Basic Questions

[GreenMachine]

Hey guys. Ive been playin for about 10 months and have self taught myself with minor help from guitar playin friends. So i know squat. A few things that have been bothering me is i get a scraping sound comming from my pick when i play those notes where theres 3 notes joined together (TAB im talkin about, u get them alot in maiden songs). Is this my pick style, am i holding it the wrong way? Ive tried to correct it by arm hand lower down, or is it just a natural sound i think sounds wrong?

also my E string broke when i first got my bass. i put a new string in but ever since when i play it open or on the first fret it vibrated and makes a clanging sound as it hits the frets. its in tune so the string isnt loose and im posative its in correctly.

Thanks if u can help. I love bass but unfortunantly i know nothin about it. (cpet how to play)

[ireidt]

you dont have the string tight enough on your bass, IMO, try getting a electronic tuner if you can't tune by ear, and that might help.

For the picking problem, I would say try hitting the sting with the top portion of your pick, it might stop that sound, I wont know until I get home though.

~~Isaac~~

[lemur821]

Probably raising the saddle for that string will fix it. My guess is that it's a different thickness than the original string, and so it requires a slightly different setup. I'd take the oppurtunity to set my entire bass up if I were you.

[GreenMachine]

yea i use an electric tuner. most likely its a different thinkness to the original one cos i have tuned it heaps of times to make sure it was tought enough and i even took the string out and put it in again.

my fingernails sometimes hit the strings so maybe im holdin the pik wrong. i hold it as a pencil rather than some site which told me to hold it with the pad of my thumb and joint of index angled up. i found that weird.

thanks for the reply tho

[Sandman1278]

if ur having problems with the strings hitting the frets i would to get a setup done by a profesional

[ireidt]

Originally Posted by Sandman1278

if ur having problems with the strings hitting the frets i would to get a setup done by a profesional

i think that is the best solution. It might cost some money, but it is better then riskign making it worse

[Sandman1278]

usualy $30-40 depending on where you go not to bad, personaly I don't know anything about basses except how to play, change strings, and tune them, so thats what I do.

[lemur821]

Originally Posted by Sandman1278

if ur having problems with the strings hitting the frets i would to get a setup done by a profesional

I recommend trying it yourself first. You're not going to break anything by turning a few screws. Best case: you set it uo the way you want; worst case: you take it to a professional, and learn something about doing a setup. There's just one thing to watch out for. Don't crank the truss rod too much, since it can break. It's not especially likely, but it's possible to do it. Generally, it only needs small adjustments.

[GreenMachine]

Yea ive been turning and twisting for a while now lol.

Whats a truss rod?

[nicoli]

The truss rod runs through the neck, and determines the amount of relief / bow to the neck. Doesn't sound like something you need to worry about with the problem you're having.

The pick thing... Steve Harris of Iron Maiden plays using his fingers, so that's one reason it's not sounding quite right to you.

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by nicoli

The truss rod runs through the neck, and determines the amount of relief / bow to the neck. Doesn't sound like something you need to worry about with the problem you're having.

The pick thing... Steve Harris of Iron Maiden plays using his fingers, so that's one reason it's not sounding quite right to you.

mm yea. 10 points for picking that up tho. maybe that noise of friction is ment to be there. ive tried playin the songs with my fingers but my fingers cant move as fast as his. i prefur pick, but fingers is somethin ill have to learn.

when i change my strings ill get it set up by a pro, or atleast ask them what i was doin wrong. thanks guys.

[Syeknom]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

but my fingers cant move as fast as his.

Hate to say it, but practise practise practise is the only way. I can't use a pick for the life of me, but my finger technique, speed and stamina increases all of the time.

[Chris A]

You'll probably do better in the setup forum, let's move this thread there..........


Chris A.

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by Syeknom

Hate to say it, but practise practise practise is the only way. I can't use a pick for the life of me, but my finger technique, speed and stamina increases all of the time.

yea i should really start play songs with my fingers. i presume its not just straight forward 'hit the required string with your fingers', there must be some technique to it.

i heard something like your ment to station your thumb on the top of a pickup. Or on E when you want it muted.

[nicoli]

Thumb position isn't all that important... some people will play without the thumb resting on anything, just 'floating'. Personally, I rest it on the p/up if I'm playing on the E string, and I'll rest it on the E string if I'm playing a line that uses a lot of the D or G strings.

As far as plucking, generally speaking try to get your finger to follow through and rest against the string behind it. For example, if you're plucking the A string, your finger should come to rest just as it's making contact with the E string. This will also mute the string behind the one you're plucking. I learned this as the "Hammerstroke", although I've heard it called other things as well.

[GreenMachine]

wow ok ill give that a try and see how it goes.