# Foam on your headstock?



## SHREDTOKILL (Apr 10, 2007)

whats up with people putting foam behind the nut?
my question is what does it do?
more sustain?
is it noticeable?


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## Nats (Apr 10, 2007)

i put foam under the springs in the body to eliminate that obnoxious bell-like hum. works like a charm


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## SHREDTOKILL (Apr 10, 2007)

that doesnt answer my question.
im talking about behind the nut....l


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## Kakaka (Apr 10, 2007)

Never heard of such use... but soft materials absorb mechanical vibration, such as sound, more than they reflect or transmit it. So unless I didn´t get the idea right, I can´t see how it would improve sustain.


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## SHREDTOKILL (Apr 10, 2007)

yeah i put some behind my nut about 5 min ago and holy shit i can hold a note forever!

hmmmm i like this.
everyone try it.


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## playstopause (Apr 10, 2007)

Do you have a locking nut or not?
How did you install it? (pics?).


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## Kakaka (Apr 10, 2007)

Yeah, what kind of foam? How thick was the piece you used?


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## TomAwesome (Apr 10, 2007)

A week or so ago, I put some foam behind the non-locking nuts on my Ibbies. I didn't notice any increase in sustain, but I did notice a very subtle change in how easy/fast it was to dampen the strings with my fingers for really staccato stuff. I don't think there's really anything to "installing" it. Just put it under the strings against the nut, and the strings should hold it there. I'd like to try with some better foam, though, since I'm just using thin folded over packaging foam. Does anyone know what you're supposed to use for this kind of thing?


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## Jason (Apr 10, 2007)

it won't increase sustain.. I belive people use it to tighten things up..


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## SHREDTOKILL (Apr 10, 2007)

its just a graph tech nut on a washburn x27 the peice i used is exactly 1cm tall and i just pushed it under my strings and butted it up against the nut.
the action feels alot better and i get great sustain.
heres some pics of what i did.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t309/IWANTARG/100_7428.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t309/IWANTARG/100_7429.jpg


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## Jason (Apr 10, 2007)

SHREDTOKILL said:


> its just a graph tech nut on a washburn x27 the peice i used is exactly 1cm tall and i just pushed it under my strings and butted it up against the nut.
> the action feels alot better and i get great sustain.



umm it doesn't increase sustain  it's in your head..


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## psycho (Apr 10, 2007)

Try using one of those semi-fuzzy poneytail ties and wrap it just below the low B tuning peg. i hear it helps w/ buzz a lil bit


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## soldierkahn (Apr 10, 2007)

nah yall, what its used for is to dampen the harmonics produced beyond the nut when the string vibrates, least thats what my teacher taught me. its a trade trick with shredders to help clean up unneccessary noise with high gain. but oh well maybe its just an ole wives tale....


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## psycho (Apr 10, 2007)

soldierkahn said:


> nah yall, what its used for is to dampen the harmonics produced beyond the nut when the string vibrates, least thats what my teacher taught me. its a trade trick with shredders to help clean up unneccessary noise with high gain. but oh well maybe its just an ole wives tale....



Ooooohhh, Cool, I LOVE THIS FUCKING SITE!!


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## SHREDTOKILL (Apr 10, 2007)

yeah it does make my harmonics much better.
i added some pics in my last post.
go check it out if you dont know what im talking about.


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## playstopause (Apr 10, 2007)

SHREDTOKILL said:


> http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t309/IWANTARG/100_7428.jpg
> http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t309/IWANTARG/100_7429.jpg


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## Kakaka (Apr 10, 2007)

Just like I said, soft materials would rather absorb than transmit or reflect vibration. The only chance of it increasing sustain when placed under your nut would be in the case of a nut too low which couldn´t push the strings high enough so that resonable tension could be applied to them. Which obviously was not the case.


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## psycho (Apr 10, 2007)

A buddy of mine just got mikes 7621 and it was set up like that.


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## Nats (Apr 10, 2007)

it's not gonna increase your sustain. it's all in your head. it helped clean up the sound on my 7421 and my warwick bass. 

here's what mine looks like


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## darren (Apr 10, 2007)

When i hit chunky, muted chords through an overdriven amp, i can hear the strings behind the nut ringing. I've been undecided about putting foam up there because on a couple of tracks i do actually use the "behind-the-nut strum" for an outrageous screech sound.


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## AVH (Apr 10, 2007)

What it does do: stop ringing overtones on staccato notes and stops, particularly at high volumes, or when recording. This also good to do with trem springs as well, which sometimes suffer from this problem too. 

It does absolutely nothing for sustain, one way or another. Nonsense.

Velcro also works well.


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## HighGain510 (Apr 10, 2007)

Allen, when you put the foam by the springs (behind them, closer to the body than the trem plate, correct?) they don't do anything to the motion of the trem when you use the bar?


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## AVH (Apr 10, 2007)

Not if you use the thin, softer, low-density foam like you see in EMG pickup boxes. You just put a small piece about 2" x 1.5" x 1/4" thick under the springs against the body. They won't impede the motion of the springs, but contact the springs gently enough to stop any ringing. Works.


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## Drache713 (Apr 10, 2007)

I went with foam behind the nut on my s7420 when I got it, and I'll never go back.


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## Mattmc74 (Apr 11, 2007)

I have seen pics of Dino and COW using a piece of foam behind the nut on their guitars as well. I will try to find some to post.


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## nyck (Apr 11, 2007)

I just tape the bass stings on my COW7 up behind the nut. It stops annoying resonance of the strings...I play hard haha.


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## darren (Apr 11, 2007)

I've seen photos of Sum41 in the studio where they're obviously tracking rhythm parts, and they've even got the top 3 strings taped on the playable part of the string to keep them muted while they riff.

Allen: Great call on the velcro... i've got a roll of velcro cable ties, and i'm going to try one behind the nut of my JP7 at my next rehearsal. My bandmate has a similar problem with the strings between the bridge and the tailpiece of his Italia Mondial ringing out. He's currently got a block of pink foam wedged under there (hehe)... maybe i'll share a couple of cable ties with him too... or maybe not.


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## Ryan (Apr 11, 2007)

I just slip a microwaveable chimichanga right behind the nut. No problem.


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## B Lopez (Apr 11, 2007)

Ryan said:


> I just slip a microwaveable chimichanga right behind the nut. No problem.



 You just made me hungry.


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## FortePenance (Apr 11, 2007)

darren said:


> I've seen photos of Sum41 in the studio where they're obviously tracking rhythm parts, and they've even got the top 3 strings taped on the playable part of the string to keep them muted while they riff.



Fredrik Thordendal does that sometimes too. You can see him playing his taped guitar on the jam with Morgan Agren.


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## Lozek (Apr 11, 2007)

With the springs, I actually wind low density foam through the centre of them, it's not enough to impede their movement at all but it does stop that annoying 'Krang'. I've always used foam behind the nut, although having recently done this with my S7420, I don't think I've used enough as it is between the nut and the string retainer bar. Think I'll move it back behind he bar which will also probably dampen more effectively, being that it's nearer the centre of the vibration.


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## Sebastian (Apr 11, 2007)

eliminates excess ringing


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## SHREDTOKILL (Apr 11, 2007)

well this def. answered my question.
looks like ill be putting some on my 7321 aswell.


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## drshock (Apr 11, 2007)

Kakaka said:


> Never heard of such use... but soft materials absorb mechanical vibration, such as sound, more than they reflect or transmit it. So unless I didn´t get the idea right, I can´t see how it would improve sustain.



It's supposed to add weight to the weak end of the instrument, I have a hair tie and a bandana on the headstock of my acoustic actually.


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## darren (Apr 11, 2007)

drshock said:


> It's supposed to add weight to the weak end of the instrument, I have a hair tie and a bandana on the headstock of my acoustic actually.



Okay, i think some of you guys are _REALLY_ confused. Two _completely_ different concepts are getting mangled together and mixed up.

One is the idea that adding mass to the headstock using a Fat Finger (or some other mass load) will increase the sustain of your guitar. I've never really bought into this, and there are proponents of the _exact opposite_ theory (such as PRS), that _reducing_ mass at the headstock is the key to tone and sustain.

Regardless of whether you believe the "headstock mass = sustain" theory, a scrunchie, a piece of foam, an old sweat sock, etc. attached behind the nut will not contribute _anything_ to your guitar's sustain. It does not add a significant amount of mass to the headstock, and a soft item is not coupled solidly to the vibrating neck in such a way that it's going to contribute anything anyway.

What this thread is about is _*damping unwanted string vibration behind the nut*_. That's where soft materials are used to absorb the sympathetic vibrations of the strings behind the nut, which can sometimes result in sound trailing after a chord or single note is palm-muted. Muting the strings behind the nut will help percussive playing sound tighter and cleaner, because there are no stray harmonics bleeding through after you've muted the _playing_ part of the string.

Are we clear on this?


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## axechain (Apr 11, 2007)

)))) it`s just so  about the sustain thing))))
always have mine for the studio and tour 




just to kill that asspain vibration


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## Digital Black (Apr 11, 2007)

Dried out little Debbie cakes work welltoo.

I have to try the foam thing, too many poeple here saying it does something..


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## Rick (Apr 11, 2007)

If I didn't have the locking nut, I'd be using the foam. Definitely.


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## ZeroSignal (Apr 12, 2007)

rg7420user said:


> If I didn't have the locking nut, I'd be using the foam. Definitely.



 Hang on... Does that mean putting foam behind a _locking nut_ won't make that much of a difference but putting some behind a standard one will?

I've seen Cazares with foam behind his locking nut...


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## Bartok (Apr 12, 2007)

I just use one of the hair ties mentioned in front of the nut. Makes tapping etc. so much easier. You obviously loose out a little in sustain but everything else sounds better- I don't need hours or sustain for most of my playing anyway


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## Drache713 (Apr 12, 2007)

ZeroSignal said:


> Hang on... Does that mean putting foam behind a _locking nut_ won't make that much of a difference but putting some behind a standard one will?
> 
> I've seen Cazares with foam behind his locking nut...


I've got foam behind my locking nut, behind the string retainer bar. Works like a charm.


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## BrianCarroll (Apr 13, 2007)

I recently tried velcro instead of foam, and it's really better, totally silent !


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## axechain (Apr 13, 2007)

whatta hell is velcro???


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## Nats (Apr 13, 2007)

axechain said:


> whatta hell is velcro???



velcro works when you have one side be fuzzy and the other size is rough. the fuzzy side sticks to the rough side


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## darren (Apr 13, 2007)

http://www.velcro.com/

Generically called, "hook and loop fasteners".


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## CGord (Apr 13, 2007)

I saw pics of this maybe a year ago, & tried it. I didn't have any foam laying around, so I folded up a polishing cloth & slid it under the strings. I tried it behind the nut & also behind the bridge (fixed bridge, string-thru guitar).

It dampens the ringing on stuff like stop/start riffs, that's what I use it for. However, it also dampens the overall tone; sustain is definitely lessened, & you can hear the difference very easily. I did not like it for that reason.

Then I watched that Meshuggah drum clinic video thing on youtube, & saw how he taped off his high strings, damping the unused strings while not affecting the tone of the strings he was playing. So I took my polishing cloth & slid it under the strings I wasn't using (9 times out of ten, the three highest) at the neck pickup. Works like a charm! Dunno how you'd do it playing out, though; probably would have to use the tape method.


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## darren (Apr 13, 2007)

Playing live usually doesn't call for that degree of precision in the sound.

I'm surprised to learn that you found sustain decreased when you dampened the strings behind the nut and the bridge. I guess some of those harmonics ringing can add a bit to the sound.


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## CGord (Apr 13, 2007)

Yeah, there is a noticeable difference in the strings you do play, not just the ones you don't. Behind the nut you only hear it on open strings, but behind the bridge, you hear it on every note. I haven't tried it behind the nut on my Floyd-equipped guitar yet, so I can't speak about it on a locking trem setup; I'm referring only to fixed bridge guitars.


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## wretchedspawn (Apr 16, 2007)

I put electrical tape around my strings behind the nut and behind the bridge. It's more asthetically pleasing to me than a block of foam since it isn't as noticable.


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## McKay (Aug 10, 2010)

Damn, that velcro looks pro.


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## Prydogga (Aug 10, 2010)

3 years man. 3 years.


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## blister7321 (Aug 10, 2010)

thats one super necrobump


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## McKay (Aug 10, 2010)




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## Tom MAF (Aug 10, 2010)

Sorry I know I'm just contributing to this old thread but can someone tell me exactly which type of 'velcro tie' thing I should buy? Cheers


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