recent fingerpicking issue

[BassplayerBrian]

Hey everyone

Recently I've been experiencing a "thuck" sort of a sound at random points when i pluck... do i need to replace something in the bass? or is it something with the way i pluck? I pluck sort of like I'm pinching someone, i push down a tad bit and then pull through, is that an incorrect way of doing it? I mean.. i wouldnt think so since the problem just started happening, maybe I'm just plucking to hard?

[MarkTAW]

Are you hitting the pickups with the strings?

[BassplayerBrian]

i don't think I am... But I could be and just doing it ever so slightly and not noticing do you think thats probably the most likely cause?

[Mushroo]

What kind of bass and pickups? Do your pickups have exposed metal pole pieces? If it sounds like the same sound you get if you touch the string to the pickup, try lowering the pickups so they are a bit further away from the strings.

Could it be your fingernail catching the strings?

[jsingles]

that really does sound like your strings booming against the pickups. how high are the pickups? how low are the strings....?

[BassplayerBrian]

Originally Posted by Mushroo

What kind of bass and pickups? Do your pickups have exposed metal pole pieces? If it sounds like the same sound you get if you touch the string to the pickup, try lowering the pickups so they are a bit further away from the strings.

Could it be your fingernail catching the strings?

I'm a playin YamahaBB200 with P bass pickups, the bass is older than I am so I don't know the brand or much else about the pickups except they sound pretty good lol. They do have exposed metal parts, and I don't think it's my fingernails I cut those overly short just for that reason haha

Jsingles: The pickups are at about avg height to most basses I've seen, and because I slap a lot the strings are really low.

[Mushroo]

Originally Posted by BassplayerBrian

The pickups are at about avg height to most basses I've seen, and because I slap a lot the strings are really low.

Hi Brian, if your strings are lower than average, then your pickups should be lower than average, too. Try lowering the pickups a bit by tightening the little screws. What I do is remember how many turns I lowered the screws, that way if I want to put it back to the way it was, I loosen the screw the same number of turns

Good luck, and let us know if that solves the problem.

[BassplayerBrian]

yep it's fixed, thanks guys!

[MarkTAW]

Awesome. Another Talkbass success story.

[BassplayerBrian]

WOOH! lol thanks again guys