Amplifying acoustic bass guitar

[auralsculpture]

I have an aria fretless bass guitar with an internal pickup, and a recently purchased Rumble 40 Studio amp with amp modelling and effects. I’m finding all the presets tend to really increase bumping handling noise off the body and string noise.
I’m looking for suggestions for an amp model in the Studio as a starting point, assuming that anything that is pushing gain, or compression is likely to increase that noise.

 

[gtirard]

I have a fretted ABG, it's even worst (I also have fret noise).
I don't think changing the amp model can help.

When I want to reduce the noise, I cut the highs on the onboard EQ.
Also make sure the preset you are using doesn't have any reverb (it makes the noise worst).

Maybe the pickup and the onboard preamp are not very good, especially if it's a budget instrument?

 

[Wasnex]

assuming that anything that is pushing gain, or compression is likely to increase that noise

The assumption is correct.

As you approach the headroom limit of circuit, it will start to compress. Gain staging involves setting the gain across various points in the signal path. Different gain staging strategies can be used depending on your tone goals. To avoid compression, use more gain on the output and less gain on the input. The idea is to avoid pushing the circuits in the middle of the signal path to the point where they run out of headroom and produce compression. Keep in mind that tone controls adjust the gain for different frequency bands. So if you run a lot of bass boost, you may need to turn down the input gain.