What is plunk? It's simply a piece of grooved rubber that fits on 6-string guitars right next to the bridge, damping the strings' sustain significantly. Inspired by the Reuben Cox (Old Style Guitar Shop, Los Angeles) rubber bridge guitars that are all the rage (Phoebe Bridgers, Blake Mills [Tape Op #115]), this little gadget is custom-manufactured by Ricky Young of the AudioHaze YouTube channel. Initially, he had posted a video about using Babolat Vibrakill tennis racket dampers on guitars to achieve this sound, After the video went viral and all the dampers were bought up online, he experimented and began marketing his own "plunk rubber bridge attachment." Slip this little thing onto any 6-string and get a cool, choked-down sound reminiscent of pizzicato violins or even a "broken" guitar! It's far different-sounding than typical palm muting, and musicians love checking it out on my sessions. For $20, it's the perfect studio hack when needed.
plunk: plunk guitar bridge damper
REVIEWED BY Larry Crane