Reduce ringing behind the bridge?

[ChrisDesign]

Can I reduce the ringing behind the bridge? I'm playing a lot of black Sabbath with quick palm muting, so when I slam my palm down I have a chiming.

• Guitar: Jazzmaster (standard, with the vibrato closer to the bridge)
• Bridge: Staytrem
• Strings: Hybrid 10/11 set (Rotosound Blue)
• Neck: Shimmed with a 0.5 degree whole pocket shim

I assume the answer is: that's just jazzmasters.

[windmill]

It is part of their charm.

Try threading some thin foam between or around the strings and see if that is your answer.

[HarlowTheFish]

You can run the strings through a hair tie (just get one that's about the right size and won't put a lot of pressure on the strings), or put a little stick of foam or a cut-up sponge threaded around the strings. I had a hair tie on my ESP's tune-o-matic and I have just a piece of cloth tied around the strings between the bridge and tailpiece on my bass.

[alexpigment]

I just use a small amount of heat shrink tubing at the ball end of the strings (all you need is about half an inch or less, and really you probably don't need them on the wound strings even. Put the tubing on before installing the strings, heat up so that they hug the string a bit, then string up. Hope that helps.

[adamrobertt]

Meh, this is just what guitars that have string length behind the bridge do. You'll only hear it unplugged anyway, it's not gonna make it through an amp.

[Larry Mal]

This is what a Buzzstop is for.

[HarlowTheFish]

Meh, this is just what guitars that have string length behind the bridge do. You'll only hear it unplugged anyway, it's not gonna make it through an amp.

Nah you definitely hear it through an amp -- even the string length behind the headstock can ring audibly when plugged in.

[adamrobertt]

Meh, this is just what guitars that have string length behind the bridge do. You'll only hear it unplugged anyway, it's not gonna make it through an amp.

Nah you definitely hear it through an amp -- even the string length behind the headstock can ring audibly when plugged in.

I mean, I own two Jazzmasters and have been using them as my primary guitars for 10 years. Yes, you can get the behind the bridge ringing to sound through an amp, if you pluck behind the bridge intentionally, but for all practical purposes during normal playing you can't really hear it enough for it to be an issue.

9 times out of 10 it bothers people when they're playing unplugged because it then becomes very noticeable. Some people are more OCD about it than others. I find the best approach is to just accept it as part of how the guitar is designed. My Gibson ES-330L does the same thing, because it also has a lot of string length behind the bridge. It's just how the guitar is designed.

[Larry Mal]

I didn't know you have an ES-330L. I have one also... and the reason I bought that is because I wanted that length of string back there. I feel that the length of string adds a lot of harmonics to the main sound, on a Jazzmaster and a 330 type guitar.

I want that there.

[HarlowTheFish]

I mean, I own two Jazzmasters and have been using them as my primary guitars for 10 years. Yes, you can get the behind the bridge ringing to sound through an amp, if you pluck behind the bridge intentionally, but for all practical purposes during normal playing you can't really hear it enough for it to be an issue.

9 times out of 10 it bothers people when they're playing unplugged because it then becomes very noticeable. Some people are more OCD about it than others. I find the best approach is to just accept it as part of how the guitar is designed. My Gibson ES-330L does the same thing, because it also has a lot of string length behind the bridge. It's just how the guitar is designed.

When I play with high gain, the noise from the headstock and behind the bridge is very noticeable. Most of the time I don't mind but when I really need something to sound tight I need to use a string mute on the headstock end at least, and sometimes some kind of mute behind the bridge as well. I don't hear it acoustically from any of my guitars, but I definitely get it through the amp. It's not an issue for me or anything, just kind of a side effect of the construction, but it's definitely there and for some styles and tones it can be problematic.

[adamrobertt]

I didn't know you have an ES-330L. I have one also... and the reason I bought that is because I wanted that length of string back there. I feel that the length of string adds a lot of harmonics to the main sound, on a Jazzmaster and a 330 type guitar.

I want that there.

Technically it belongs to my girlfriend, but I've played it quite a bit. Really nice guitar, not without its own quirks.

[Veitchy]

Some good DIY solutions so far.

My go-to has always been a strip of hook-side Velcro. slap it across the strings and it mutes them pretty effectively. Completely reversible and if you take it off you'll never lose it inside a guitar case.

[jorri]

Packing Foam mute things.

For double ingenuity put it on the other side of the bridge too and it will sound better than your palm.

To be real fancy get some piano felt! Thats how pianos evolved to do it.

Or as some suggestion once on here, can you install a Jaguar mute but backwards?

Also, cant help with obligatory "buy a Gibson or whatever The Black Sabbats used." Sorry.

[Debaser]

I’ve done lots of things for Jags/JM/Gretsch guitars for this:

1) Use rubber grommets and squeeze them between the strings
2) shrink wrap the string, but not necessarily at the ball end
3) thread buckskin/leather cord through the strings, immediately behind the saddles
4) consider buying a string mute from dBridge (aluminum/felt/Velcro barrette for your strings)

Since I do want to ‘play’ behind the bridge, the only thing I really like is adding the dampening right behind the saddles. This nukes the worst offenders, like the plain G and B strings. Still rings out loud if I want to add noise.

The most effective thing for me is simply resting my right strumming palm on the strings behind the bridge at all times. Slide in for the palm mute, slide back for any ring out..

[CorporateDisguise]

Sometimes I’ll stuff a paper towel underneath to reduce the ringing if it’s bothering me during recording. A better looking solution could be to get a velcro cable tie, and mount some foam to it. Like the foam used under Jazzmaster pickups. Quick and easy on and off.

And the ringing is definitely noticeable through an amp. Not so much clean, but when you pile the gain on, or use a fuzz it comes through loud and clear. I like the sound a lot of time, but when you are playing alot of staccato, you hear it ringing when everything else is muted, which can be annoying.