Quiet Strings for direct recording?

[rydin4lifebass]

I might put fender tapewounds on a ibanez sr300 for direct recording but any other opinions on quiet strings, as in, no fret clank..and smooth slides?

[darkstorm]

By direct recording I assume you mean as in bass to processor of choice for ready for recording tone. To mixer/recorder.

You shouldnt need any special quite strings for direct recording. If your live, jamming, band practice, etc tone is what you want. Its simple matter of uysing your processor to create the ready for recording tone from the signal your bass is feeding it.

If your getting fret clank etc when you play otherwise. No string is gonna solve that Imo. Its a matter then of technique and action setting.

If your not getting noticeable fret clank etc when you play otherwise. Only when you try recording direct. Its cause the lack of eq'ing is letting basses full voice lows thru highs get thru. Stuff you dont hear otherwise since your bass rig isnt much capable of reproducing that. Esp if treble on amp is cut, or the cab speakers arent much capable of reproducing the clank etc.

Flats and tapewound have less clank then roundwounds with same action setting. But unless your wanting the tapewound or flats sound, its bad way to go about getting less of the fret buzz.

So, do you get this clank etc when you play thru your bass rig? Or only when recording direct? If the latter, its simply hearing what your bass is actually sounding like rather then the tone your amp and cabs are making. You forgot to process the sound to the recorder, to be your ready for recording one.

[lowfreq33]

+1

Also, in the mix you probably won't hear ANY of that noise, cymbals and guitars will mask it. In fact, it might help you be more present in the mix.

[rydin4lifebass]

The fret "clank" is really on a cheap pbass I have with round wound strings. My other two basses don't really have the problem, just didn't know if there was a good "recording" string for direct (and yes, direct into a Tascam unit). I'm not making studio quality albums or anything, just wanted something that's nice and clean, wasn't sure if there were specific strings you guys liked to use.

[Grateful]

Black Beauties are quiet strings but sound great, IMHO. tapewounds will give you more of a thud, these will give you plenty of range. Perhaps other coated strings as well.

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by rydin4lifebass

The fret "clank" is really on a cheap pbass I have with round wound strings. My other two basses don't really have the problem, just didn't know if there was a good "recording" string for direct (and yes, direct into a Tascam unit). I'm not making studio quality albums or anything, just wanted something that's nice and clean, wasn't sure if there were specific strings you guys liked to use.

The bass really doesn't matter. "Fret click" is a byproduct of your EQ and your technique. Given where your plucking hand probably sits on a P-bass, that's a large cause for the issue as the string is much more free to move around there. Getting a higher tension set of strings and/or just plucking closer to the bridge will help alleviate the issue.

If you're wanting a smoother string, I've heard great things about the Ken Smith slick rounds.

Also, like others have said, don't worry about a little bit of click. Not only will it be lost in almost any mix, you can use your recording software's built-in EQ to try to EQ it out without any noticeable impact on tone.