sting... "ringing"?

[bass_freq]

okay, I have a feeling its from the fact that I use active pickups in my one bass, but when I move my hand up and down the strings to move to different notes, naturally the hand slides along the string to get there, in the process the string noise picks up on the bass and on the recording making for a very distracting string ring inbetween notes, anyway to get rid of this? is it really because I play an active pickup? I can see where string noise can come in handy for harmonics and atmospheric noise, but when I'm trying to do a recording of a bass line its quite distracting and not very pleasent

sorry if this has been asked, couldn't find an old thread about this subject

 

[ehque]

Better technique, or flatwounds.

Or break in your roundwounds.

 

[bass_freq]

ya my strings are pretty fresh so maybe just need some breaking in, what do you mean by better technique? is my hand suppose to not touch the strings when they move?

 

[ehque]

Generally moving to different notes is done using a different finger, not by moving the whole hand. Also, if you move and your whole hand is muting, less sound is produced than if you were only muting with one finger. Use both techniques and you should cut your finger noise by a lot.

 

[Selta]

Active pickups have nothing to do with this matter.
It's mostly a technique problem. Also, this can be exaggerated with some EQ settings as well.

 

[Rockbobmel]

I have had good luck with loosening the string and giving it a 1/4 turn because sometimes, while winding, it causes a negative twist on the string.

 

[4Mal]

Recording really puts the microscope on your playing. In general I try to play the line that will allow me to play cleanly while not robbing the track of life - a tough balance finding that sometimes...

Technique wise I really don't want to drag my fingers on the strings - particularly with rounds. Some of that noise I can bury in a mix, some I can surgically EQ out. It is more or less inevitable that I'm going to have to recut once in a while and concentrate on getting rid of the noise.

 

[DavePlaysBass]

Active pickups or passive pickups with a preamp by their very nature pass more high end because they buffer the pickups from the cable capacitance. The noise is there regardless but a system with more bandwidth in the 1k to 4k range may make it more noticable. One of my least favorite things about a G&L is the string noise. Especially with the preamp engaged. But as others have said, there are a lot of ways to combat this, technique or just attention to it, EQ settings, bass setup, string choice, and a realization that it may never go completely away. I heard some Jamerson tracks recently that were isolated from the rest of the mix. And guess what, flats and all there was some extra noise from moving around. But throw in the band, and it blends right in with all the cymbal / hi hat stuff.

 

[bass_freq]

its hard to keep the hand from moving when its a big jump in notes, especially if its the G string, I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

 

[fretlessguy]

I had some DR LowRiders on my 55 Sting Bass, and in the middle of a lick I did on a recording came this ......screech. Had to do it over, and it never was the same.
It wears a set of TIs now. I also watch what I am doing when it comes to technique now.

 

[P-BASSLOVER]

Lower your Treble knob a bit.