How hard do you have to try to find a dead spot?
What is the search method?
What is the search method?
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I just play all the notes along a string and see what they sound like and how they sustain and decay. I first check the usual suspect notes to save time.
Play slow, long whole notes up the G string. A very common place to find it is C, on the G string. Or nearby, maybe C# or D.
D
Like others have said, it's usually on the G string, around 4th-7th fret. At least on Fenders. But they could be elsewhere too. Listen for notes with less sustain. Typically it will have a powerful "thud" in the attack and then the lows/fundamentel will drop off within a second or so, leaving you with higher frequency harmonics/overtones.
Dead spots may actually not be that apparent when playing alone but in a mix or live through a big PA you could experience that the bass more or less disappears. Listen to the clip I posted earlier. That particular dead spot may not sound THAT bad then listening to the bass alone but on stage the high D on that particular bass is completely non-existent, except for the initial thud. Playing live through a huge PA with that bass and hitting the D on 7th fret G-string will sound like the bass completely missed a note.
I’ve got the curse so bad that I can feel dead notes being played without even hearing them
Yes, but when that happens to me it's invariably due to the resonant nodes of the *room*, and not my bass, 'cos it happens in some rooms and not others, and the resonant frequency varies from room to room.
Dead Spots - Please Explain | TalkBass.com
https://www.talkbass.com › ... › General Forums [BG] › Basses [BG]
Jan 28, 2014 - One Fat Finger will put over the trademark lable (Fender style headstock) will clear up the 'C' but moves the dead spot to 'B-Bb', but it's less. Various places have slightly different effects. But of course you're adding weight to the headstock and that can get into neck dive.
Dead Spots?????
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More results from www.talkbass.com
https://www.talkbass.com › ... › General Forums [BG] › Basses [BG]
Jan 28, 2014 - One Fat Finger will put over the trademark lable (Fender style headstock) will clear up the 'C' but moves the dead spot to 'B-Bb', but it's less. Various places have slightly different effects. But of course you're adding weight to the headstock and that can get into neck dive.
Dead Spots?????
Nov 11, 2000
Any advice to remove dead spots?
Jul 14, 2013
The truth about dead spots?
Apr 19, 2003
Dead spots
Mar 20, 2019
More results from www.talkbass.com
I don’t disagree for the masses but none of mine have dead spots and if they did, I wouldn’t be the owner. So we disagree. Not a problem.
- Jan 23, 2004
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- 502
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- Artist for Bartolini, BTPA, Gruv Gear and Mission Engineering.
I'm curious about this. Not sure if MTD guarantees it but I do have 3 of theirs with no dead spots on any of them. None that I can find, at least.
I don't go looking for dead spots, in fact I've only found one on one of my basses (there may be more but I haven;t found them).
I was playing a gig and it was so obvious that I couldn't miss it. It was like "whoa, where has my bass gone" on one note only (C# on the G string).
I'm not sure that this is even possible, and to make such a guarantee certainly is ill-advised. A bass is an interactive system of unpredictable variables, and I doubt anyone can guarantee an unknown result.
Agreed.
I wouldn’t say that every single bass has one, but IME, a bass with no dead spots would be an exception, not the norm.
Interesting... I’ve never asked that question of a builder. I do know I would not accept a perfect bass. I have a story about that with an Ernie ball bass. Too long to type out but after a couple of weeks of me complaining about a minor change in the neck, they finally agreed that this should be taken care of under warranty . They gave me a custom touring setup which really did stabilize the neck.
I suspect musicians who record a lot would get where I’m coming from where things need to be as perfect as possible because everything is under a microscope so to speak.
Hope that makes sense. My mind gets very foggy from all the drugs and pains.
D
Absolutely, room nodes and standing waves can be a huge problem with bass too. But it has nothing to do with dead spots which of course always occur at a specific frequency and in every room.
I was just saying that in my experience dead spots will usually be far more audible in the context of a mix or through a PA. The part of the bass sound that's most audible in a full mix is exactly the part of the sound that disappears at dead spots. The remaining sound is just overtones that may still sound pretty loud soloed but will be more or less buried in the mix. The effect will be that the bass "disappears" in the mix, even though there may still be a (somewhat) loud tone when soloed. When playing alone the tone at the dead spot will often still sound reasonably good even though the fundamental is out the window and all that remains are overtones/harmonics. Which will be buried in the mix.
Rumbling, boomy rehearsal spaces can mask dead spots. Assessing dead spots on a new bass in a store can sometimes be difficult too. The deadspots are ALWAYS there if you look for them though (at least in my experience). But exactly how bad they will sound in a mix or through a PA is often difficult to know before actually using the bass in a real life situation. On most basses they're not really a problem but I've got several basses where they're so bad that I need to adjust my playing to avoid certain frets. At least if I need anything other than just a THUMP. Some of these basses are actually some of my favourite basses but I won't use them live or bring them as the only bass to a studio session.
Thankfully the REALLY bad dead spots are usually easily spotted. But I've gotten a few surprises too... basses that I expected to be fine but turned out to be less than ideal when recording or playing live.
I have a Sterling Sub Stingray ($299.00), that has no deadspots whatsoever.
But then again, the quality, fit, finish, sound and playability of this so called "cheap bass" simply baffles the hell out of me anyway.
But then again, the quality, fit, finish, sound and playability of this so called "cheap bass" simply baffles the hell out of me anyway.
I'm with you. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say maybe one bass out of every twenty would be, at least to some degree, dead spot free. And that is across all styles, types, and eras.
