Posted 18 April 2007 - 06:54 AM
I can give you a couple of old studio-tricks for diminishing or virtually removing the sound of an overly dominant or unwanted string(s) without removing them. To diminish the power of a given string slightly (and this was more often sometimes used on the G-string which can be stronger, sometimes as the thickest solid, but any string really) is to loosen the string a bit and slide a tiny piece of paper or thin cloth under it right at the saddle and then re-tune it. This will help diminish its vibrational transference into the soundboard (or pickup). If the string is to be left open during the time you want it to be more subtle, you can also do the same thing at the other end, under the nut. It won't really mute the string but will lessen its power a bit. To "kill" it even more take a piece of tape and put it over the string in an out of the way place (usually near the bridge or right above the neck between it and the sound-hole where it won't contact or affect other strings or your picking). The piece of tape needs to be an inch or so long. Put it over the string and then just keeping a little tension to assure continued contact with the string, stick the tape down onto the soundboard below it on both sides. This will virtually kill any vibration the string might have and prevent it from being picked up by the soundboard or pickup. To, in effect, completely remove the string from the picture it can be loosened and then taped down out of the way below the other strings.
Back in the old analog-days before it was possible to say remove the recorded wave-form of a string or note at a studio with a couple of mouse-clicks or use digital noise-gates, parameter-settings and filters, or choose from a virtually unlimited array of effects, etc. little things like this were often done to get the exact sound you wanted at the studio. All kinds of weird things were done. (Like putting your mic inside an open pail or garbage-can to "thicken" the tone, playing behind large thin sheets of metal suspended from the ceiling to add reverb, purposely poking holes in speakers to add distortion or a "dirty" effect, etc, etc.)
Un-plugged is not the same as
never-was-plugged-in-to-begin-with.
John Jackson -My Teacher and My Old FriendWhen the roll is called up yonder he'll be there
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