I would not call a Jazz Bass "clanky". I would call it "Zingy" instead. I find a PBass to be "clanky".
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Jazz Basses - clanky?
- Thread starter Jackcrow
- Start date
Most of my basses are J configs. I run both pickups on full with zero clank. For me, it’s all about technique and setup. I also load em with DiMarzio Model J’s.
I have a MIM jazz. SD pickups
Not clanky at all.
Nice deep qrowl....clank if far from description.
I had a similar experience early on in my playing and discovered it was due to a few different things, as follows:
1) My right/attack hand "unintentionally" plunking downward on the strings as opposed to pulling string-to-string (technique, my biggest problem at the time).
2) If the action is set very low, your right hand will need to play a little lighter in general, and any digging-in, especially at a downward angle could lead to string-fret clank.
1) Poor bass setup, with too much relief along with low action, causing strings to hit frets up by the body.
There could be other reasons, but this completely solved my clank woes, on every bass. Not sure if you were wanting actual suggestions, but I doubt it is inherently the bass (have never had a clanking jazz bass). Good luck.
1) My right/attack hand "unintentionally" plunking downward on the strings as opposed to pulling string-to-string (technique, my biggest problem at the time).
2) If the action is set very low, your right hand will need to play a little lighter in general, and any digging-in, especially at a downward angle could lead to string-fret clank.
1) Poor bass setup, with too much relief along with low action, causing strings to hit frets up by the body.
There could be other reasons, but this completely solved my clank woes, on every bass. Not sure if you were wanting actual suggestions, but I doubt it is inherently the bass (have never had a clanking jazz bass). Good luck.
Yep, full circle of bass playing!
But I do still play 2 other active eq basses.
What part of your finger (where) you actually pluck with, can enter into it....
I've seen some players doing Robin Hood tish with their fingers.
Seen some using a pick like trying to P-38 a can of tuna.
Yeah, there can be clank..."Clank" would be being 'nice'...
Don't think the actual bass enters into it for those folks...
Just sayin'....
I've seen some players doing Robin Hood tish with their fingers.
Seen some using a pick like trying to P-38 a can of tuna.
Yeah, there can be clank..."Clank" would be being 'nice'...
Don't think the actual bass enters into it for those folks...
Just sayin'....
That has been my experience in generous. I have found three that are not clanky. One is long gone, The other two I presently own.
Your technique and your setup have more to do with clank than the other stuff
fwiw I find that I can intentionally turn the "clank" on or off strictly via my right hand plucking technique. It's a matter of both where on the string I pluck, and how aggressively Im pulling the strings. So yeah, it may very well be your playing style.
"Clanky" sounds like low action to me. Otherwise perhaps your strings or playing style. Maybe try flats?
"Clank" is a word I associate with right hand techniques that create percussion of the strings against the frets, not something inherent to Jazz Basses.
That being said, the stronger treble response of a Jazz Bass' bridge pickup, compared to the single pickup of a Precision Bass, will certainly tend to accentuate the clank, but clank can be had from any bass.
I happen to like a modicum of clank in my sound, and I consider it part of "my" tone, when playing rock music. I dig in hard and it has something of a hybrid tone between slap bass and fingerstyle.
In fact, to my ears, a Jazz Bass on the neck pickup played hard with some clank is "the sound of rock bass", which is probably one of the reasons why my first bass was a 1992 Jazz Bass Plus V.
This closeup from 2009 shows where I preferred to play, with my thumb hooked behind the B string just in front of the neck pickup. I miss that bass. It was my Number One for 20 years.
That being said, the stronger treble response of a Jazz Bass' bridge pickup, compared to the single pickup of a Precision Bass, will certainly tend to accentuate the clank, but clank can be had from any bass.
I happen to like a modicum of clank in my sound, and I consider it part of "my" tone, when playing rock music. I dig in hard and it has something of a hybrid tone between slap bass and fingerstyle.
In fact, to my ears, a Jazz Bass on the neck pickup played hard with some clank is "the sound of rock bass", which is probably one of the reasons why my first bass was a 1992 Jazz Bass Plus V.
This closeup from 2009 shows where I preferred to play, with my thumb hooked behind the B string just in front of the neck pickup. I miss that bass. It was my Number One for 20 years.
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Not compared to a Jazz Bass on the neck pickup only they don't, not in my opinion. Different, yes. Fuller? No.
