String Breakage - muting new strings

[Ron Nossaman]

>It is a mystery to me why people think it is appropriate to remove these 
>mutes, but removal is the norm. I have taken to putting in two mutes (I 
>use action cloth), one on the tuning pin end of the speaking length to be 
>visible and available for removal, and another stealth mute at the bridge 
>end of the speaking length. Two mutes can provide very good damping, but 
>if one happens to get taken out, there is still at least _some_ damping.
>
>Kent Swafford
>

Yep, I often do this too, as a wilderness survival trick. I like the term
"stealth mute", by the way. I have often referred to the visible one as the
sacrificial mute, so it fits. May I steal it? I've also thought that my
using pieces of ratty old temperament strips might be what prompted the
removal of the mute, but if they're removing your classier looking action
cloth too, that must not be it. We are apparently a species of pickers and
gleaners.

 Ron