Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby cockroach » Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:39 am

A number of early players of the Telecaster in the USA played them with the bridge/pickup cover on- the late great Jimmy Bryant , and a number of black r'n'b players like Guitar Slim, Albert Collins and others..I think Neil LeVang and Buddy Merrill played their Strats with the vibrato bridge cover on too in the '50's...

Also, most early Fender bass players left the armrest/pickup cover and bridge cover on too.

All of these people probably didn't question why the fittings were there- they probably figured that Fender put them on there for a good reason! Mr Fender's ideas were usually functional and musician friendly- I bet your hand wouldn't get shredded by the Strat bridge screws if you could stand playing with the cover on, and the bass arm rest would also protect the pickup from accidental damage..

It was only in the mid-late '60's that players started removing all the hardware- because it was thought to look 'cool' perhaps--there was a similar contemporary Clapton/Beck inspired trend to take the pickup covers off Gibson humbuckers too...it was supposed to give more power and sustain or something..
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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby MMStingray54 » Sun Dec 16, 2012 3:56 pm

Interesting stuff.

The reasoning behind removing the covers on Fender basses is, I think, also linked to the different sounds which can be had by moving the plucking hand along the strings - on a Jazz in particular the covers take up a lot of area and tend to limit wilder plucking techniques (eg the four finger stuff John Entwhistle did). The other key thing is plucking over the pick up can increase the sound and also thump available - plucking towards the bridge gives you tighter strings and easier ability to play faster, and on a Jazz bass the addition of plucking over the bridge pick up (Jaco Pastorius is a perfect example of this).

I don't use a Fender bass but a Musicman Stingray - another Leo creation. I couldn't recommend more using a mute on the strings - the original Stingrays had adjustable mutes for each string - my bass has these and I have been using them recently with Quiff and the Shades live (and also on some blues recordings) - they give that characteristic 'thump' that sounds like speaker excursion and typical of Precision bass sounds in Motown, R and B and also some of the Cliff and the Shads songs - it's partially the mute that creates this. I've posted a picture which shows the Stingray mutes.


In my opinion a mute adds a dimension you can't achieve with finger muting technique and leaves you with more time and ability to focus on other areas of dynamics and playing - I have used those wide kitchen sponges (with a scourer on one side - I read about George Porter Jnr of the Meters doing this with his knackered.........sorry mojo'd old P bass) on basses without built in mutes and they also work really well - for about 30p a go! Just don't ram it in between the strings and body with the scourer side against the bass's finish, as I did during a gig in a momentary senior moment!! Thankfully modern bass finishes are close to bullet proof!
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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby bassboogie » Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:03 pm

Hi Don,

Interesting variation on no cover damping. Do you use pick or fingers ?
Anyone know if Licorice used foam damping on his early bass ?

Regards, Luigi
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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby MMStingray54 » Tue Dec 18, 2012 2:42 am

Hi Luigi,

I use fingers or thumb basically - I'm not much good with a pick but I believe you can get a good damped pick sound with muting applied to the strings also, and this would also apply to a Precision, Jazz or whatever style of bass you use. I have read that Leo Fender did not play but was a fan of country music and of all the pro players he enlisted to assist in developing instruments like the Stingray bass, he listened particularly to views of the country players - this bass is meant to be great for tic tac style country playing (with a pick or fingers).

I tend to try to emulate the pick sound by using a combination of my finger nails, plucking the strings near the bridge and setting the tone controls to accentuate the treble and upper mid range a little (eg the sound on Kon Tiki and Fall In Love WIth You).

I know - I should really do it with a pick.............I just never really got on with them!

Don.
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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby Iain Purdon » Tue Dec 18, 2012 2:48 pm

bassboogie wrote:Anyone know if Licorice used foam damping on his early bass ?

I have asked Licorice about this and the answer is no. He bought the bass from Jennings in London in April 1960 and used it on stage with Marty Wilde the same night in Bournemouth. The bass came with the damper (I think he said felt rather than foam). He tried it both ways, thought it sounded too "thuddy" with it and preferred the sound without, so he left the damper in the case and eventually threw it away. He says his sound was based on hitting the strings pretty hard (harder than he does now) with a medium-range tortoiseshell pick: simple bass lines to emphasise Brian's bass drum and drive the band along, with a bit of syncopation here and there. This P-bass can be heard on Trambone and Jack's Good as well as Dance On. You can also hear him using it on Razzle Dazzle with Cliff, link below, recorded 12 July 1962.

As to the stage instruments, he inherited Jet's red bass and, apart from removing the "JH", used it as it was. He says it had no damper either so he thinks Jet had already chucked it.

I hope this helps. It certainly corrects a few of my earlier bits of guesswork.



(This photo is nothing to do with the performance!)
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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby bassboogie » Thu Dec 20, 2012 12:42 am

Hi Iain and Don,

Thanks for that Iain (and Licorice), it puts the damper to rest as far as the early Shads bass players were concerned. Bob Babbitt (replaced James Jamerson at Mowtown), used a damp sponge under his P bass strings! Well it's much easier than a Meazzi, and probably leads to less heated discussion, as a bonus.

Me too Don, I just can't seem to use a pick for anything other than strumming chords on a six string. However even then I notice my clubmates seem disappear when I offer to play rhythm. I've tried playing bass with a pick and after much effort the only tune I can now play with a pick is Zambesi, which can be difficult to pluck.

Merry Xmas to you all and here's hoping for a late 50's P bass with damper in my stocking.

Regards Luigi
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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby Iain Purdon » Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:08 pm

If you're struggling with a pick but want to use it for the sound it gives, try picking close to the bridge. There's less travel on the strings there so it's easier not to mis-hit!
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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby abstamaria » Fri Dec 21, 2012 12:20 am

Very interesting all this. Anna left her Customshop PBass in the studio, so I plan now to experiment with it over the holidays, trying various density foam strips under the ashtray or the bridge cover (she keeps those on), and comparing the result with the early sound.

On picks, I remember when Dick Dale (of Misirlou fame) was looking for a bass guitarist, he specified "must own guitar, use picks and only downward strokes"!

Best of the holidays to all.

Andy
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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby Iain Purdon » Fri Dec 21, 2012 4:48 am

I have never tried this, nor seen pictures of him doing it, but I am told that Alan Tarney used to jam a yellow duster under the strings at the bridge.

Can anybody verify this rumour?
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Re: Precision Bridge - Foam Dampening

Postby cockroach » Sat Dec 22, 2012 11:13 am

I used to watch Alan Tarney play bass almost every week here for two or three years in the mid-'60's - he played a red Precision but I don't recall seeing the duster...
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