Awful noise when slapping the E string

#82
I had something similar with a Jazz bass I used to have. I was NOT hitting the polepieces with the strings. The pickups just seemed to be quite hot, and unsubtle: the minute you hit them hard they would produce a large output and the attack sounded much the OP's audio clip.
I tried lowering the pickups, which helped a bit although I could still get that click noise, and it didn't sound as good. I ended up just using it fingerstyle because I really liked its sound that way. I temporarily tried different pickups (Wizard 84s, from a UK maker) which didn't make that noise...
 
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#86
Fletz said:
Make a little joke and the slapping elitists come out. Just because you can play slap bass doesn't mean you are a better bassist. A good bassist recognizes the right tool for the job: fingers, slapp, pick. Whatever you need to do for the song. I happen to use all three as needed. There is no insecurity. There is no looking down the nose. It's a style of bass (that I don't love) but is part of our four (five and six) stringed world. Have at it! Enjoy it! Yay you slap the bass all the time! Just don't be a d*ck about it and take a joke.
Click to expand...
I spend a fair amount of time hanging out in a bass guitar store. Words can't express how annoying any more than eight seconds of slapping is, therefore I must resort to interpretive dance.
 
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#87
Hey guys! I'm sorry I didn't post an update, I've been extremely busy today. It's 9.30 pm and just came from work :rollno:
I'll just ignore the anti slap thing, it's not worth writing an answer to a close mind (no offense though).
So, about the problem I have with this bass: I lowered the pickups as you suggested (although I did that a few years ago I saw they were really high anyway...) and it's better now, at least it doesn't make that clipping noise, but it still doesn't sound right to me. Tomorrow I'll post a few more samples of how it sounds now. Not now as I'm REALLY tired and don't feel like picking up my bass and playing, just wanna sleep :roflmao:
 
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#88
I think it's important to mention I've got a really low action... (pic taken this morning)


20180410_144848.jpg
 
#91
andres3195 said:
I think it's important to mention I've got a really low action... (pic taken this morning)
Click to expand...

I ran into the same problem on a couple basses with uber low action and arrow straight necks (virtually no relief). Playing finger style, right over the forward pickup, I was getting a "clacking" noise from the 3rd and 4th strings. The noise sounded just like a string touching a pole piece, but not quite as loud. At first I thought the strings might have been hitting the pole pieces, but they weren't. Turns out, the strings were making contact with the last fret and the end of the fret board. In both cases, low tension TI flats were on the basses.

The solution in my case was to play with a very light touch, or add some relief to the neck, to raise the action a smidge. I like to dig in a little bit, so the latter worked for me.

Might be worth investigating? Good luck.
 
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#93
OK so I have a Jazz Bass that does the same thing. I pick and pluck (use my fingers). But I also like a certain sound I get from hitting my strings (OMG please don't tell me that this is slapping). It's hard to explain but it's a quick hit that's not very hard (OMG please don't tell me that this is slapping). I get a certain harmonic sound that I really like. But people tell me that they can hear a ticking sound when I do that. To me it's like the slapping sound rockabilly guys get on upright basses. Not really the strings hitting the pick up but the sound of the finger attacking the strings...right?
 
#94
juancaminos said:
OK so I have a Jazz Bass that does the same thing. I pick and pluck (use my fingers). But I also like a certain sound I get from hitting my strings (OMG please don't tell me that this is slapping). It's hard to explain but it's a quick hit that's not very hard (OMG please don't tell me that this is slapping). I get a certain harmonic sound that I really like. But people tell me that they can hear a ticking sound when I do that. To me it's like the slapping sound rockabilly guys get on upright basses. Not really the strings hitting the pick up but the sound of the finger attacking the strings...right?
Click to expand...
Strings striking the fingerboard or frets
 
#97
Here is a "before and after" I lowered the pick ups, and it clearly got better (no more clipping noise) but it still doesn't sound right to me... I know the strings are old and all that, but my SUB doesn't sound like that with old strings. I'm thinking that the string is hitting the last frets. Any suggestion on how to solve that?



 
#98
andres3195 said:
Here is a "before and after" I lowered the pick ups, and it clearly got better (no more clipping noise) but it still doesn't sound right to me... I know the strings are old and all that, but my SUB doesn't sound like that with old strings. I'm thinking that the string is hitting the last frets. Any suggestion on how to solve that?



Click to expand...


It does sound like it's hitting something, just to check it out, try slapping closer to the bridge and see if it's still making that sound). This is to eliminate the pickups being the cause of it and it's instead being caused by something on the fret/fretboard.
If it's hitting the last frets, you can raise the string action by adjusting the saddles, see if that eliminates the problem.
Also check to see if the neck is straight and then check to see if the frets are level. If it still makes that sound, check the angle of the neck to the body- if it's angled back too much and assuming the frets are level, it may cause the strings to hit the last frets and cause that kind of sound. If that's the case, you can shim the neck in the pocket Ie. remove the neck, put something like a piece of card to the rear of the neck pocket (away from the bridge)-this is to change the angle a little. I just did this with a bass of mine although in my case, I had to change the angle the opposite way, so I put the shim on the other side.


Here's a link.Adjusting Your Action: Shimming and Micro Tilt
shim.jpg
 
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#100
JKos said:
@andres3195 ,
I don't remember if you've answered the question of if it happens with both pickups. Someone had asked if you could record each pickup separately.

What does the waveform look like if you zoom in right where the noise occurs?

- John
Click to expand...

Sorry about that! Yes, it happens with both pickups, and the strings now aren't even close to them, so I started to think that the noise comes from the string hitting the last fret or frets.
 
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