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Dead spot on Fender MIA.

#41
i hate username said:
Actually since graphite is man-made does that mean graphite necks dont have dead spots?
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According to Rob Green of Status Graphite: Carbon fiber necks do have dead spots, contrary to what a lot of marketing hype will tell you. The advantage to carbon fiber is that the resonant frequencies that will create dead spots are so much higher than with a wood neck bass, the spots usually occur well beyond (higher) than the playing range of the instrument.

This seems true for all of the carbon fiber necked instruments I've owned and played. That said, they're not perfect and I have played a Modulus VJ4 that had a dead spot in the typical Fender 6th fret of the G-string location.
 
#42
If your dead spot is on the 7th fret D on the G string, your sort of lucky. Just remember that when you need that extra sustain on the note, don't mute the D string. The note will ring out if the D is not muted.

Or, learn to play the notes elsewhere on the fretboard. It's only a problem when you need the long sustain.
 
#43
king_biscuit said:
And I quote Roger Sadowsky:

"It is easy to obsess over deadspots at home but they rarely are a problem in normal playing for most players I know."
Click to expand...

+1. My main player, an '08 Am Std P, has the typical one on the G string. It doesn't kill the sound by any means, just a little less sustain. All my other basses have - or had - them to some extent, too. But none of them bother(ed) me at all when I'm gigging. If I make any adjustment, it's completely subconscious.
 
#44
I started playing on a '59 P that had dead B & C on the G string. It affected me so much that even after 40 years of playing, I still prefer to play A through C on the D string unless I just can't get there fast enough. My main bass now is a Lakland 55-94 with no dead spots anywhere -- maybe it's the extra inch on the scale, or maybe it's the fiber rods. Whatever it is, no problems.
 
#45
Considering that the majority of dead spots are in the 5th-10th fret range of the G string... How many people need massive amounts of sustain from those notes at that octave?

Maybe there are some who do, but to me it seems that the notes you need a lot of sustain from are in a much lower register. I don't find myself hitting a C# on the G string and letting it ring out for a super long time.
 
#47
You just play each note & listen to the sustain. Once you've played a few you'll be able to tell if one sounds choked off. Fenders are famous for dead notes on the G string, but I have some that don't seem to have any. Unless you're soloing, they don't matter much. What bothers me more is notes that ring louder & hang on. I don't know of a cure for either one that is consistent.
 
#52
One of the reasons Leo redesigned the original P Bass headstock was how prevelant the dead spot was on the original. It still shows up on the head stock used today. On my Fenders (and Carvins, by the way) it usually shows up on the C,C#, or D frets. After going to light gauge strings it is not as noticible.

Interestingly, it did not appear on my SX Jazz....:confused:
Could be because it is short scale or fretless. I do not know.

FG
 
#58
Hey julo, no worries. Believe it not, you're not the first one to bring up the subject on this forum.

There once was a time when I was greatly disturbed with the whole idea of losing even one single strand of hair off of my head. Now I'm at a point in my life where being half-bald is the least of my worries. Who cares?

I believe the same goes with these annoying dead spots on your beloved bass; there will come a time you eventually get over them and learn to live with them so you can carry on with your life as a bass player. ;)
 

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