G&L note consistency

[attackz]

Over the past month or so I've been trying out a bunch of P basses to try to find one that will give me a solid, vintage tone. I've been listening to a lot of records that Pino played on lately and a bunch of Michael League too. Both of those guys have informed the kind of sound I'm after.

I played a G&L LB-100 in a local GC and thought it sounded fantastic. Nice growl, punchy, solid low end and lightweight too. So I took it home and stuck some flatwounds on it, it nailed the sound I was going for. I've been playing it for a week or so now and I'm happy with it save for a couple of issues with note consistency. I was surprised because Ed Friedland, amongst others, raves about how consistent it is. He calls it 'note integrity' I think: Invalid Link Removed .

The most noticeable problem is a pretty aggressive dead spot on the 6th fret of the G string. You can hear the same deadness on D flat on the 11th fret on the D String, which from what I've read about dead spots being an interaction between the frequency of the note and the neck makes sense - the note frequency is the same.

Aside from the dead spots, I get some very slight fret buzz on the 5th frets on the A string and the D string. Those notes sound a bit weak too, but I'm guessing that's the same problem as the buzzing. The neck has a comparable amount of relief to my jazz bass so I'm thinking this is might be an issue with the frets.
What I'm wondering is, do you all think it's worth taking the bass to a tech (I have a local shop that has a Plek) to see if they can fix the slight buzzing on the 5th fret of the A/D strings and hopefully beefing up those notes? And, do you all think the dead spot on the high D flat is egregious enough to merit taking back the bass or is this just par for the course with bolt on basses? If I return it, I might try to order another one from G&L, same specs, and hope that it's more consistent. If anyone knows if I can make that order through GC (so I can get the return period) I'd love to know!

Invalid Link Removeds a sound clip of the dead spot and note next to it.

And of course, no pics no bass:

G & L LB 100

• attackz
• Mar 9, 2017
• 1
• g&l

Cheers!

 

[DigitalMan]

Just out of curiosity, how is your G#? I'm asking because the dead note seems to fade quickly to a harmonic of the fifth.

 

[attackz]

Just out of curiosity, how is your G#? I'm asking because the dead note seems to fade quickly to a harmonic of the fifth.

Yes, that's what I'm considering to be the 'deadness'. I don't have my bass on me, I believe the G# is solid but I can't make a recording and post later. Do you expect it to be louder?

 

[attackz]

Just out of curiosity, how is your G#? I'm asking because the dead note seems to fade quickly to a harmonic of the fifth.

Ah, I just found a recording of an F, G, G# and an A. I could convince myself that there's a touch of wolfiness to the G#. I added it to the soundcloud page.

 

[dtripoli]

My G&L ASAT, perfect in every way except the dead spot, G string fret 5,6, & 7.
After years of using Flats, light gauge, I switched to medium gauge and the deadness is not so bad.
Also, I'm just used to it and unconsciously work around it when playing.
Ironically the only bass I have that isn't possessed by the devil dead spots is a beater Squier I picked up for $60. I guess the Prince of Bass Darkness took pity on it or just assumed it had no mojo to steal.

 

[GretschWretch]

To address the dead spot, you could try a change of string type/gauge, adding weight to the headstock, or loosening/tightening the neck screws a bit. For the high fret, raising the bridge saddles for the A & D strings a tad may be all you need to do.

 

[attackz]

To address the dead spot, you could try a change of string type/gauge, adding weight to the headstock, or loosening/tightening the neck screws a bit. For the high fret, raising the bridge saddles for the A & D strings a tad may be all you need to do.

Aha, thank you! I hadn't thought about loosening / tightening the neck joint. I'll try that this evening.

Re, A & D strings, I have tried raising the action. It's quite high already, so I wouldn't want to raise it anymore.

 

[Glazenn]

The LB-100, as all basses and guitars of the G&L MIA line, is plek'd from factory.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

The LB-100, as all basses and guitars of the G&L MIA line, is plek'd from factory.

Correct, and they are tuned at the factory, too. Things change. I take it to the tech and let him decide what is needed to correct it as much as possible.

 

[attackz]

The factory plek-ing definitely makes me less inclined to think it will fix anything but it's such a nice instrument aside from that I'm tempted to give it a go. I'd be sinking more money in to the bass though.

Of course, I'm also willing to just take a chance and order another one.

 

[MarkoYYZ]

Aha, thank you! I hadn't thought about loosening / tightening the neck joint. I'll try that this evening.

It sounds like a weird idea, but it changes the bond with the body and therefore the resonance. Try the "loosen 3 turns, then tighten 2 turns" technique and see what happens.

 

[attackz]

For posterity, I tried loosening but the dead spots still there. Alas! Anyone know if G&L would replace the neck under warrantee?

 

[pjbassist]

I think they would, but it may take awhile. I gotta say, you've got better/more sensitive ears than I do. I listened to all of your sound samples and did not notice a thing! Good luck, and nice bass!

 

[lz4005]

I get some very slight fret buzz on the 5th frets on the A string and the D string.

Either your 6th fret is too high in the middle or the 5th is too low. Pretty easy fix by a professional.

 

[attackz]

I think they would, but it may take awhile. I gotta say, you've got better/more sensitive ears than I do. I listened to all of your sound samples and did not notice a thing! Good luck, and nice bass!

Thanks!

It might be easier for you to spot if I give you a visual, here are spectrograms of the high D and high Db audio files, the first one is the Db. Y axis is frequency and X is time. The colour is the intensity of the given frequency at the given point in time. Intensity sits on a continuum where red is higher and blue is lower. Watch out for the Y axis, I used a logarithmic scale to accentuate the fundamental:

I generated these with Audacity (Audacity®).

Notice how on the Db, the frequencies between 100 Hz & 200Hz quickly drop off? Compared to the sustained lower frequency of the D.

 

[Nedmundo]

Since this obviously (and understandably) bothers you, just return it and get another one. I wouldn't sink more money into this one, when it might not work out. Plus, getting a neck replacement might take longer than a new bass -- as I unfortunately know from experience!

I know some use the Fatfinger, which is a weight attached to the headstock that "moves" the dead spot off the fretboard. But nobody wants to add weight, and in my experience G&L basses don't have serious dead spots, so IMO a new one makes more sense.

 

[jtharp]

Get a new one.

 

[Showdown]

Thanks!

It might be easier for you to spot if I give you a visual, here are spectrograms of the high D and high Db audio files, the first one is the Db. Y axis is frequency and X is time. The colour is the intensity of the given frequency at the given point in time. Intensity sits on a continuum where red is higher and blue is lower. Watch out for the Y axis, I used a logarithmic scale to accentuate the fundamental:

View attachment 1076830

View attachment 1076831
I generated these with Audacity (Audacity®).

Notice how on the Db, the frequencies between 100 Hz & 200Hz quickly drop off? Compared to the sustained lower frequency of the D.

I can't hear it either. Also, I hear with my ears not my eyes. These graphs are meaningless to me.

 

[Nedmundo]

Inspired by this thread, I decided to check my USA SB-2 and JB for dead spots. The SB-2 doesn't seem to have any, with even sustain in that critical area of the G string. But the JB has a slight one in exactly the same place as yours. I don't recall ever noticing it before, and it isn't severe enough to be an issue, but it's there. The note decays a little more quickly, but I'm not hearing any nasty overtones that can make these spots intolerable. (I once sold a bass largely because of such a spot -- at the 10th fret on the G string.)

The JB has a four bolt neck joint and only 20 frets, so it's closer to vintage Fender specs than other G&L basses. I'm therefore not terribly surprised it would have a dead spot in the traditional region.

 

[AlexanderB]

I can't hear it either. Also, I hear with my ears not my eyes. These graphs are meaningless to me.

Common attitude among "technophobe" musicians... The illustrations just show (in a clear way!) the dead spot phenomenon encountered by OP and countless other players. Do not dismiss the data just beacuse you do not grasp the information.