Nothing ruins a perfectly good bass line, fill or lick than having that incessant low rumble of your loose low strings. It’s distracting, it can ruin your sound, but most importantly, it can chip away at the foundation of a strong groove.
This is something that can plague you as you make the shift from playing a 4-string to playing a 5 or 6-string bass, but there are ways of dealing with this problem.
In this lesson, you’ll learn 2 separate strategies for dealing with ‘phantom’ vibrations so you can keep your bass lines tight and your fills crisp.
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Now like I say in the video, you could ask 100 different bass players how they deal with this problem, and you’ll likely get 100 different answers. What I’ve shown you works for me – and it very well may work for you.
But like I always say – experiment and find out what works for YOU! After all, the bass is a relatively young instrument, and there is more than one way to skin a cat.
Do you have another way of dealing with this problem? Let me know in the comments below!
And if you have a question like Collen, send it to me! You can reach me by filling out the form on the contact page, or through the email newsletter, so make sure and sign up. You’ll get a whole slew of exclusive subscriber only lessons sent directly to your inbox.
Good luck with the lesson, and happy playing!
Cheers,
jim bax says
Luke, Thanks, man. Just got a Tradition 5 string and I love it. but I’ve been struggling with muting. I’m going to try your idea now… Perfect timing…. but then that’s what we do, isn’t it?
best regards, Jim
Luke McIntosh says
Hey Jim – I’m glad you’re going to give it a try. Like I said, there are tons of ways of dealing with this problem. Let me know how you do with the ways I suggested.
Luke
Cristian says
Thank you Luke for this idea. I was trying to use my fretting hand thumb to mute the low E string but, as my fingers are not as long as I should like sometimes was impossible. I’ll give a try to your idea to use plucking hand pinky and maybe ring finger.
Cristian
Luke McIntosh says
No worries Cristian. Let me know how it goes for you! Good luck!