dampening strings.

[Mlazarus]

I noticed some series 1 players in the past would put foam or stuff cloth under the strings on the back of the bridge. Why and when would they do that?
is it for recording purposes?

[hieronymous]

It's kind of like palm-muting, but you can pluck the strings closer to the neck for a fatter sound. The problem with foam is that you can't switch between muted & un-muted without moving the foam, so within a certain song you're kind of stuck with the foam.

I just learned that Rocco Prestia of Tower of Power would mute with his left hand! He'd hold down the string with one finger, then use other fingers to gently mute, kind of like the foam.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PSoq2V-eWcU

[rv_bass]

A foam mute can get you that nice Jamerson Motown thump.

Another application can be for balancing the string tones. For instance, the G string on the strings I like to use tends to be noticeably brighter than the other strings in the set, so I put a little foam under it to balance the tone with the other strings. Works well.

Those are a couple of applications.

[rv_bass]

I just learned that Rocco Prestia of Tower of Power would mute with his left hand! He'd hold down the string with one finger, then use other fingers to gently mute, kind of like the foam.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PSoq2V-eWcU

…Rocco was awesome

[edwardofhuncote]

At risk of being pedantic, putting a foam block behind the bridge of a Series bass will have very little, if any muting effect. Putting it between the bridge and bridge pickup will getcha' there, but that afterlength from the bridge to tailpiece is so short that any overtone there is probably going to be vastly overrun by the fundamentals and harmonics of the scale length between the saddle and yon...


FWIW, that afterlength is often tuned on a better upright bass. Ideally, it's 1/6 of the scale length... about 7" on a 42" scale bass.

[pauldo]

Pardon the CRS. 
In high school jazz band Mr. Huenfeld had a pre-CBS p-bass, I thought there was a built in mute on the bridge cover???

[jazzyvee]

................
FWIW, that afterlength is often tuned on a better upright bass. Ideally, it's 1/6 of the scale length... about 7" on a 42" scale bass.

Well there is some new knowledge for me today. I will check my classico and see if that is set up that way.

[jon_jackson]

Jazzyvee, let me know what your Classico scale and bridge-to-tailpiece lengths are, please. I was meaning to ask you about the time you went on tour, but obviously needed to wait until your return. I've been working on the setup on mine and can't seem to find the sweet spot. Alembic doesn't seem to list the nominal scale length anywhere on the site. Thanks.

[keith_h]

"Pardon the CRS.
In high school jazz band Mr. Huenfeld had a pre-CBS p-bass, I thought there was a built in mute on the bridge cover???"

There was a foam block on the bridge cover of my Jazz Bass when I bought it new. It wasn't long before I ripped it out.

[edwardofhuncote]

Quite curious about the scale length of the Classico as well, since I seem to be generally headed in the EUB direction. I always assumed it was something close to a standard used for double-bass, if for no reason other than ease of string selection.

I am also curious about the afterlength... the Classico tailpiece is custom-made for the smaller stature of the body, and it must account for the proportion somehow. I don't think it would make nearly as much difference on an electric upright, where a resonant soundbox isn't in play, for mostly the same reason; you're amplifying the strings between the witness point of the bridge and nut, or wherever you note the string. If anything, that short run might produce a harmonic that got picked up, especially when bowing a section. If it was a problem, you'd have to decide whether to put a weighted suppressor on it. Guaranteed it happens a LOT less than on an upright. Everything on those things want to hum at some frequency.

[jazzyvee]

Classico is 40 1/2" from end of the nut to centre of bridge and 9 1/2" from the centre of the bridge to the upper edge of the tailpiece.
I have no idea if that is the correct setup though but at this stage in my learning i'm pretty reluctant to change the position of the bridge.

[edwardofhuncote]

I wouldn't change it if you are comfortable with it, Jazzy... won't make a farthing-worth of difference unless you acquire an upright bass with a longer scale. (moving its bridge this far upward could be detrimental to an upright bass) As for the Classico, I bet it was intended to be ~42" scale, with a ~7" afterlength; this would be a standard proportion, and would allow commercially available double-bass strings to be used. Would also be a natural switchover for a double-bassist, used to that scale.

[jon_jackson]

Somewhere along its journeys, my Classico lost its Alembic bridge, replaced with an adjustable bridge. I asked Mica if they could make a replacement but it would require the bass in the shop for fitting. So, I'm never quite sure what the correct setup should be (scale, afterlength, bridge height). Right now, it's set up with a reasonably low action on the fretboard and the bridge in its lowest position, 41 1/4" scale, 8 7/8" afterlength (bridge center to string holes on the tailpiece).

Greg, my assumption has been it is supposed to have a 42" scale length but I haven't seen anything to confirm it. I should probably just move the bridge and try it.

[pauldo]

There was a foam block on the bridge cover of my Jazz Bass when I bought it new. It wasn't long before I ripped it out.

Thanks for the affirmation Keith.   As I was just using his bass ‘for jazz band’, when I would take it home to ‘practice jazz band songs’ I would remove the bridge cover and foam pad that was afixed to it.

[garyhead]

My Classico was set up by James at the factory in 2019.
42” and 9” respectively.

Classicos are set up to match Stanley’s upright scale length.