First Bass Gig and the New Caddy

Yesterday I played my first gig on the string bass. It was a fill-in for the regular bass player who couldn't be there. The band was the Ukulele Band that plays at local nursing homes and retirement centers.
It was really good to be back on the bass. The band did have some problems with rhythm - mostly singers coming in too soon. I'm not sure if they couldn't hear the bass or piano, or just ignored it.
The audience didn't seem to notice, or care.

I got a good test drive of the new bass caddy It feels too light but I have to remember that a full golf bag weighs more than my string bass. It doesn't steer too well since it was meant to be pulled rather than pushed, but until I really trust that the bass stays on, I'm pushing so I can keep an eye on it. And I love the fact that it still folds up.
Next time I have it loaded up, I'll take a picture with the bass strapped in.

The Bass Mute has Arrived

This mute is a really solid piece of rubber. It cut the volume about in half and, it might be my imagination, but I swear it makes the bass sound better! Hmmmmm, now I'm mulling over the possibility of leaving the mute on and amplifying the bass --- It will be amplified with the Happy Strings group anyway...but not at the jam sessions. Well, just something to experiment with.

Dulcimer Mute

I found the hair scrunchies and tried them out as a mute for the dulcimer. It worked great. It stopped a lot of the ringing and, unlike the cardboard, had a clear tone. The closer I slid it up toward the frets, the more it muted but didn't changed the tuning.
Now I have a pickup to make it louder and and mute to make it softer, for practice.
Still waiting for the bass mute.

Cardboard Dulcimer Mute

I discovered today that the cardboard mute, mentioned below, also works on dulcimer. I had to fiddle with it a bit to keep it from migrating to the middle of the strum area and damping everything down. I actually turned in upside down and slid it tight against the bridge. It worked great, especially on loud and fast pieces.
For slower pieces, I found I didn't like to use it so much. I can play softer and like to hear the strings ring on a song like Ashokan Farewell.

My brother mentioned that the hair ties, or scrunchies work on the nut end of a guitar. I have some scrunchies somewhere - just couldn't find them. (the story of my life.) I'm not sure how one would get them over the scroll and tuning pegs and still be tight enough to mute. I'll try it sometime when I find them...
Can't wait to get the bass mute.I won't have any excuse now not to practice!

Bass and Ukulele Mutes

After my very kind neighbors commented on how much they enjoyed listening to me practice, I thought I'd better get a bass mute. I do make some horrible noises trying to play with a bow. I ordered one from Amazon. Waiting for that one to arrive.

I thought I'd like one for the ukulele too. I couldn't find one online but I did find directions for making one out of some kind of clay. Then it hit me that plain ole cardboard might work! I pressed a strip of cardboard on the strings just enough to make an indentation. Then I cut a little way up on each mark. I cut one too close to the edge so I just made a single string mute for that string.

I slid the cardboard up against the bridge and it works fine. It sounds kinda plunky, but it does cut the volume and that's what counts.