Clicking noise with the pickup

[jtad]

In first place I'd like to say sorry for my english, it's not my first language.
Anyway, I'm kinda new to the bass guitar, been playing for about 8 months, and one thing that's annoying me is the sound that my fingers make when they hit the pickup below the strings. Does anyone know what can I do to solve this problem? Do they sell noiseless pickups or something like that, or is it just a technique issue?
Thanks in advance.

[John Wentzien]

Get some No-Holes pickup covers.
It will greatly reduce the 'Click'
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bpickup_covers.htm

[RAM]

It's largely a technique issue. One question I'd pose to you though, is whether it's noise from your fingers hitting the pickups (which sounds more like a thud) than from your strings hitting the frets. This fret noise is irritating to some, but others find it acceptable, if not desirable (it adds to your dynamic signature). This can also (to some extent) be eq'd out by cutting above 10 kHz.

BTW: your English is just fine. IMO, there's no need to apologize, especially if it's not your first language. Welcome to TB!

[Nashrakh]

Originally Posted by jtad

Does anyone know what can I do to solve this problem? Do they sell noiseless pickups or something like that, or is it just a technique issue?

Depends.

If you can't hear that sound over the amplifier, I wouldn't worry too much.

If you can, then that may have 2 causes: Either fret noise (as already pointed out) or your pickup height is set too high, causing the strings to hit the open pole pieces.

What kind of bass do you play? How much space is in between the pickup and the string(s)? I'd suggest lowering them if they are too high, in almost all cases this can be done by turning the screws next to the pups clockwise (if my memory serves me right)

[Kevinmach]

As Ram said, a quick and dirty fix could be to turn down the highs a little.

Having struggled with this myself, I am not certain that the noise you are talking about *is* coming from hitting the pickup. I noticed I got it, to a certain extent from either hand, when I was hitting the strings too hard (on the plucking hand, I was sometimes pushing down instead of pulling back).

When my pickup height was too high and I did occassionally hit it with my finger, it didn't make that much noise as long as the attack on my strings was appropriately controlled (which is another reason I am suggesting that they may not be the real issue). But as Nashrak said, it's pretty easy to find out- lower the pickup enough so it's out of your way.

[jtad]

The bass I'm using is a Washburn WB44, which has two pickups, a P-bass type near the neck and a single coil in the bridge.
The noise is certainly not fret noise, I'm sure of that. If I lower the pickups, will that affect the sound? Like less volume, different tone, or something like that?
Thanks a lot for the answers, they've been really helpful

[Nashrakh]

Originally Posted by jtad

Like less volume, different tone, or something like that?

Yes. Volume will definitely go down, dunno about the tone but I guess you will lose some "punch" and it will be softer. But that's just a wild guess.

[smeet]

Lowering the pickups gives you a bit less highs and more lows (relatively speaking of course).

[bass349]

Hey man, don't know your bass, but if your pickups have exposed pole pieces (ie you can see the magnets), try putting a little dab of clear nailpolish on each pole. If that's the noise you're describing..

[jtad]

OK thanks a lot, I fixed the problem by lowering the pickups and plucking in a different way, in case anybody is interested.

[John Webb]

Had to lower my PU's and raise my strings a little......no clicking now.