Dead spots

[rlsuarezv]

How can I find a dead spot in my bass? Are there any videos explaining such procedure?

 

[cataract]

Fret and play each note on your bass individually and let them ring out. If the note’s dead, you’ll definitely know.

 

[jallenbass]

Usually around C, C#, D on the G string.

 

[ThingsAbove]

Tort will fix those

 

[chris_b]

If you can't find them yourself. . . . you don't have any. . . be happy.

 

[Bassworship1]

We have a church bass that plays perfectly but the D string around the 8-11th fret doesn’t ring out good and sound dead just on those 3 spots. What can I do to fix that issue.

 

[-Stingray]

Usually they are found between the 3rd and 9th frets on either the D or G string. Pluck and listen for lack of sustain.

 

[-Stingray]

We have a church bass that plays perfectly but the D string around the 8-11th fret doesn’t ring out good and sound dead just on those 3 spots. What can I do to fix that issue.

You ignore it. Most basses have them somewhere.

 

[mongo2]

I've found that my shortscale basses control dead and hot spots better than the longscales I've used.

 

[Bassist30]

Usually around C, C#, D on the G string.

The older fenders were notorious for that.

 

[bass12]

Why do you want to find dead spots on your bass? In this case ignorance is bliss!

 

[B-Mac]

Supposedly if your bass is a bolt-on you can lessen the dead spots by messing with the bolts on the back of the neck. A dead spot that only sustains for 1 or 2 seconds could be increased to have a sustain of 4 or 5 or 6 seconds. I've only read about this so I don't know if this is real or imagined.

Shouldn't have any on a neck-thru or even a set neck.

 

[bass12]

Supposedly if your bass is a bolt-on you can lessen the dead spots by messing with the bolts on the back of the neck. A dead spot that only sustains for 1 or 2 seconds could be increased to have a sustain of 4 or 5 or 6 seconds. I've only read about this so I don't know if this is real or imagined.

Shouldn't have any on a neck-thru or even a set neck.

The worst bass I ever owned in terms of dead spots was a neck-through. I've also encountered dead spots on set-neck basses.

 

[B-Mac]

The worst bass I ever owned in terms of dead spots was a neck-through. I've also encountered dead spots on set-neck basses.

Really?
First time I’ve ever heard (not heard) that.

Of my 60 basses that are not ABG basses, none of my 13 set neck basses or 9 neck thru basses have dead spots.

I’ll have to check this again now that you’ve said this

Only my 2 MIA Fender Precision basses have them and they aren’t very noticeable since the sustain duration is only slightly shorter. Never checked my MIA Bullet bass

 

[-Stingray]

It's a matter of physics. Dead spots can be lessened by attaching weights to the headstock. This type of fix doesn't make them "disappear", it simply moves them higher up on the neck where most players don't play (or in some cases off the neck.... above the last fret).

Ibanez attempted to address this issue on their Roadstar models (and others) by embedding weights into the neck. How that didn't cause massive neck-dive (or at least super heavy instruments) is beyond me.

I'm sure other manufacturers had similar tricks they've tried over the years.

EDIT: Pretty much the only bass I ever owned that didn't have some type of noticeable dead-spot was a Dean Paramount. Not sure why.....again, it's all about the physics of how vibrations and counter vibrations work.

 

[bass12]

Really?
First time I’ve ever heard (not heard) that.

Of my 60 basses that are not ABG basses, none of my 13 set neck basses or 9 neck thru basses have dead spots.

I’ll have to check this again now that you’ve said this

Only my 2 MIA Fender Precision basses have them and they aren’t very noticeable since the sustain duration is only slightly shorter. Never checked my MIA Bullet bass

Yep, and graphite basses can have dead spots too (despite the myth to the contrary). But don't go looking for dead spots on your basses. Besides, one thing I've learned is that one person's dead spot is another person's perfectly acceptable note.

 

[gln1955]

I agree with some of the comments above. Don't go looking for trouble.

 

[PullThePlug]

This video does a good job indicating what a dead spot sounds like. It's a totally muted position. As the video shows, the fat finger doesn't do much (I have one, and it's not much of a difference). I found that a fret leveling and a good setup can alleviate dead spots.

 

[micguy]

Dead spots are places where resonant modes of the neck cause noticeable reduced sustain of a note. When you go looking for them, if you think you've found one, play a note on the neck on the same fret, but one string over - if that note rings much longer, then you've found a candidate for a dead spot. holding the headstock of the instrument against a wall will typically also help the note ring longer - that;'s another test you can try. ALL necks have places where there is reduced sustain. ALL of them. Many will be even enough the owner of the bass will say there's no "dead spot", and as there is no absolute criteria for that, there's no point in arguing with someone who says there neck has no dead spots, but...every neck will have variable sustain. A dead spot is probably best defined as a reduced sustain area that you notice in regular playing.

You can affect them by changing the stiffness of the neck (not easy), or by changing the mass loading at the end of the neck (the headstock). I've done this with lighter or heavier tuners, with some success, but it's relatively rare that they go away completely. One other thing that works sometimes (it certainly changes things) is a different tuning. A bass tuned to D standard will have different dead spots - maybe better, maybe worse, than one tuned to E standard. As I keep one bass tuned to D standard, the neck I have on that bass is one that reacts better in that tuning, and the neck that was originally on it is elsewhere, as it works better in E standard. Although the science of dead spots is well understood (at least to us Acoustical Physicists) There is no easy magic fix - you gotta try a few things.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Don’t go looking for things that you don’t know where they are or if they are even there.