bass sound is very clicky???

[woolz]

having a bit off an issue with my technique.... i think.

recently i have noticed by bass sound is very clicky, almost like a korn fieldly click. its not string buzz, so im wondering wether is a technique or my bass? wether i have my action low or high i stil get the click.

any ideas? i play with my fingers.

cheers boys.

[waynepunkdude]

Do you have a Trace Elliot by chance?

[xilddx]

[quote name='woolz' post='781837' date='Mar 21 2010, 05:41 PM']having a bit off an issue with my technique.... i think.

recently i have noticed by bass sound is very clicky, almost like a korn fieldly click. its not string buzz, so im wondering wether is a technique or my bass? wether i have my action low or high i stil get the click.

any ideas? i play with my fingers.

cheers boys.[/quote]
EQ?

Either that or you are tapping the pickups with your fingers or pushing the strings onto them. Try dropping the pickups very much lower than the strings and see it the click disappears. If not, try EQ. Other than they, you could possibly have a tronics problem perhaps?

[woolz]

[url="http://www.myspace.com/altitudezerouk"]http://www.myspace.com/altitudezerouk[/url]

listen to 'hammer blow' 2mins 37secs into the song. really shows here. but you can hear it through everysong if you listen.

[Tinman]

What bass do you use? Do you have long finger nails? I play with a pick and had a similar problem with a P bass when I turned the treble up.

[Paul_C]

I used to get quite a lot of "click" when I played over-enthusiastically, bouncing the strings (particularly the E) off the last fret on the neck.

I solved it by making a ramp to force me to play across the strings rather than angled down as well as across.

[woolz]

use an ibanez pretige bass. ill try lowering the pickups see if that helps. i dont think its the amp either cus ive tried an ampeg which shows it up even more than my ashdown evo iii head.

[woolz]

and fingernails are pretty short. im wondering wether it is my eq? i also have an active bass and i always plug it into the passive input. could this be it?

Edited March 21, 2010 by woolz

[Mr. Foxen]

Which way are your fingers hitting the stings? if you are pushing them down into the bass rather than across the face of it, that will do it.

[Pete Academy]

Sounds like:

i) Action is too low.
ii) You're plucking quite close to the neck.
iii) You're hitting the pickup. Try lowering them.

Edited March 21, 2010 by Pete Academy

[butlerk02]

I used to have the same problem in that i played too aggressively.

Try turning up your volume a little and attack the strings a little less.

[woolz]

ok cheers, will give all these a try. action is definatley not too low, i cant take it any higher!

[LukeFRC]

or the other option is do what I do and just raise the action untill it stops doing it. My guess would be its the way you attact the strings with your fingers.
Another option which I have also done is use a string guage up. They will be more tense so harder for you to make hit frets/pups

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='woolz' post='781913' date='Mar 21 2010, 06:38 PM']ok cheers, will give all these a try. action is definatley not too low, i cant take it any higher![/quote]


how high is it? If you've got it to the max on the bridge then I would think there is something wrong with the set up of your bass!

[Pete Academy]

Can someone video you playing? Would help immensely.

[Musicman20]

My finger technique does this....with P basses. It sounds like Iron Maiden....sometimes I want to get rid of it. I think I play quite aggressively though.

[velvetkevorkian]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='781879' date='Mar 21 2010, 06:15 PM']Which way are your fingers hitting the stings? if you are pushing them down into the bass rather than across the face of it, that will do it.[/quote]
I would guess this is the issue. Try and use as little force as possible, and see if you can get your fingers moving parallel to the top of the bass, rather than down towards it.

[woolz]

ill try and do a video some point this week of me playing. i recon it must be my technique, i think i play down towards the bass far too hard and not across it.

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='woolz' post='782006' date='Mar 21 2010, 07:48 PM']ill try and do a video some point this week of me playing. i recon it must be my technique, i think i play down towards the bass far too hard and not across it.[/quote]

If your action is right up, that shouldn't matter unless you pick VERY hard.

Do you rest your fingers on the string before you pluck (however briefly) or do you hit them on the way past?

If it's the latter and you have hard callouses, that could cause it.

Do you still get the clicking if you play softly? What about if you play softly but turn up your amp so it's the same volume as it was when you were playing harder?

[Doddy]

It sounds to me like it's a problem with your right hand technique. To me it
sounds like you are attacking the strings quite hard,that's all.
Are you detuned as well?

[ash_sak]

[quote name='silddx' post='781847' date='Mar 21 2010, 05:45 PM']Either that or you are tapping the pickups with your fingers or pushing the strings onto them. Try dropping the pickups very much lower than the strings and see it the click disappears.[/quote]

I used to get that, when the EQ was set properly it could sound like a machine gun.

[bassbloke]

A common problem with a lot of metal fingerstyle players is their right hand is too close to the neck. There's a lot more give in the strings and, when you're playing hard, you get a lot of noise from hitting the strings and pickups.

I say problem, but for many players it's a part of their technique and a part of their band sound. I play much closer to the bridge, but it is noticeably more difficult. It took me ages to build up stamina, speed and, all important, callouses to keep it up.

[morsefull]

Does it only happen when you fret 2 strings?
Let's say"C" on the A string and "G" on the E string.
Sometimes when you play the C then your finger follows through on to the muted (on the 3rd or G fret) E string, pressing it down onto the fret and making a distinctive "click".
I suffer with this quite a lot and either have to use very gentle right hand technique or avoid double fretting.

[Mog]

Its more than likely the strings hitting the end of the fingerboard. If it was the pups it would be more of a popping noise. I get all the time but I like it. If you dont want to change the action you'll have to alter your finger attack.

[woolz]

de tuned to c# on the bottom string yes. also i dont know how softly you guys are playing but to stop any clicking i need to play verry very softly.