on my 575 for 6 months, and they're just getting really good
As for the candle trick, I can't remember where I learned that, but it's a great trick for recording with fresh round wounds.
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Won't that make them sticky? Originally Posted by jzucker
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A bass player friend used to boil his to bring them back to life. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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How about just accelerating the natural process? Rub your own facial oils onto the strings every night. I did a 4-night outdoor gig last month in incredibly humid weather. Because of circumstances I won't go into I had to pack up the guitar immediately after the last tune, with no time to even wipe down, and I never took the guitar out between performances. By the end of the 4th night those strings were DEAD. (Thomastik BB rounds)
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I'd try using some material that would absorb vibration energy on the bridge. Just tried a piece of fabric and it sounded pretty nice actually! Or make some wooden saddle pieces
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What brand flats are you using now? I am a big fan of Rotosound Top Tape flats but they only come in .12 They do sound better the older they get. As you know already Jack, sometimes the strings that sound great on one guitar just don't do it on a different instrument.
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Damn...3-4 hours a day! Originally Posted by jzucker
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Yeah...60s bass players used to put foam under the strings at the bridge to give a thump-plus-decay sound. That might work. Listen to this:
That's Ladi Geisler (a great jazz guitarist, by the way) on muted Fender Bass (doubled by string bass) on the chart "Similau."
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IIRC, Fender Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars originally came with a foam mute, as did Gretsch Chet Atkins guitars. My two CA 6120 guitars had mute assemblies to achieve the "thump" sound.
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Not looking to mute the strings. I have good hand muting technique. The issue is the brightness. By muted, i meant a quick decay but not from obstruction of (string) justice.
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Take some steel wool and use like sand paper up and down the length of the strings
do it with the tension on the strings loose so the steel wool can wrap around the string
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either thomastic 12 or daddario chrome 11 flats. both are bright when new. Originally Posted by whiskey02
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i'm not sure that would dull the tone but it's worth a try.
Originally Posted by Runepune
I'd try using some material that would absorb vibration energy on the bridge. Just tried a piece of fabric and it sounded pretty nice actually! Or make some wooden saddle pieces
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Session bassist Joe Osborne (Simon and Garfunkle bridge over troubled waters) NEVER changed strings on his Fender bass. I loved his sound, and I couldn't disagree with his approach.
Oh, and don't wash your hands before doing it :-) Originally Posted by Greentone
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Maybe you need to change your strings to something less bright...
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Other than tapewounds, i don't think there's anything darker than the 2 flatwounds I'm using. Originally Posted by artdecade
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Maybe it is the guitar or the pickup? Some guitars sound bright no matter what strings you use or how old the strings are. I have always found Asian made pickups to sound too bright for my tastes. But I like Pat Martino's tone. YMMV
If you have more than 20-30 hours of hard playing time on TI's or Chromes, I doubt that they will get any duller.
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No, not the guitar. It's just a slow process if allowed to occur naturally. When I change strings on any of my guitars it's a 20-30 hour process. I just wish I could speed it up for when I change strings and want to record. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
I can kind of simulate it with a low pass filter but it's not the same...
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Stephen Stills said he used to rub barbecue sauce into his bass strings to deaden them, IIRC.
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i'll have to look in my pantry for some vintage hot sauce... Originally Posted by citizenk74
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