String noise: Technique or switch to flats

[tothemax]

I was recording yesterday and going for a fairly tight sound. While the notes sounded OK the string noise as I moved on the strings with my fretting hand was pretty bad (even with considerable muting from my right hand and foam under the strings). I'm playing a P with light round wound strings, they are fairly new (a few months old without a lot of play time on them).
I've opened a thread or two about going to flats but never made the jump. I'm doing more recording now and thinking it may be the time. I don't notice it as much playing live (but there is more going on then).

Open for ideas...

 

[SteveCS]

If you want the sounds of rounds then finessing your technique is the only way. As a couple of starters, 1) when stopping and lifting off, try to keep left-hand finger movements as perpendicular as possible to the strings, and 2) try to coordinate the stop with the right-hand pluck - bury the clatter in the pluck.

 

[michael_t]

I was recording yesterday and going for a fairly tight sound. While the notes sounded OK the string noise as I moved on the strings with my fretting hand was pretty bad (even with considerable muting from my right hand and foam under the strings). I'm playing a P with light round wound strings, they are fairly new (a few months old without a lot of play time on them).
I've opened a thread or two about going to flats but never made the jump. I'm doing more recording now and thinking it may be the time. I don't notice it as much playing live (but there is more going on then).

Open for ideas...

As a former acoustic guitarist, I've developed a "psychological allergy" to finger noise. That's why I've experimented with flats when I took up the bass later in life.

Here's the deal... I love the smooth feel of flats, but I need the roundwound tone for what I do. Solution? GHS Pressurewounds! They're noticeably smoother in surface texture compared to typical rounds with reduced finger noise but still retain the roundwound character in terms of tonal quality.

Products - PRESSUREWOUND™ - GHS Strings

Review: GHS Pressurewounds ~ Tangy Not Twangy

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

My GK Plex preamp has a function called "Hi-Cut" that does a great job eliminating transients and fret noise.

Here's what it does:

Hi cut level 1: Cuts upper frequencies at 2.5kHz to reduce string noise and click generated from aggressive plucking or pick use
HI cut level 2: Cuts a broader range of upper frequencies to reduce string noise and click generated from aggressive plucking or pick use.

Maybe you have an eq that can reduce the same frequencies?

This function works great when I record with rounds.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

Are these solo bass recordings? In a mix little incidental sounds matter exactly nothing.

there are, of course, techniques to limit string noise, including eq - cutting super high frequencies that probably don’t matter much in a mix.

 

[Sponson Thrisby]

FWIW, I've been struggling with the same thing lately. Everything on the E string sounds like a hammer-on. Less so, but still a thing on A.

I just tried a little experiment:
Some point before the latest trouble I had done a set up. Standard J bass specs: ~0.013" relief, ~5/64 action, pickup heights, etc. The usual stuff.
I figured it's a high end bass, it should be ok to go low for relief and action. You know, guitarist thinking.

Then today I backed off the relief just a tiny bit, no more than 1/8th turn, and raised the action everywhere by a hair. Much better. Still a little there, but tolerable, and more controllable with technique.

Anyway, don't worry about recommended setup specs. Go with what works for you.

 

[Jazzdogg]

You'll never hear it when playing live with a band unless your EQ is set to induce bleeding ears.

 

[nightchef]

FWIW, I've been struggling with the same thing lately. Everything on the E string sounds like a hammer-on. Less so, but still a thing on A.

I just tried a little experiment:
Some point before the latest trouble I had done a set up. Standard J bass specs: ~0.013" relief, ~5/64 action, pickup heights, etc. The usual stuff.
I figured it's a high end bass, it should be ok to go low for relief and action. You know, guitarist thinking.

Then today I backed off the relief just a tiny bit, no more than 1/8th turn, and raised the action everywhere by a hair. Much better. Still a little there, but tolerable, and more controllable with technique.

Anyway, don't worry about recommended setup specs. Go with what works for you.

I thought the OP was talking about noise made by the string surface as the hand moves along it, aka “squeak”. Sounds like you’re talking about “clack”?

 

[Sponson Thrisby]

I thought the OP was talking about noise made by the string surface as the hand moves along it, aka “squeak”. Sounds like you’re talking about “clack”?

Dang it, you're right. I mixed this thread up with another I was reading on clack.
Oops.
Getting old. Brain thing no work good sometimes.