right hand finger scraping noise?

[Masashi is God]

Hey Great Gurus of bass and noise

I'm hoping someone can help identify what I'm doing wrong from the Mp3 link below..

I have Tomastik flats on my Jazz and play fingerstyle. When I pluck I get a scraping noise and it seems slightly louder with my index finger than it is with my middle finger.

I can roll back the tone to get rid of, but some times tone is good lol, can anyone say what it is and how to get rid of it technically?

Noise by MSFr on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

Thanks and most appreciatve for any feedback...

[Skitch it!]

Extend and straighten the plucking fingers so the pad hits but the nail misses. I'd get a file and curve the nails back a little too if you can. It is a technique for a bit more definition though, it has it's uses for sure. Straightening those fingers will help 'face up' the pads, when you want the nail you curve them under a little more.

[Steve]

I know finger players that would kill for that kind of front end attack on their notes.

[ACalbass]

I wouldn't worry much about the "residuals" due to movement.
It is really normal,and you can even hear it in radio hits all the time,but the rest of the instrument's sounds mask it well.
You happen to notice it when you play alone.
I also play with those edgy highs and to tell the truth,when I turn to use only the bridge pickup and raise the mids,it helps with the growl,makes for me a very distinctive sound that I like.
Think about it : the very first thing you loose when playing with other instruments are those highs.
Do not worry about them,unless they are really on the way of the performance.
And I assume the original clip sounds a lot crispy than in soundcloud,I found out the conversion change the equalization of any recording.

[Skitch it!]

I'm with the guys above really, it's a nice definition and character, especially coming through in a live situation. You can adjust to just the pads but I like that initial attack character of the nails. I like the sound of muted flats played with a pick for that click attack too.

[Masashi is God]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I pretty much try to over think everything, even though I can't hear it in the mix, it sounded like bad technique.

I'm pretty sure it's not the nail, as there pretty short, well way short lol. I tend to have my fingers 90 degrees to the strings as I found it faster, I tried a less angled approach, pressing slightly more down on the strings, rather than plucking completely vertically and I still get the noise.

Do folks tend to moisturise or use a pumus stone on their fingers to soften the skin? To make it sound better.

[Skitch it!]

Well, most players like to harden callouses up but if you play the bass when you have just got out of the shower, you will hear that the pads have softened up. The tips have more flexibility, they don't quite 'recover' as quickly as hardened callouses, it's a different kind of feel and tone. Try that first before you decide to start using the hand creams just to see if you like the feel of it.

[RustyAxe]

Originally Posted by Steve

I know finger players that would kill for that kind of front end attack on their notes.

They should try using a pick.