Fender Fatfinger

[jdh3000]

Has anyone had any experience with this clamp, or an equivalent?

Besides enhancing sustain, it boasts of working out dead spots... Has anyone had success with that?

Fender Fatfinger Guitar, Nickel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WQOFBI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_8e-mFbZK8Z9C0

 

[Paulabass]

I just have the feeling that would end up in my drawer with the Ginsu knives, the Miracle Can Opener, and the saddle for my Rhumba (the cats didn't take to it).

 

[Jim C]

They do work but Paula's observation is a good one.
If you want to experiment, find a small C-clamp that has 2 smooth surfaces (no floating pin) and some felt. Clamp this to the head stock. The only time I felt the need to use this (other than as an experiment) was during a session where a player had a bass that did not have a ton of sustain and we wanted a note to ring loudly for a few measures. C-clamp to the rescue. A similar effect can also be accomplished by gently pushing the end of the neck against a drywall wall while playing.

 

[jdh3000]

I was just curios. I agree, it probably would end up in my backup MacGyver gigbag that I carry everywhere, half filled with stuff I'll probably never need, but I have it "just in case"... like I need something else in there.

I had just been thinking about getting one to see... but I reckon
that would be money better spent elsewhere...

Thanks!

 

[Gecko 5]

I've got one I'm not using. Pay the shipping and you can have it

 

[Jim C]

Super kind of you @Gecko 5
Hey @jdh3000
If it doesn't work out long term, let me know. I always wanted to try one just because!

 

[BassChuck]

I have two. They work. But you have to fool about with it and find the right place on the head stock to put it. They are a little heavy, but that's the point, to have enough mass.
Not a 'silver bullet' by any means, but they do work to a point.
If you are considering getting one, you can experiment by getting some cheap 'C' clamps at a hardware store and see what they do (be careful to pad them so you don't scratch the finish on the headstock).

 

[Real Soon]

It does what it's supposed to: move the dead spot, depending on where you place the clamp. Sometimes it might also "disperse" it a bit, maybe end up having a couple of notes respond a little differently but much less severely than the prior dead spot.

I got one for a bass I'm not using and will be selling eventually (the bass I mean), but I've also got a '60 P bass that works live, but whose dead spot is distracting in studio recordings. The plan is to try it out next time I sit down to record on that bass, and honestly the FF worked well enough on the other one that I expect good results. Sure beats leaning my headstock against the wall while playing