Low action, string noise, and a light touch?

[bryantandrew]

I recently purchased a Yamaha TRB1005 with stupidly low action. Perfectly playable and a joy in my hands, but the bass before it is a Peavey Milestone (Jazz copy). It's definitely a beginner instrument, and the action is significantly higher than the new Yamaha.

The Peavey got me used to digging in, not necessarily playing aggressively, but just plucking with a solid strength. This is also because all my playing over the last 3 years or so has been in my bedroom with a small 15W amp, so the dynamics have been a little skewed.

So, now that the Yamaha has introduced me to a world of low action (and active electronics), my medium-strong fingerpicking style has lead to a bunch of noise when the strings hit the fretboard. It gives the bass some character, but I don't think it'd be good in a recording situation.

What would be a good way of developing a light touch to avoid this problem?

Thanks!

 

[Nalte]

I think the magic word here is "practice."

 

[JazznFunk]

Yes, simply practice playing with a lighter touch, preferably along with a metronome. It takes work, and isn't easy at first, and you will be tempted to rush tempos because you are physically still trying to dig in hard to make the bass sing. I find that higher action doesn't really accomplish much except making you work harder at playing the bass. In fact, most of my basses sound better with the action set lower. I used to play with very high action years ago and found that it was a point of diminishing returns when it came to getting a big tone out of the bass vs. having the technical facility to accomplish what I wanted while fighting the strings. I like to barely have to touch the bass to play at low to normal volumes, leaving lots of headroom available when I have to dig in for louder passages. I also like being able to get a nice POP out of the strings when I really dig in with low action... almost the same sound/effect as if you were slapping, but without having to slap. It works really well with flats. Lower action, IMO, leaves you more room physically to dig in and be more expressive. YMMV.

I recently purchased a Yamaha TRB1005 with stupidly low action. Perfectly playable and a joy in my hands, but the bass before it is a Peavey Milestone (Jazz copy). It's definitely a beginner instrument, and the action is significantly higher than the new Yamaha.

The Peavey got me used to digging in, not necessarily playing aggressively, but just plucking with a solid strength. This is also because all my playing over the last 3 years or so has been in my bedroom with a small 15W amp, so the dynamics have been a little skewed.

So, now that the Yamaha has introduced me to a world of low action (and active electronics), my medium-strong fingerpicking style has lead to a bunch of noise when the strings hit the fretboard. It gives the bass some character, but I don't think it'd be good in a recording situation.

What would be a good way of developing a light touch to avoid this problem?

Thanks!

 

[David Jayne]

I think the magic word here is "practice."

That, and maybe consider raising the action a smidge?

 

[David Jayne]

Also, turn your volume WAY up, this forces you to play gently.

 

[So Low Bass]

Your bass needs to be set up. The question is when to do it.

Where (in the world) did the bass come from, when was it set up last (if ever), and more importantly, where do you live? Do you have forced hot air heating? The action is naturally HIGH now, with the summer humidity (depending on location) and will only LOWER more as the furnace drys out the wood during the winter.

I don't think you "practice" touch. That would be like practicing making love. Your ears tell your body what to do. Open them up wide. If you ears don't work, you need to aquire the ability to listen, not hear. If that doen't work, ther's always antique cars or golf.

 

[Billnc]

Also, turn your volume WAY up, this forces you to play gently.

I heard that from Jim Hall of all people, quietest guy on earth!

 

[CatfishStudios]

I do the same, even practicing I crank it pretty high up, and give it a light touch... try to deliberately practice out the noise from over aggressive playing in a systematic fashion. It also helped when I stopped anchoring my thumb on the pickup, and started floating my thumb and muting the string above the one im playing...

 

[Bass Troll]

Yes, simply practice playing with a lighter touch, preferably along with a metronome. It takes work, and isn't easy at first, and you will be tempted to rush tempos because you are physically still trying to dig in hard to make the bass sing. I find that higher action doesn't really accomplish much except making you work harder at playing the bass. In fact, most of my basses sound better with the action set lower. I used to play with very high action years ago and found that it was a point of diminishing returns when it came to getting a big tone out of the bass vs. having the technical facility to accomplish what I wanted while fighting the strings. I like to barely have to touch the bass to play at low to normal volumes, leaving lots of headroom available when I have to dig in for louder passages. I also like being able to get a nice POP out of the strings when I really dig in with low action... almost the same sound/effect as if you were slapping, but without having to slap. It works really well with flats. Lower action, IMO, leaves you more room physically to dig in and be more expressive. YMMV.

What do you consider to be a "low action", do you know what height you have your strings set at the 12th fret? Also, do you prefer to have a fairly flat neck?
Thanks!

 

[JustDavid]

+1 on turn way up & practice.

I don't know that the bass needs to be adjusted. "Stupidly low" is how I described how I wanted my action before I did it myself (because I wanted it lower than they got it). The Setup forum should give PLENTY of hits to a Search for neck relief, action, or string height. It's a good idea to at least check out the setup.

 

[Swipter]

Listen to this, it sounds like the amp would be set at higher volumes normally used and the bassist would hit the strings lighter. The comp on the amp would be set so extremely loud bursts (accidental or purposeful hard pulls) would not come when you decided to "dig" in on the low stringed/loud set amp. I also have severe digging issues and have wanted to tackle this. I have played for years but never tried to change until I recently got my new Eden set-up. It is easier to dial in these setting when the strings are not pulled to house vibrating levels. This would help with my slapping which I am having issues due to the height I have to set the strings.

Thanks

 

[JazznFunk]

I have no absolutes in terms of measurements; I go only by feel. What I do when I set up any bass is to first drop the saddles to as low as they possibly can go without the strings being totally against the frets, keeping the saddles/strings adjusted relative to the curve/radius of the frets of course. Then I adjust the neck to have close to zero relief, subsequently raising the saddles back up to a point where I have to only press very lightly to fret each note. There is of course more fine-tweaking from there (raising individual strings/readjusting the neck relief incrementally), but the idea in general is to get everything as low and flat as possible and then adjust from there. Now, if you play with a medium or heavy handed touch, you WILL absolutely get buzz and rattle out of this setup. If you have high frets you will also potentially have to raise the saddles a bit more to get the strings up enough to prevent unwanted buzzing. I have an SX Jazz Bass that took 2 or three different adjustment sessions to get this process 'dialed in', and now it almost plays as smooth and sleek as my Laklands... almost. In dropping the saddles and making these neck adjustments you will also need to adjust your pickup heights, as the strings will most certainly come closer to the pickups than they were before. Also, if your nut is cut too high, it makes it harder to get things as low and smooth as possible. Lastly, this technique only works well if the neck itself is properly seated in the neck pocket. If it is out of alignment it may not allow low action and may require shimming. This is something that I only reccommend doing if you have a good amount of experience repairing/adjusting basses because it's possible to damage the instrument if you're not careful.

What do you consider to be a "low action", do you know what height you have your strings set at the 12th fret? Also, do you prefer to have a fairly flat neck?
Thanks!