Hollow body basses: string clack?

[abarson]

I tried a couple of Jay Turser hollow body basses recently, a violin shape and a JTB-134. In both cases the strings clacked around noisily when I played fingerstyle (really the only style I play). I passed this off as poor build or setup until I tried a Hofner violin bass this weekend, and experienced the same string clacking.
Is this because of lower string tension? Is this all about technique, and if so, what should I be doing differently?

 

[mongo2]

I tried a couple of Jay Turser hollow body basses recently, a violin shape and a JTB-134. In both cases the strings clacked around noisily when I played fingerstyle (really the only style I play). I passed this off as poor build or setup until I tried a Hofner violin bass this weekend, and experienced the same string clacking.
Is this because of lower string tension? Is this all about technique, and if so, what should I be doing differently?

Combination of setup and technique. Both can be adjusted. I've not had any trouble on my hollowbodies or short scales.