Unwanted slappy twang.

[DJpullchord]

I've got a bass and an amp, so far so good. But I'm finding that when I play quickly the strings are always catching on the top fret. You get mah?
Is it a matter of just controlling the right hand a little more? I'm assuming a lot of this twang will be lost in the band.
Do I need to play more gently?
Any thoughts much appreciated.

[gary mac]

Bit hard to help from your description. It could be your technique or the instrument set up.

First things first, get the instrument set up to suit your technique. Or borrow/try another bass and see if it sounds/feels the same.

[DJpullchord]

Thanks for the reply.
The actions pretty high and my previous bass had the same issue. Maybe I'm attacking it too hard?
Do you guys play free strokes or rest strokes with the right hand?

I'm use to playing an acoustic guitar, perhaps that's the issue?

[Raymondo]

This might sound silly but ...Have you tried playing softer to see if you can eradicate the noises?

If it means that you have to play that softly that you cannot hear what you are playing, then it may well be the bass needs setting up.

[DJpullchord]

Not silly at all. I play an acoustic guitar loads and am use to varying the dynamics with my right hand a bit. Does the electric bass not have much scope for differing the accent etc with the right hand? Is it a case of, play gently or even more gentlerer?
Maybe I just need to go softly softly and turn the amp up.

[spectoremg]

There's enough criticism of MK's style already on here... oh hang on a minute

[SICbass]

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1503255460' post='3356749']
There's enough criticism of MK's style already on here... oh hang on a minute
[/quote]

Oooh, beat me to it!

[tonyquipment]

Stick a compressor or limiter on it. That might make you play softer with no penalty to perceived loudness.

Or try raising the bridge ?

Chisel out the last fret? No fret no problem.

You can't exactly play that fret anyway so do away with it if it's causing you grief and you can't be arsed to change techniques.

[Raymondo]

[quote name='DJpullchord' timestamp='1503243229' post='3356643']
Not silly at all. I play an acoustic guitar loads and am use to varying the dynamics with my right hand a bit. Does the electric bass not have much scope for differing the accent etc with the right hand? Is it a case of, play gently or even more gentlerer?
Maybe I just need to go softly softly and turn the amp up.
[/quote]

If you are used to varying the dynamics with your right hand ,and you are still getting these noises I would suggest that you take your bass to a tech to have it set up.

I am not the best for this sort of advice though ...throughout my 45 years of playing I have never understood the technicalities. I don't know what all the debate about tone and" heft" and all the other stuff people on here are experts in ...I have just plugged in and played ,using only the controls on my bass or amp to get it to sound how I want it to!

Edited August 21, 2017 by Raymondo

[DJpullchord]

Thank you all for your input.
I shall try a guitar tech and see if that helps.
Also, if anyone has a link to an industry standard compressor that I can buy, that'd be great.

Thanks again!

[Steve Browning]

I'd get the set up done first. I suffered a similar issue and found it was a raised fret. Make sure your bass is properly set up before spending a lot of money on stuff you may not even need.

[Dan Dare]

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1503298982' post='3356931']
I'd get the set up done first. I suffered a similar issue and found it was a raised fret. Make sure your bass is properly set up before spending a lot of money on stuff you may not even need.
[/quote]

Good sense. You can check roughly if the frets are level by sighting along the fingerboard. Any that are obviously too high will stand out. Definitely worth getting it looked at by a repairer.

[Steve Browning]

I would seriously consider investing in the Fender bass Haynes manual. I spent years shying away from doing even the most basic stuff on my basses but bought this and it enabled me to do stuff like check the fingerboard relief (another possible source of your problem) but also how to fix it. I can now maintain my basses far better and even set them up (bar any filing that might be required).

Yours may not be a Fender but I should think much of the content is the same.

[DJpullchord]

Thank you all.
There's a chap (or chapess?) in Hereford called the guitar clinic. I'll pop over and see what he says.

It's a bootsy traben (I have the cloak and boots to match!). I shall invest in the manual.♠️