That "Clank" sound!!

[JimmyM]

Listen to soloed recordings of bass players on classic albums. Many of them have lots of clank, especially in harder rock and roll stuff. A lot of the clank gets eaten away by other instruments, or it becomes part of the character of the overall recording so much that you don't think of it as clank. But if you want to get rid of it, I'll repeat the immortal words of the great Dave LaRue..."Lighten up and play closer to the bridge."

 

[Joe Bananas]

Forgot to mention that I play with my fingers and between the two pickups.

 

[JimmyM]

Forgot to mention that I play with my fingers and between the two pickups.

If you don't want to move from there, then the only real choice you have is to lighten up if you want to get rid of the clank. Or put your action up higher, but that only does so much.

 

[Tony In Philly]

Listen to the first few notes of "Freewill" by Rush. It's an f note on the 2nd string, then after playing it again it's a low C on the 3rd string, then after playing it again, it's a low F on the 4th string. Note how each downbeat note has extreme clank. To get the Geddy Lee technique there take your middle finger and snap an upstroke on each downbeat note. I guess it's hard to explain but if you look at a few YouTube videos of the tune my rather facile explanation might make a little more sense. To me it's the epitome of clank on a Ric; it can also be done just as effectively on a Jazz.

 

[Artobass]

The clank can be your friend when used at the right time. Like Jimmy said, go listen to soloed or isolated bass tracks and you'll see just how much clank is used on much of the classic rock recordings. Obviously you don't want clank all the time, so maybe lighted your attack.
I get my clank when I dig in! When I want clean smooth notes, I lighten up a bit.

 

[DD Gunz]

I love clank and try to eq more of it in personally, but it comes down to what you are paying. Technique can get rid of it as already stated. When playing with your fingers you don't want to come down on top of the string. It's hard to put into words, but you want to be plucking it instead of hitting it. There is a reason it is primarily happening on the e string. Your hand position is such that it alows for more attack without any other strings in the way. Pay attention to how your attack on the e string is different from the rest.

Playing closer to the bridge will help for sure but you still need to make sure you are plucking and not smacking the string. It's hard to describe in typed words and much easier to show someone.

But let it clank. The mix will eat most of it up anyway.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

To echo what a few other guys have said...bass tracks in recordings are often FULL of clank. Pre-EQ I'm sure it's even more intense.

 

[Hoss Groovealot]

I have a very heavy attack and have been fighting with the clanky or other noises that come from my right hand attack.
I do the classic mid scoop V shape EQ which helps a lot. Also, new strings help a lot. Sometimes I get an almost slap and growl tone when the strings are bright. When they are dull I get the note plus "pshht pshht pshht pshht" noise.
One of the facebook bass groups posts soloed out bass recordings from famous musicians, and let me tell you I heard this noise from Geddy Lee, Steve Harris, Flea and Jack Bruce.

 

[hintz]

I have a very heavy attack and have been fighting with the clanky or other noises that come from my right hand attack.
I do the classic mid scoop V shape EQ which helps a lot. Also, new strings help a lot. Sometimes I get an almost slap and growl tone when the strings are bright. When they are dull I get the note plus "pshht pshht pshht pshht" noise.
One of the facebook bass groups posts soloed out bass recordings from famous musicians, and let me tell you I heard this noise from Geddy Lee, Steve Harris, Flea and Jack Bruce.

Not only can you hear clank with isolated bass, but you can hear all kinds of other big studio "no-no's" like string/fret buzz or rattle, string noise from shifting and how dirty some guys tones really were, but most of that disappears in the final mix....i used to be obsessed with not having extraneous noises for recording, so I spent an ungodly amount of time practicing technique to avoid this, but now it doesn't bug me as much...

And yes, I've owned 2 rickenbackers before, the 77 I had was super buzzy and clanky, (the frets were almost gone) I never should've sold it, I'm still kicking myself for that one...

 

[tubedude]

The easiest way to fix the problem is to remove all that unnecessary metal from the fingerboard.

 

[Ric5]

Clank on a Rickenbacker means 2 things ...

1 - that trebly tone when you open up a Ric and play it aggressively.
2 - that unpleasant sound when the strings hit the pole pieces on the pickup and or the last few frets when you play too hard.

 

[JustForSport]

try turning your amp up and playing with a very light touch. Or raise the action and keep digging in!

and

If you don't want to move from there, then the only real choice you have is to lighten up if you want to get rid of the clank. Or put your action up higher, but that only does so much.

If the clank is from fretting a note that is already ringing, on the same string, try the above- the E string has much more excursion than the smaller strings, so it will be more evident there.
Raising the E string a little lets your left hand finger mute the excursion more before the string gets to the fret.
Also, depending on the string set, the E may be at a lot less tension than the others, and combined with down-tuning and the extra mass, it takes more to mute/stop the excursion before fretting the next note. Playing by the bridge also lessens the excursion generated, making it easier to fret while not ringing with large excursion. Try playing closer to the neck to see if it aggravates the issue, and nearer the bridge to see if it mitigates the issue.
If you still get the 'clanking' regardless, it may be due to striking instead of plucking the string. Higher action, or lighter touch with more amp will help.
Or, as suggested above a few times, make it work for you.

 

[mb94952]

The "clank" you're getting comes from the fact that you have a maple fretboard. Maple fret boards are known for that sound. It's not a bad sound, just a characteristic sound.

Listen to Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. One of the most respected bass players in rock. He "clanks" all the time and it is a part of his sound ; We expect it.

 

[JimmyM]

The "clank" you're getting comes from the fact that you have a maple fretboard. Maple fret boards are known for that sound. It's not a bad sound, just a characteristic sound.

Um, no it's not. I have a maple fretboard on my main bass, and it has very low action and I can play without a hint of clank if I want. I have rosewood fretboards on the rest of my basses, and I can clank them with the best clankers in the business. It's totally a technique issue, and the fretboard doesn't even enter into it.

 

[Jefff]

If I get carried away I can make anything clank. I play a RW board P bass and I can clank the hell out of it. I can even approximate clank on a fretless.

It's not my proudest moment.

 

[AciDBatH666]

The "clank" you're getting comes from the fact that you have a maple fretboard. Maple fret boards are known for that sound. It's not a bad sound, just a characteristic sound.

Listen to Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. One of the most respected bass players in rock. He "clanks" all the time and it is a part of his sound ; We expect it.

Lololololol that has nothing to do with this. It's the last fret making the sound. Highly sought after in metal as it punches thru the mix. If you don't like it, either play softer, cut the treble and/or high mids, play closer to your bridge. I don't wanna join in on the dead horse beat down, this really isn't a complicated issue. But what wood your fretboard is has nothing to do with this.

 

[DavC]

clank is fine ... as long as the string isn't also hitting the pickup .. !

if I want to play harder , I like to move closer to the bridge ... some more definition without much clank ...

 

[Gravy4001]

Ya not exclusively a maple fretboard thing. I play rosewood fretboards and I had a heck of a time getting over this clank issue. Ended up being a combination of things: very low action, not plucking parallel, digging in too much. I was about to raise the action but my fretting hand was really loving the easy low action so I paid a little more attention to my technique, turned up the amp and now I feel like I'm barely touching the strings - which is very cool for finger style funkiness with just the tips of my fingers. Best of all no clank ever again! Unless I want it for some reason...

 

[pcake]

i play with lots of attack, and i clank on my rosewood fingerboards against the highest fret whenever playing hard rock, punk or metal. the other players i've worked with really like it, and so do i. i can always turn up more and play softly when the clank isn't wanted.

btw, removing the highest fret from the fingerboard will mean damaging the fretboard if the strings keep hitting there or else hitting the pickups.

 

[Fxpmusic]

What all said...

And if you do nothing but clanks, you can start a Korn tribute band