Dead spot on Fender MIA.

Not my Fender. Sustain for days

 

Not that I know from experience, but I have always heard that MIA Fenders differ between each bass. Some are great, some are duds.

Should it be that way? No. But is it that way? IIRC, yes.

 

No problem with mine.

 

Mine did not.

2008 Fender American P-bass V

Neither did my MIM Fender Mike Dirnt P-bass.

 

Not one dead spot on mine. Guess I got lucky.

 

I also don't have problems with my MIA's but (just for the record)
80 out of 100 mia fenders should have dead spots, more or less...actually it's almost impossible to find a "perfect" (wooden) bass without any dead spot anywhere at all...

 

Virtually every stringed instrument has a dead spot. Its just how noticable it is.

The only exceptions I can think of are Steinbergers.

 

no deads on my MIA Jazz

 

Is there a reason for that GE? Something about being headless, or what?

 

Not a dead spot on any of my eight Fenders. I once tried a heavier set of strings (50-105) on one of my jazz basses and had a dead spot. Went back to 45-100; dead spot disappeared.

 

It has to do with being headless. There was an article on the Sadowsky website about it.

As Turock above me posted, he switched to lighter strings and the dead spot went away. Its still there, just less noticable.

 

I have tried basses at *every* price point, with every construction type (yes, including graphite necks and neck troughs) that had dead spots. I've bought dozens of basses where the seller told me "no dead spots" and they had one. Some people really don't seem to notice or mind, but they drive me nuts. The only real solution is try before you buy.

I also have played a handful of Fender style basses that are extremely even across the whole range -- keepers!

 

My 1999 American Precision has no dead spots, but my MIM Jazz has one at the 7th fret on the G string. Somewhat annoying, but it's not super noticeable.

 

how would you describe a "dead spot"?
can you provide some mp3 examples or something?

I've noticed on some basses certain notes just don't resonate as much... and I wonder if that's what you're talking about here. If it is... then almost evry bass I've tried had them. From the ones I own, only the Warwick Corvette would be free from them. But I'm not sure if we're describing the same thing.

 

People often describe a note that's fretting out as a dead spot. A true dead spot where the note has less sustain (6th fret g string on practically every Fender or Fender style instrument ever made) is a fact of life with bolt on neck basses. Most people never notice them. I believe that the majority of people screaming about dead spots are really talking about fret buzz/fretting out.

 

And I quote Roger Sadowsky:

"While I do know of a pro or two that uses a Fatfinger, the truth of the matter is that I very rarely have encountered a "pro" that complains of deadspots. Most pros accept them as a fact of life and just live with them (or know to select basses that do not have a major dead spot problem to begin with). It is easy to obsess over deadspots at home but they rarely are a problem in normal playing for most players I know."

Available here:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101351&highlight=dead+spots&page=3