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New bass and a dead spot.......

I started over with setting it up. I raised the action and got the saddles to sit right. I got it real close to having the intonation dialed in on the E string without having the end wrap right on top of the saddle. But the dead spot was still there even though it seemed better. I pulled the E string off and replaced it with an old one out of my drawer. With zero end wrap on the saddle I still get a note that fades much too quickly. And as I sit here typing this I just remembered that i have a brand new set of Fender 7250Ms around here somewhere. I'll try the .105 and see if that makes any noticeable difference........
 
@jallenbass - I don't know anyone in my area that I trust with anything of mine. I prefer to learn as I go even if it means screwing a whole bunch of stuff up along the way. And I have screwed up a BUNCH of stuff along the way.....I have pics.......but I won't show them. Nuh uh. No way. Too embarrassing.
 
i believe there is nothing wrong with the set up when its new. i always setup my own bass n found pplls comments very weird. I believe thats its a problem related to the fret. i own 2 squier n fender/squier always have 2-3 dead spot around high Cs. I think the fret is not installed good enough. check the fret a littlt. if its fixed nicely to the fingerboard on G or the other notes on the fret. the height of the fret! pls have one good check
 
i believe there is nothing wrong with the set up when its new. i always setup my own bass n found pplls comments very weird. I believe thats its a problem related to the fret. i own 2 squier n fender/squier always have 2-3 dead spot around high Cs. I think the fret is not installed good enough. check the fret a littlt. if its fixed nicely to the fingerboard on G or the other notes on the fret. the height of the fret! pls have one good check

I already put in for the return but you're right, I should at least check the frets and make sure there's nothing out of the ordinary there. I did a very general checking of them but it was all of about 10 seconds worth. I'll really take a look at them tomorrow.
 
Get a hollow rod. A small socket out of a socket wrench set will work sometimes.Run the E string throught the hollow rod so that it sticks out the back of the tailpiece.

This kinda like a the way a string would go through the body of a tele. But just out the back. You have the wrap over the bridge and that can't be good.
 
That's an odd spot for it, usually on Fenders it's the C# on the G string. The usual cure for this is adding/removing weight from the headstock, but I'm not sure with the dead spot on the E string.

That's the first I've heard of this characteristic of a Fender bass so I just went and picked up my Jazz and doggoned if that C# isn't just a little dead. In fact both the C and the C# are just a little deader than the B or the D.

There are no other dead spots on the neck but yeah. Less sustain and more of a thud than a ring. Not that it would make much difference with my playing style but it's interesting to note. It's just a byproduct of the design then?
 
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Would I be correct that this is NOT the way it's supposed to look? In my defense......the intonation is right on, lol.

That's a bit odd. First thing I'd do is change the strings.
 
Haha, now you've got me *thinking*... does my C# do the same thing? Playing it tonight, i'd swear it did, however, a few days ago, never noticed a thing, in fact, it was perfect! Not saying yours hasn't got the deadspot, cos it sounds like it has, but deadspot paranoia, you know, it sets in, Lol.
 
strings are usually the cause of mysterious dead spots...
next would be to check the setup...radius the bridge saddles to match the fretboard and adjust for proper intonation (I believe fender is now using 9.5")
last I would be to check your frets you may have some that aren't quite level (either from truss rod adjustment or from trying to level on a neck that wasn't set straight)
 
Octaves said:
Haha, now you've got me *thinking*... does my C# do the same thing? Playing it tonight, i'd swear it did, however, a few days ago, never noticed a thing, in fact, it was perfect! Not saying yours hasn't got the deadspot, cos it sounds like it has, but deadspot paranoia, you know, it sets in, Lol.

Don't think about pink elephants :)
 
Try shimming your neck. Then you can have low action with the saddles set a bit higher.

Yeah. Best I could see in the photo, the other saddles were pretty low, also.

I've shimmed the neck on an MTD KZ5 and a Carvin SB5000. Pretty easy to do, if you're comfortable with doing your own setups.

Gary Willis's 101 Tips book has some good material on neck shims, neck relief, and bridge adjustments. Prolly some stuff on TB, too.