Clanging of frets

[Earwigger]

Hi all, I have a question. I bought a bass brand new, and after getting a basic professional setup (neck, bridge, pickup height), the strings are very clangy against the frets and make a lot of noise when I am playing.

Is this due to uneven frets? unpolished frets? Something to be fixed? Or is it just the nature of the bass or my technique?

Thanks!

I should note that this is not fret buzz I'm talking about, I mean that when the string comes in contact with the fret it makes a clanging sound on the initial hit.

[nomadh]

Thats why I'm looking into going fretless. I always assumed its my technique when I speed up. If there is a another answer or how to work around it I'd love to hear about it.

[basseddie]

I was getting anoying clanging with my esp b205. What I found happening , was when the string was fretted, the part of the string behind the finger was hitting the frets behind causing clanging. Lowering (filing down) the frets cleared it up. fret leveling, I suppose it is called. Not something I would recommend you do yourself.....

ed

[joeyl]

Originally Posted by Earwigger

Hi all, I have a question. I bought a bass brand new, and after getting a basic professional setup (neck, bridge, pickup height), the strings are very clangy against the frets and make a lot of noise when I am playing.

Is this due to uneven frets? unpolished frets? Something to be fixed? Or is it just the nature of the bass or my technique?

Thanks!

I should note that this is not fret buzz I'm talking about, I mean that when the string comes in contact with the fret it makes a clanging sound on the initial hit.

what kind of strings are you using? steel? roundwounds?

[EagleMoon]

I think this is usually attributed to technique. Hitting the strings instead of plucking them, if that makes sense. Not that there's anything wrong with that if you want that kind of sound. Sometimes raising the action will help a little, especially if you're a particularly hard player. But being more aware of of your right hand and how you use it.

[Crockettnj]

Originally Posted by EagleMoon

I think this is usually attributed to technique.

But certainly some basses are worse off than tohers in this regard, no?

I cant ever remember clanging frets with 2 of my previous basses, but with my most recent one it is an issue unless I REALLy make an effort to reign in my right hand. My technique, while nothing to write home about , is FAR better now than it was then.

I have to assume there are steps to be taken that dont include technique ( which of course should be practiced!).

[EagleMoon]

I think you should look to mechanical reasons for it first off. If it's still a problem after all that is fixed, it's pretty much got to be technique, and adjusting how you play that particular bass.

[fretlessrock]

If you don't want to change your technique, then have the bass st up for your style. Getting a setup means nothing specific. Getting a setup done to suit your technique is another enchilada all together.

If I am doing a setup for a friend I will watch/listen to them play and try to get a feel for what needs work. Aside from worn parts, seasonal issues, or a radical string change, it usually comes down to small changes that are better suited to their style.

In my own case I specifically started setting my basses up lower as part of a technique-rebuild focused on lightening my touch. So you can look at it from that angle as well.

nomadh: what you are probably doing is linking how hard you play to how fast you play, increasing force with speed. I see a lot of drummers with the same problem. They can't slow down without playing quieter, and v-v. That is common and you can train yourself not to do it. Going to fretless won't have any effect on that habit.

[nomadh]

I think you are 100% right about technique although I'm not sure we are talking the same issue. I'm talking about my left hand when I need to fret faster and my finger pushes the string faster I get a big old hammer on donk. I figure I need to either learn how to get my finger to the string fast but then slowly press it down or press it down on the fret causing a dampning then roll back behind the fret or make sure I hit the note with my right at the exact time I fret or dampen with my right. Any opinions on these or other ideas? Is one preferable or are there certain times to use different techniques? I'm mainly a guitarist but bass is fun and its nice to not suck

[Oreomeister365]

I play fairly hard with a pick, I just love the clarity and power of a note like that, and never paid much heed to it but it caused a ton of buzz and there was zero fretting technique I could do to eliminate it, and there was no buzzing when I played fingerstyle so it was simply because the playing harder vibrated the string more. So I raised the action on all my strings a tiny bit (judging how much by what the highest fret on each string still buzzed), raised the low E a hefty bit more, now everything feels tighter, punchier, and the buzz has been reduced greatly.

[newfuture]

I have this problem more with flatwounds than roundwounds. I'd actually totally gotten rid of the issue with technique + rounds, then changed to flats within the past year and had to relearn pulling-through the string instead of pushing it down.