Are you supposed to let the string click off the freboard.....

[Damani311]

At the start of each note? Just curious, I've never asked anyone about this.......when I play unamplified, all you hear if i'm playing fast is "clink clink clink cl cl cl cl clink clink"

This is not fretbuzz, just the string bouncing off the fret below the note i'm frettingl

Does this mean that I'm just attacking it way too hard?

[uethanian]

no this is not supposed to happen (although in some styles of music it can be used to your advantage).

but unamplified, you shouldn't hear any percussive sound. its probably not the force of the pluck (although this has some effect), but more likely the angle of attack. you are probably pulling the strings down towards the body before releasing them. at the release, the string comes up and then slaps back down against the fingerboard. try pulling the string more up, or towards your head. it sounds like you might be resting your hand on the bass, so try getting that hand more on its fingertips.

[troyus]

Wait does it sound good? Keep with it if you like it.

I've got a bass strung up with flabby flats that has the action just a little too low and it does the same thing, gives it a real unique and percussive sound. It's cool. Note *splat*, note *splat*, etc.

[JimmyM]

If you're going for proper technique, no, you shouldn't clank the string into the neck. I'm definitely not into that sound for myself. But I'll listen to an old ZZ Top album where Dusty Hill clinks and clacks his way through every song and I dig it. So I think the right answer here is learn how to play without clanking so if you don't want clanking, you're not stuck with it. You can always clank if you want, but you can't always not clank if you don't know how to prevent it.

[dfuruta]

In heavier music the clank can be a great help in cutting through distorted guitars. I intentionally bounce my strings off the frets to sharpen my articulation when I play punk or metal, but when I practice I always try to eliminate clanking and buzzing. As JimmyM said, it's easier to add when you need it than try to get rid of it once you're in the habit.

[joelc1319]

Fretboard clank is cool in some situations; attacking too hard can also result in it as a side effect, however. I've found recently that I play too hard because my amp is not powerful enough...

Whatever you do, don't clank the strings into the pickups...that's not a fun sound!

[Would'e?]

That is pretty much the only finger-style attack I like to hear. It's what Steve Harris does. All other finger-style attacks are too round, flabby and muddy for my ears.

But YMMV: IMO the best bass sounds come from these against one of these.

[joelc1319]

Steve Harris don't use no pick

[Would'e?]

Originally Posted by joelc1319

Steve Harris don't use no pick

And who said he does?

[capnsandwich]

The clank sound could be from a couple of issues, plucking too hard, angle of attack, string tension too loose, action too low, etc. I'd go with Jimmy M's advice first and then start eliminating other issues that may be causing it. If it's playing too hard then try to boost your amp so you don't have to pluck so hard to be heard. I had that problem when I fist started playing finger style but have since corrected it and now play smoothly and noise-free.

[GianGian]

Yeah...I just say Iron Maiden...tek tek tek tek...sounds great!

[edbutler3]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

If you're going for proper technique, no, you shouldn't clank the string into the neck. I'm definitely not into that sound for myself. But I'll listen to an old ZZ Top album where Dusty Hill clinks and clacks his way through every song and I dig it. So I think the right answer here is learn how to play without clanking so if you don't want clanking, you're not stuck with it. You can always clank if you want, but you can't always not clank if you don't know how to prevent it.

+1

In aggressive music, smacking the strings against the frets can create a useful sound that cuts through loud guitars well, but in other styles of music it can sound sloppy and obnoxious. I used to play that way all the time because it worked with the bands I was in. But playing Acoustic Bass Guitar taught me to tone it down when necessary. If you've never played ABG, it's worth checking out because the instrument reacts to your hands/technique in a more noticeable way that the electric bass, since pretty much *all* of the tonal variation is coming from your hands, rather than from amp settings, EQ, etc. After playing ABG for a few years, I find that I've got a lot more nuance available in my playing. I can still use the aggressive picking style when needed for accents or for heavy rock tunes, but I can also play with a more subtle, round tone when needed.

Another thing that helped me get over the "heavy handed" picking problem is finally having an amp that has more than enough headroom, and turning the volume up enough so that if I pick too hard it will be frighteningly loud. If I'm having trouble hearing myself I tend to revert back to picking too hard, which probably is how I developed that style to begin with.

[Matthew Bryson]

Flea from RHCP is another guy that makes use of this type of sound. Go to www.bassplayer.tv and click on lessons then click on Flea... the first vid is Dani California and it shows off his clicky finger style.

I make use of this sound sometimes - like others have said, it can work great in heavy music. I like it best with fresh round wounds.

I like to keep my neck kind of flat and my action kind of low to make sure that I can get this fret grind kind of sound into my bass sound when I want it.

As other have said - you should probably learn to play clean and think of this as an effect that you can pull into your sound when you want it.

I agree that plucking parallel to the body of the bass is important in avoiding it, but I also find playing back closer to the bridge where the strings are stiffer is a big help too.

YMMV

[chaosMK]

I use this technique fairly often to get an explosive attack that cuts through high gain guitars, super loud drums, etc. You can run the risk of having a horrible tone with the wrong EQ. Slapping basically serves the same purpose. When playing fast/complicated rhythms I find an aggressive attack like this makes the mutes a bit easier to manage for some reason too.

If I am playing more gentle music, I will definitely lighten up the attack and totally avoid the clinks.

[All_¥our_Bass]

I LOOOOOOOOOOVE the sound of bass clank. I have uber low action and use a 95-40(four string) set tuned DGCF specifically for this. When I'm playing clean I tend to play a bit lighter to avoid clanking, but when I've got a cranked overdrive or a gnarly distortion I'll go back into clanking-it gives a very meshuggah-type sound.

But if you don't like it, or if it impedes what you're trying to play, find out how to stop it.

[BuffaloBass]

Anyway, it is a technique issue, and while you may like it, you need to be able to turn it off and on at will. A softer touch, not pushing down on the string,e tc, will help eliminate it. If you wnatch Flea in that "lesson", you'll see he is not plucking the strings normally with a sideways motion, he's hammering them down. If he rotated his wrist to be less perpendicualr and more parrallel, the sound would be more "round" and not as clanky.

Ass clanky. Thats funny.

I cut my teeth on Geezer, as a kid in 1970, and I still play "hammering" the strings against the fretboard sometimes. Someetimes I use nails, etc or a heavy atttack to "clank" it some. I like "clank" actaully. Geddy Lee is KING of clank, imho.

Choas, my slap technique is pretty gentle I guess, and my action really low, but slap isnt as loud as this agressive "hammer plucking" technique. I try and slap liens ina hard rock band, and often the mix swallows them whole. This IS more agressive than slap, imho.