Hey everyone,
whenever I pluck with my index finger, I often get this clicking/clipping sound. With EVERY other finger, it doesn’t happen at all.
My nails are already cut as short as possible, so I don’t think I can make them any shorter. Also, it only happens with the index finger, not with any of my other fingers.
I’ve already tried a lot of different finger positions and angles. Sometimes it works better, but often not.
I’ve actually been playing bass for quite a while now, so this is really frustrating and honestly pretty demotivating. It feels like something that should not still be such a big issue, but I just can’t seem to fully get rid of it. It drives me crazy haha
It’s hard to diagnose a sound without hearing or seeing. You might get better advice with a cellphone video.
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How is your hand positioned over the pickup? I’ll get it sometimes when the string lightly touches the pole.
EDIT to add my finger doesn’t always have to be directly over, it’s more that I’ll start plucking down rather than across
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I used to have the same problem with the index finger. Mainly because its shape is less rounded on the finger pad than the middle finger. So I easily touched the string with the nail, and this only happened with the index finger. Also, my alternate plucking sound is not as even as I wish it were, because the middle finger has such a round pad, compared to the index finger.
I solved the nail problem by cutting it very short, and gradually (very gradually) filing it a little shorter at a time, so that it receded with time. Important: this has to be done slowly, not at once, otherwise one could damage the nail bed. It takes weeks, just a little bit shorter at a time.
Here’s a photo of my index and middle fingers’ profile. I took this photo some months ago. Now the index fingernail is a little shorter than that. The index finger is the one at the top. The middle one has a more rounded pad.
But another reason why you might be hitting the string with the nail could be the position of the fingers when you pluck. Make sure they touch the strings laying more flat on them, and plucking across the strings, using the pads of the fingers.
This all is based on my personal experience, and the way I used to pluck. I don’t know whether any of this applies to you. But hopefully it helps. 
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