Open string noise

[jkpiam]

I've only been playing bass for a short time...self taught. I just bought a used P-bass and the setup seems good. The problem I'm having is when I'm playing and take my fingers off strings I still get a humm from the string. I don't know if it's technique but on my last bass I didn't have this problem. The action seems good, not too high. Is there anything else that can cause this.

[m_bisson]

You may be inadvertantly doing a pull-off. Instead of yanking your finger right off, try just lifting it enough to break contact with the fret.

[Mr wiggl3s]

why are you taking your fingers off the strings? fretting hand or plucking hand? how loud is it?

and, largely, does it really matter?

[will33]

If everything's wired up good, that bass should be really quiet when you're not playing. You may be inadvertantly doing a "mild pulloff" when you take your hands off the strings. Meaning you may rub them a little bit and get a little vibration/resonance. This can be more apparent the more you have your amp turned up or the bigger the rig is you're playing through. Just lay your right hand across the strings to quiet them if you need it quiet for a few/several seconds. If you're going to set the bass down for a break or need it quiet for a minute or 2 to talk to somebody, turn the volume knob all the way off. Making quiet between notes is just as much a part of groove as blasting out notes is. You can choke a note off by stopping the string from vibrating just as easily as you pluck the string to make it vibrate. ie: where it stops is just as important as where it starts.

[Skitch it!]

Originally Posted by Mr wiggl3s

why are you taking your fingers off the strings? fretting hand or plucking hand? how loud is it?

and, largely, does it really matter?

+ Yes, why are you taking your fingers 'off' when you don't want anything to sustain, keep your fingers on to mute, just lift the string from the fret, not your finger off the string?

[jkpiam]

I take my finger off because I'm moving it to another string/fret. For example doing a simple scale. I notice it mostly on the "A" string so I wasn't sure if it was a pull off but I might just have the tendancy to do it on that one string. Yes...on my fret hand.

[Skitch it!]

Originally Posted by jkpiam

I take my finger off because I'm moving it to another string/fret. For example doing a simple scale. I notice it mostly on the "A" string so I wasn't sure if it was a pull off but I might just have the tendancy to do it on that one string. Yes...on my fret hand.

Ah, maybe flatten your hand out a little and use your 'free' fingers to stretch across the strings, making a little contact with them to deaden the open/fretted strings, this is a form of left hand muting, what I refer to as flatter left hand muting, using your 'free' fingers (the ones you don't need for that millisecond before having to fret with them) to keep the rest of the strings quiet, in time you will automatically use each individual finger for a more focused and selective muting. Use your right hand fingers to mute too, it's a right/left hand synchronisation for good muting, there must be a few good tutorials around, look 'em up ; )

Muting is a huge part of sounding clean and concise, it is a skill in itself just trying to keep things quiet, very important technique.

Or if you like to 'cheat' a bit, get a towelling hairband and put it over the head of your bass carefully and pull it up onto the neck, not far just over the nut towards you, this helps for trickier stuff too, when you don't need it move it back towards the headstock, back over the nut, only an inch movement, forward or back.

[Cree]

Is it a rattle or a buzz? If it is a rattle, your A string is not long enough. Especially on "Fender" style basses. The headstock is not angled, so the A string is almost a straight shot to the tuner. Make sure you have enough string around the tuner and that the string comes of of the tuner at its base and not the top. Many windings on the tuning peg holds the string down. If it truly is a rattle and not a buzz, this should solve your problem.

[bobm2112]

You're right hand thumb can prevent this too. Lets say you are playing a D maj scale started on the 5th fret on the A string. when you go to fret the F# on the D string, place you're right thumb on the A string to mute/damper any unwanted string noise. Same thing goes for the D string when you finish off the scale on the G string.

Some people rest their thumb on a pickup and not move it or rest it on the strings. Resting the thumb on a string not being used makes for a very clean sound.

[Skitch it!]

Originally Posted by bobm2112

You're right hand thumb can prevent this too. Lets say you are playing a D maj scale started on the 5th fret on the A string. when you go to fret the F# on the D string, place you're right thumb on the A string to mute/damper any unwanted string noise. Same thing goes for the D string when you finish off the scale on the G string.

Some people rest their thumb on a pickup and not move it or rest it on the strings. Resting the thumb on a string not being used makes for a very clean sound.

+1 The right hand is 50% of keeping it all together in muting imo. I don't feel that any finger is 'unused', even if not fretting, it's job is keeping something else quiet, train your fingers not just to sound, but to mute, equally as important.

[lunarpollen]

The reason your old bass didn't give you the same problem could be that the bass wasn't as resonant, and/or the pickup(s) weren't as sensitive.

[jkpiam]

It bothered me that the problem was so prevalent on the "A" string so I started taking a close look at the pickups. One of the magnets (the one closest to the "A" string) was raised cosiderably higher that the others. Not flush with the cover. Is this something that might cause this to happen? That string is just so much more sensative to touch. I will probably bring it in to have it looked at. And thank you all for helping out a novice. I am actually a fairly accomplished drummer who is taking up bass as therapy for my arthritis

[Skitch it!]

Yep, the A will have more power and sensitivity because of the closer/ stronger magnetic field in regard to pickup pole height, the A will be a bit louder too? Anyways, should be an easy fix......the muting, that'll take some work ; )