help with cause of dead "frets"

[bassinplace]

Hello,

I just purchased a used Yamaha RBX170 fretless bass. Factory fretless. I'm playing around with it, having a great ol' time, when all of a sudden I realize the space where the 19th through 24th frets would be on the E string is totally dead. No sound whatsoever. Could anyone help me to understand what might be causing this? Thanks!

[LowerCrust]

That doesn't sound like a resonant point, I've never heard of that particular issue before, especially across that length of fingerboard..

[Diogenes]

Originally Posted by bassinplace

Hello,

I just purchased a used Yamaha RBX170 fretless bass. Factory fretless. I'm playing around with it, having a great ol' time, when all of a sudden I realize the space where the 19th through 24th frets would be on the E string is totally dead. No sound whatsoever. Could anyone help me to understand what might be causing this? Thanks!

Sounds like a proud section of the fingerboard. Raise the E string saddle a bit and see if that helps. If it does, your fingerboard needs to be levelled.

[bassinplace]

Originally Posted by Diogenes

Sounds like a proud section of the fingerboard. Raise the E string saddle a bit and see if that helps. If it does, your fingerboard needs to be levelled.

Oh wow. I've never done any repairs to a bass before. Is that a major fix (leveling the fretboard)?

[giacomini]

Hmm, strange... If that was a case of dead notes, usually would happen in lower registers, like somewhere in between 5th to 10th frets, but yes, dead notes can happen on E and A strings (low B too), but up there in the end of the fingerboard I'd agree that it is a matter of adjustment.

Take it to a tech for a setup or do like Diogenes said, raise the action to see what happens. A good thing is that it s happening up there in the last positions of the E string, that won't be too much used anyway, unless you're doing lots of chords...

[Diogenes]

Originally Posted by bassinplace

Oh wow. I've never done any repairs to a bass before. Is that a major fix (leveling the fretboard)?

I wouldn't consider it a major fix but levelling a fretless fingerboard does take patience and the proper tools (an accurate radius block and know-how). For optimum playability, levelling a fretless fingerboard involves a higher level of precision and exacting standards than a fretboard... the latter of which has a much smaller total surface area that a string can come in contact with to produce a clean note.