Too many dead notes- a bad habit?
 

I find that in order to stay in time, I have to spam dead notes everywhere. I've mastered the Flea way of doing dead notes, by patting the string with your two fingers on a downbeat. But I've also developed the habit where everytime I'm resting, my two fingers immediately return to that default position on whatever string I'm playing on. I know Flea does not do this, but here's a good example. Watch how his fingers always snap back. Also, whenever I have to do eight rests, I always have to do note-sixteen rest-dead note-note, or else I'll be out of time. Help?

Help for what? It's your playing style, how is it an issue?

Dead notes are cool. IMO unless you really start imitating a metronome with it (literally filling bars with them when it may sound inappropriate but there's places for that) it adds to your sound, depending on style of course (though there is always place for them if you look for the right opportunities - from ballads to all out funk)

If you want to avoid it becoming a bad habit, try practicing them consciously with a metronome. I found "muted grooves" by joaquin pres (sp?) to be really cool, got lots of exercises including raking and combinations of rests and dead notes etc pp.

Nothing wrong with it, unless you are overdoing it and making it distracting. It's just a percussive style of playing. As a matter of fact, the best guitar player that I have ever played with, does it a lot with rhythm playing--very percussive. It sounds great with most styles of music. And bass is even more of a rhythm instrument than guitar is. I use the "ghost notes" sometimes too...the other musicians love it.

I use dead or ghost notes as spices and it sounds as if you are using them as bread and butter. If you feel you have too many ghost notes, the solution to reducing them might be to count consistently. When practicing alone, count out loud and focus on moving your lips and not your fingers.