beginner, getting buzzing when i come off strings

[ara05lcl]

hi everyone, I'm Laura,

I am only really just starting out.

I've been messing around with some riffs and arpeggies, but I bought a new yamaha rbx270 bass and noticed that quite often when i am moving between notes, i get a buzzing sound just after my fretting fingers release the note they are fretting.

Is this to do with my poor playing technique?
Or does the action need to be adjusted on my bass?

When I plat open strings or when I am actually fretting a note, I dont get a buzz, I just get the rattle when releasing notes.

I hope I've put this in the correct section.

cheers in advance!

[Earthday]

It could be either. Try holding the frets down harder and pulling your finger off with more/less force. If it happens every time no matter what you do, it's an action problem. If you can prevent it, it's likely a technique problem. For the longest time when I was beginning I thought my bass was setup poorly when I really just wasn't fretting hard enough.

[pretaanluxis]

I have the same problem..I find it's reduced if take my finger off fast. Also you can mute with your right hand before taking your finger off

[Deacon_Blues]

Hi Laura!

My advice would be that don't mute a string only by releasing the finger from the fret, always use your plucking hand to mute at the same time. Make sure you're also pushing down the strings as close to the frets as possible or even on them. That helps reducing the buzzing too.

In walking bass lines or other legato lines you don't really need to worry about any un-fretting noises, you probably won't hear them too well anyway. About this issue, I've heard that if you don't hear it too much through your amplifier, you don't have a problem...

[ara05lcl]

thanks everyone,will try out your advice tonight. yeah it's not too loud a buzz through the amp, it's probably just me being picky

[HariKari]

Nothing else to add, really, but someone mentioned this problem on another thread today. It reminded me that I was having the same problem when starting out, but then it went away. Wassup with that? So practicing tonight I tried to pin down what I was now doing to dampen it (I can do it on purpose, of course). Proper fretting and release probably has a good deal to do with eliminating rattles, but for me it's also my right-hand picking and muting style that has come to naturally take care of it. As others have said, mute as you release. Nothing I've specifically worked on, but just the result of natural development in my playing. Nice to see progress sometimes . . .

[JimmyM]

Bass is just noisy in general. There are a lot of clicks and pops and buzzes you can make on it. You always want to work on minimizing their impact, but don't get too alarmed about them right away. They clear up as you get better.

[HariKari]

Good point, JimmyM. Along those lines, we're all trying to minimize squeeks and clicks, but I think they also give bass a bit of grit and character that can be positive. I read an article by a recording engineer who said when he was recording a Chuck Rainey bass track for an album, it sounded like Chuck was working on a Buick, with all the clanks and clicks he was making. But when he put it into the mix, that noise helped give the bass track some sizzle. Fact is, mixed in with everything else, lots of this noise just disappears into the mix. But standing on front of your amp in a quiet practice room, it can be very noticeable and concerning.