Picking up fretboard noise on bass.

[Scrappersa]

Hey. I'm new to recording through using an eight-track. I started out using a little microphone and moved onto using a kareoke machine as a pre-amp to record directly off of my soundcard. Now I'm using my Backline 600 Direct out into my Fostex MR8 in. I'm using this type of cord to hook it directly from the Amp to the mixer.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--CBIMLN

Now, when I record, it picks up my fretboard movement. I don't think it's my playing style because I've used different methods and it hasn't picked it up. My issue is that I like the quality that I'm getting but I don't like the extra noise, I guess is the word.

When I go to mix it all, it's done in Adobe Audition.

Thanks for the help.

[gecko zzed]

i guess it's a matter of taste, but i personally have no problems with the noises that instruments make when people play them; fret and string noise, clicky pad noises on sax, squeaky kick pedals . . . to me they just add to the sonic landscape, and would be present in a performance anyway.

[stetto]

I've been a bass player since the early 70's. Fret noise is something you live with. The more proficient a musician you become, the more "control" you might have over it, but most people don't hear it anyway.

If you could isolate the bass track on virtually any recorded song, you will hear fret noise and tonal stuff you can't hear in the mix--It's a fact of life. You can eq a lot of it out, but why ruin the tone to remove the human quality?

...Or you could just go fretless...

...Even worse, you could just sequence your bass lines on a keyboard....<yuck>

Eric

[Scrappersa]

Hmm... I do like when I playing normal but I forgot the mention it's a lot of popping and slapping. I think that too much is being picked up. I still want the sound but just toned down a little. Should I do that when I'm equalizing then?

[brandondrury]

It's all in the fingers.

I had one guy who had this horrid "clack" sound. It turned out that his pickups were too high.

Brandon