Comments

• Jehu New Zealand✭✭✭

  June 2015 Posts: 77

  A lot of (electric) jazz players will use a scrunchy or hair tie for this. George van Eps patented a string damping device that attaches to the headstock and can be instantly raised and lowered to control open string ringing.
  
  
  You can see Herb Ellis using one in a lot of old videos and pics, and I believe he gave one to Barney Kessel as well.
  
  

  
• hotclubdebrampton Brampton, Ontario - Canada✭✭

  June 2015 Posts: 22

  Correct, I'm a huge Herb Ellis fan and I have seen this device on his videos; beats me that using the concept behind it has not been a more popular idea for this common issue
• Appel ✭✭✭

  June 2015 edited June 2015 Posts: 78

  The Van Eps String Damper! I've been looking for one of those since 1986. Dropping into this thread embarrassed me sufficiently to take another look - and it seems Jennifer Batten has re-worked the idea a bit - and has a damper distributed through Allparts. Here's a link to the promo kit if you're curious.
  
  I like the lighter design that George came up with - at least with his you could still fret a low F - but it's nice to see the idea is still out there.
  
  Regardless - I think a capo applied lightly to the zero fret is a great idea and probably unbeatable for a GJ guitar.

  
• Keith Murch Ontario Canada and Naples Florida✭✭ Dupont MD50 and several archtops

  August 2015 Posts: 50

  Appel wrote: »

  The Van Eps String Damper! I've been looking for one of those since 1986. Dropping into this thread embarrassed me sufficiently to take another look - and it seems Jennifer Batten has re-worked the idea a bit - and has a damper distributed through Allparts. Here's a link to the promo kit if you're curious.
  
  I like the lighter design that George came up with - at least with his you could still fret a low F - but it's nice to see the idea is still out there.
  
  Regardless - I think a capo applied lightly to the zero fret is a great idea and probably unbeatable for a GJ guitar.

  
  I recently sold my original Van Eps string damper. It definitely reduced feedback when playing loud with an Archtop. I don't play loud venues anymore, so I don't really need it these days. I guess it would eliminate unwanted sounds on an acoustic instrument, but that seems like an odd thing to want to do with a gypsy guitar.
  Keith
• Jeff Moore Minneapolis✭✭✭✭ Lebreton 2

  August 2015 Posts: 476

  Damn, you made your case. I wonder why cheaper guitars have the problem to begin with? I'm playing my Lebreton and the difference between open and fretted strings is almost unnoticeable. Is string energy somehow avoiding-escaping the top (where it belongs) and ringing the headstock? If so, some "shoelace" or felt just beyond the string tree (nut) might get the same effect without needing the bulky capo on your playing surface. There's a couple chords I love that that require my hand to be where the capo is, these wouldn't be possible with the capo. Just a thought

  "We need a radical redistribution of wealth and power" MLK