Hi everyone, I have come across a sound problem lately when I play a sequence of notes on an open string on my bass (1979 Ibanez Roadster RS800 with new Fender 7250ML roundwounds .045-.100) … whenever my fingers touch the string I seem to be creating harmonics. Here are two recordings:
Playing the open D string
Playing all open strings
Can anyone help – is this my bad technique? Could it be the new strings? Or is it a setup problem? Any help will be very much appreciated!
Thanks a lot,
Mike
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I hear nothing out of the ordinary.
Roundwounds have more pronounced harmonics than flat wounds, so much is true. New strings have more pronounced harmonics as well. I can’t think of anything in the setup to cause this issue.
But I fail to hear a “problem” in the sound files. Maybe I’m stupid… could you enlighten me?
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Thanks a lot Peter for your reply… and if you say this sounds normal and there isn’t any problem, that’s great news to me! And if there’s anyone stupid, it’ll be definitely me – I’m an absolute rookie on the bass, so this could be just me and my untutored ears hearing a problem where there isn’t one.
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The problem is partly inherent in the instrument. We’ve all got it, and the harmonic overtones we make are part of what gives each instrument (and string set up and set of fingers, etc.) the unique sound.
You are getting some fairly prominent harmonics on the D and G (mostly… not as much on A and E? Am I hearing what you’re hearing?)
Things to try - how hard you pluck.
Your approach - how your finger hits the string / the angle / the force, etc.
Also - WHERE on the string are you plucking. Try everywhere between the bridge and fingerboard and see if you can find places where the harmonics are stronger or weaker.
Solutions (if they aren’t found above) can be found with deader strings (easy to do over time with lots of sweat! Eat cheetos right before you play, etc), flat wounds or tape wounds may help, or a piece of foam under the bridge.
Lemme know what you discover!
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Hi Gio, thanks a lot for your answer! Yes, my A and E strings seem to be much better behaved than D and G… I’ll have a go at your suggestions and see how they work out.
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If you think your lower strings sound better, you might be wanting different strings – maybe you’d like flat wounds better.
An added advantage would be that flats are less prone to audible artifacts from sloppy technique (the scratchy sound that comes with shifting position). But when you’re honing your technique, this may, for the learner, also be a disadvantage. 
Anyway, flat-wounds will give you less harmonics, and a sound that is generally associated with P-basses. I have no personal experience with tape-wounds…
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How long are you finger nails
I get a similar sound on the D and G particularly if my nails are slightly too long
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For what it’s worth: I also don’t hear any harmonics other than what you might expect from roundwounds. There is a change in your tone depending on how hard and where you hit the strings (with which part of your finger (nails perhaps) exactly, and the angle of attack - pretty much what some of the others also already mentioned).
Apart from that, there is some fret buzz when you pluck harder, which - unless that is what you are going for - might hint to the fact that your action is a bit too low.
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Hi studio,
Thanks! That’ll become another item on my To Do list! 
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Hi Peter,
Thanks – that’s something I’ll definitely keep in mind! Probably flat-wounds will sound great on my bass… it’s not too different from a P-bass. For the time being I think I’ll stick to roundwounds… while I’m in my early learning stages and trying to get my technique sorted out it’s probably better to have strings that will cruelly expose any flaws in my technique rather than gloss them over
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Hi Jörg,
Thanks for pointing it out to me… the action will definitely go on the list for the next setup!
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