Quote:
Originally Posted by raduray
I do understand that "palm" muting is achieved by resting the side of your hand on the saddle, slightly overlapping the vibrating strings. When you do that, do you cover all three low strings, or do you need to shift your hand as the base line changes strings?
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I cover all three bass strings. I don't move my hand, and find it easy to just rest on the bass strings and avoid touching the others - it's a very light pressure, I'm not pushing down on the bridge. The side of the palm is angled up a little towards the pinky, so that it doesn't make contact with strings past the 4th string. Naturally, the pressure (such as it is) is a little more on the 6th than on the 4th, and sometimes the 4th might ring or the 3rd might get slightly damped. No big deal either way.
It's certainly a subtle thing, and needs some experimentation to get right.
I don't use a thumb pick, btw, I find I can get my thumb nail to still contact the string as much as I need to.
"Palm muting" is really a misnomer: it's done with the side of the hand, and the strings are only slightly damped, not fully muted (silenced). The idea, obviously, is to make the bass strings sound something like a double bass, softer and more staccato. The notes are shortened a little, and the higher frequencies damped.