Fat Finger?

ai4281 · #1 11-13-2006, 01:37 AM

Has anyone tried Fat Finger sustain enhancer from Groove Tubes? Is it true that it eliminates ALL dead spots?

I know that Billy Sheehan uses one, but he seems to use a lot of useless rigs, so Im not gonna trust him...

Please enlighten me on your experience with a Fat Finger.

justinb515 · #2 11-13-2006, 01:44 AM

i dont know if it eliminates all dead spots or not, but I know that it did increase the sustain a little on my mim fender jazz. It did nothing, however, for my spector euro lx 5 neck through. Of course, that thing had plenty of sustain to start with. As far as the effect on the jazz bass i had, I barely noticed the increase, and i guarantee you that nobody else did. They did, however, notice the large protrusion jutting off the head of my bass.

massrequiem · #3 11-13-2006, 02:29 AM

LOL yah man I ordered one for my store and im gonna try it out once it comes in. Ill let you know when I do.

kevcooke · #4 11-13-2006, 04:23 AM

Well it works on my TRB1006, the notes on my C string 1st-6th frets sound more solid

saxnbass · #5 11-13-2006, 04:52 AM

The trick (according to GT) is that you have to place it in the right spot on your headstock.

ai4281 · #6 11-13-2006, 06:59 PM

I guess its kind of like how heavy bridges give you better sustain (like badass bridges)... I hope its not too heavy on the head

knarleybass · #7 11-13-2006, 07:08 PM

I have one for my Sadowsky MV5, it did help the dead spot but not completely eliminate it.

Jim Carr · #8 11-13-2006, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ai4281

Has anyone tried Fat Finger sustain enhancer from Groove Tubes? Is it true that it eliminates ALL dead spots?...
...Please enlighten me on your experience with a Fat Finger.

I grew up with basses that all just HAD dead spots, and that was that. Ya' jus' had to play with it...to be the dead spot, to embrace your inner dead spot...etc.

BUT, I use a Fat Finger (FF) on a MIM 60's classic Jazz. I like it. It does reduce the dead spot to the point it is no longer a big issue for me. I also have added a BA II bridge, though that does not affect the dead spot much (IMHO). The two together really give the bass a lot more sustain and a darker voice. The FF has its effect with or without the new bridge. The change in color of the tone of the instrument is not drastic, but seems like a good thing, to my ears. I have also used the FF on a Lakland Skyline 44-01, and it increases the sustain on an already pretty long-sustaining instrument.

The basic idea of the FF (I think) is that it increases the Mass of the headstock end of the string, making it closer in Mass to the body end of the string. This moves the dead spot to somewhere nearer the 20th fret, where it is actually less pronounced for reasons I have never learned, but have something to do with damping induced by Mass.

FFs are easy to use, don't harm the instrument, and give you a more responsive instrument (IMHO). Some have argued that increasing sustain reduces punch.

While this is true in principle, I have not noticed this to be the case with the FF on my basses, perhaps because the change is not drastic enough to make a punchy bass "less punchy."

You have to find the best spot for the FF, to get the most out of it. BTW, the weight difference is only a few ounces, even though it is out on the headstock.

PS. Classical string players have long used something like this to deal with "Wolf-Tones," (especially cellists do this). The weight they add is usually behind the bridge, but the idea is the same, move the "Wolf-Tone" to a place where it is not such a problem.

tplyons · #9 11-13-2006, 08:29 PM

I like 'em. Surprisingly enough, the Pbass I turned into Billy's Wife's clone had a horrid dead spot on the G string 5th and 6th frets, so I picked up a Fat Finger (on Billy's recommendation) and it worked wonders. Placement is the trick however.

ai4281 · #10 11-15-2006, 08:40 PM

I finally got my Fat Finger for bass!!! for $45 canadian... it kinda costs a lot for such a simple thing, but o well...

I think it has an effect but not as much as people would expect for such a price. I put it on my Ibanez BTB405QM, because its C string (I tune it E-A-D-G-C) had many dead spots... no wonder, cause its not supposed to be strung that way!!!

anyways, Fat Finger works!! but I still think that same dead spots are there,, just less pronounced. As someone above said, it darkens the tone and give it better sustain (in my case, about 1 or 2 seconds more).

Although the difference is fairly small, I think I'll keep this on just for novelty factor... ("holy crap, whats that?")

saxnbass · #11 11-16-2006, 04:07 AM

I used to clamp a vice grip to my head stock during recording. Cheaper than the Fat Finger.

markjazzbassist · #12 11-16-2006, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxnbass

I used to clamp a vice grip to my head stock during recording. Cheaper than the Fat Finger.

the poor man's Fat Finger.

saxnbass · #13 11-16-2006, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

the poor man's Fat Finger.

tplyons · #14 11-16-2006, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxnbass

I used to clamp a vice grip to my head stock during recording. Cheaper than the Fat Finger.

This is how I determined I needed one for my first MIM P-bass. Clamed it right on, noticed an immediate difference and placed the order.

roger winkler · #15 11-16-2006, 07:19 PM

I use one on my G&L L-2000 Tribute. The dead spot was on the 4th fret of the G string. It helped alot. It kinda moved the dead spot towards the body of the bass. Why is it that almost all Fender and G&L necks have this problem. I have an American made P-Bass Special and a MIM model of the same bass, and all of them have a dead spot pretty much in the same place?

ai4281 · #16 11-17-2006, 07:57 PM

well, Fenders and G&L basses are designed by the same guy, aren't they?

zcwilkes · #17 11-17-2006, 08:49 PM

I have one and was really suprised how well it worked. I was a skeptic but it really helped. It didn't completely git rid of the deadspot but it sounded worlds better. I didn't know you had to find the right spot on the headstock though. Guess I was lucky.

roger winkler · #18 11-18-2006, 01:54 AM

By the way, how do you find the right spot to place the fat finger? Is it a hit and miss type of thing or what? I still notice the spot when I'm playing but it's not as bad as before.

saxnbass · #19 11-18-2006, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger winkler

By the way, how do you find the right spot to place the fat finger? Is it a hit and miss type of thing or what? I still notice the spot when I'm playing but it's not as bad as before.

According to some people I've talked to, it helps no matter where you put it, but if you find a sweet spot, it helps WAY more. You basically put it somewhere, play and move it, then play again. Just keep moving it around until you find a really good spot.

roger winkler · #20 11-18-2006, 08:20 PM

Thanks SAXNBASS, I kinda figured thats what I'd have to do since there were no instructions with it. Guess I'll start giving the "finger" to all my basses, with the best of intentions of course.