Will a fret wrap help me when playing with a pick? (from a fingerstyle player)

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Greetings my fellow bassbuzzers,

I (fingerstyle player) have trouble with playing with a pick. Long story short: A lot of ringing notes which I normally mute perfectly when playing with fingers.

I’ve tried changing my (muting) technique for both left and right hand, but it is either sacrificing too much from my regular technique that it becomes uncomfortable or the unwanted strings still ring and I won’t be able to mute them properly.

I’ve watched @JoshFossgreen’s gadget video about fret wraps and foam, which leads me to this qustion.

My question basically: Will a fret wrap help me mute strings I don’t wanna play/hear when playing with a pick, and can I keep my regular muting technique normally used for fingerstyle, but then with a pick?

Are there any other alternatives? Foam maybe? Or maybe there is a proper technique to learn? Please let me know! :slight_smile:

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Yeah, a fret wrap should help with sympathetic resonance. Some purists say thats cheating and you should learn to mute properly, others that its a tool to use so use it. I’ve used them before for some specific songs I was playing. Nothing against them personally and would use them again if I need to but I have enough bad habits to break still so I want to avoid the crutch of relying on wraps.

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Yes - I’ve used both and prefer the wrap over the foam. I still recommend muting with your fretting hand as much as possible while using it. You might also be able to use the edge of your palm to help mute?

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I use foam to damp the sound a bit on most of my basses,
I use a fret wrap on the OBass, but that it because it is very lively and picks up all the resonances.

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If you can take a quick vid with audio of what you don’t like, I could feel good about giving feedback.
Without seeing or hearing, I can’t give the specific info that I think would help the most.

Fret wrap and foam would be great, but not at all if you’re looking for a bright, aggressive pick sound.
They’d be killer for helping keep things a bit more muted and funky, but for most picked lines I’m thinking of on open strings, they’d be sucking too much of that jangly, rocking resonance for me.

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Yeah. If you want a pick sound, I’d avoid the wrap or foam; this isn’t purism, it’s about the timbre of the sound.

You’ll still get a sharp attack with a pick using a dampener like a fret wrap but you’ll lose a lot of the overall aggressive bite of the tone.

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Left hand works but don’t forget you can get the meat of your palm on there too.

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Palm muting places your hand at a different position on the bass which produces a different sound. I’m more the kinda guy to play right above the pickup or even closer to the neck (Lemmy Style).

I will try it though.

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You absolutely should be using your picking hand to help mute, yeah.

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I pick up near the neck. Just where my hand naturally falls with the height I hold my bass at. Doesn’t interfere with palm muting at all.

It’s probably something to do with your picking technique. You really need video of what you’re doing to judge.

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Awesome, hope it works for you!

I prefer playing in the same location. It’s just a touch here and there with the palm as needed, not a full plant by the bridge (you’re right, that is a different style and sound).

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Hi all!

Thanks for all the responses! I get it that a proper muting technique works better than using workarounds like a fret wrap. That’s why I’ve decided to just play fingerstyle. @JoshFossgreen already convinced me to play fingerstyle with his many videos :slight_smile:

Again, thanks all! :slight_smile:

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