Dead frets

[johnny6644]

I've heard lots of players talk about dead frets. And I've heard some say they've never had that problem.

Every bass I've owned has had a dead fret. Warwick Corvette, Geddy Lee, Rockbass Corvette, Carvin, etc.

Usually it's C on the G-string; sometimes it's the C on the D-string. But they all have it.

I've had setups and fret dressing and nothing seems to work.

Tips or cures or advice?

[Ric5]

Dead frets are really dead spots. There is nothing wrong with the fret. The bass itself resonates good on some frequencies and poorly on others. Where it resonates poorly you get a dead spot. Many basses have them. It is a design flaw. An accident of nature. The shape of the bass, the type of wood, the mass of the tuners, etc ... all of those factors come together and cause a dead spot.

[iiipopes]

It's not the fret. It's the resonance of the instrument at that particular pitch. Almost all Fender basses have the same problem with either C#, D or Eb on the G string. Sometimes a slight tweak to tighten the truss rod will change the tension, and therefore the resonance, to help. Also make sure your neck screws and bridge screws are good and tight.

There is one exception: if the fret is so worn that the string, when fretted, is so low it's actually physically touching the next fret up, physically impeding the string vibration. But that would be rare, and that would entail either a complete fret dress or complete fret job. I had to have the latter done on a @1936 Gibson L-00. A couple of notes had no sustain. The first "luthier" I took it to said too bad. The next, real luthier said the frets were worn and some had been replaced with non-standard frets. He did a complete fret job with original style frets and the instrument played great.

OTOH, my custom P-style bass with fanned frets has a dead C# on the G string, and that's just life.

To minimize this, some makers, like Rickenbacker used to do, Warwick, Conklin, etc., put a strip of contrasting wood down the center to equalize out the resonance. Others, like Steinberger and Moses Graphite, use a material that the resonance is above the bass spectrum. G&L saws their blanks down the center then reglues them to purposefully make a discontinuity that has the same effect as gluing in a center strip. But all instruments have some sort or resonance or the other. The goal of the designer is to place that resonance in the place that has the least effect possible on the instrument.

[Supertanker]

Two excellent answers!

Some people add Fat Fingers to their headstock:

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

[Gigarob]

If you fret the same note but an octave below this will massively help the problem. On most Fenders the worst dead spot is the B on the G string. If you need to play a sustained B then play it as normal but fret the B on the A string at the same time and watch all your problems disappear.

[johnny6644]

THANKS! I appreciate the advice.

I understand the fret/versus "spot" thing, I just couldn't think of another way of describing it. So basically it's something you have to live with; find the note on another string, etc. I tried the Fat Finger thing and I couldn't tell any difference.

[adamnitti]

fantastic insight from those that have posted already. and i concur. some of my basses have it bad, some exhibit it a little, and some don't... in my experience so far it seems the only way to get predictability from a neck and its corresponding resonance is to use synthetic materials, such as graphite or rockwood. however, even with a composite neck if the body is made of wood it still has influence on the overall resonance of the instrument and can still positively or negatively affect the sustain with different notes. for those of you currently shopping for a bass, take the time at the music store to literally play and evaluate EVERY note on the instrument (through an amp if possible). that way you will know what to expect in terms of dead notes, etc.

[James Judson]

Seems like all Fenders and most others have this problem to some extent. I have learned to avoid the G string on or about the 5th fret. Besides that is into the guitard range so I stay away from that unless I"m soloing.