Fender Mustang Bass String Mute material?

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CarbonCopyCarbonCopy Frets: 196
I have a 73/74 Fender Mustang bass. It still has the metal string mute on it, but none of the material (foam?) that would have actually performed the muting.

Does anyone know what material was used for this and where I can get a replacement or what I can use instead that will be close to what was used originally?

I would post a photo of my bass but I can't work out how to do it successfully from Onedrive!

This website has the same bass with the mute material still in tact though:
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Comments

  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    You can use a stringray mute and modify it to fit - fender don’t do a replacement though.

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  • You can use a stringray mute and modify it to fit - fender don’t do a replacement though.


    Thanks! Are they that unpopular that nobody does just the replacement foam, as I'd rather keep the existing mute instead of replacing with a separate modified one?

    I'm wondering whether foam pipe insulation may be worth trying as I already have some of that.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    Don't bother, they don't work properly. The biggest problem with them is that you need to screw up and down the metal fingers with a screwdriver every time you want to put the mute on or off. The second biggest problem is that the foam is too stiff and acts partly as a second bridge, affecting the intonation.

    The MusicMan one isn't quite so bad, because not only are the screws thumbwheels so you can do it without a screwdriver, the mutes are much closer to the bridge so they don't push the intonation out quite as badly.

    James Jamerson used a piece of ordinary sponge, which is a much better material.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ICBM said:
    Don't bother, they don't work properly. The biggest problem with them is that you need to screw up and down the metal fingers with a screwdriver every time you want to put the mute on or off. The second biggest problem is that the foam is too stiff and acts partly as a second bridge, affecting the intonation.

    The MusicMan one isn't quite so bad, because not only are the screws thumbwheels so you can do it without a screwdriver, the mutes are much closer to the bridge so they don't push the intonation out quite as badly.

    James Jamerson used a piece of ordinary sponge, which is a much better material.

    Maybe I'll just go with a sponge then in that case. Thanks for the info! I've not used one of these mutes before so was unaware of the problems. It makes sense as to why they're not included on reissues then!
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  • gusman2xgusman2x Frets: 919
    Do you know how firm the foam is?

    i might have some strips of black foam at work that could be cut down. I’ll check on Friday. 
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    It is probably significant that, when EBMM revised the Stingray bridge, they eliminated the mutes (and, hence, some drilling operations). 

    The mute rubber on my late Seventies RIC 4001 disintegrated into crumbly gunge worthy of investigation by Professor Quatermass.
    Be seeing you.
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  • gusman2x said:
    Do you know how firm the foam is?

    i might have some strips of black foam at work that could be cut down. I’ll check on Friday. 

    I've no idea how firm it was originally as I bought the bass in an auction last year and it didn't have the foam on it.

    I just tried stuffing some pipe insulation under the strings and this has worked really well so will stick to this I think as it does the job.

    Thanks for the offer though!
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