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Precision Bass Dead Notes...deal breaker?

sumeursault

sumeursault

Supporting Member
Jun 21, 2006
1,716
703
#1
Hi Justin,

This may fall outside of your purview here, so my apologies if that's the case. However, I figured that perhaps some of your vintage instrument expertise might be germain to the topic. I started a thread elsewhere on here (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=652945) about my P-bass ('58 relic) that has a somewhat noticeable dead spot on Db and D on the G-string. I just thought maybe you might want to weigh in on your experience with this 'problem', since you've probably played/owned many instruments that have this tendency. Any thoughts?

Thanks a bunch!
 
#2
The problem sucks! My Ricky 4003 totally has that, but in an even worse spot: The Ab, A, Bb and B on the E string!!

What about those fat finger things that you slap on the headstock - does anyone ever use those to good effect?

In other words, I don't got s*&t to tell you except it f*#%ing SUCKS.

Good luck.

JMJ
 
#5
If you notice it enough to be posting this then it's probably bad enough that you should pass on this one. As has been said they all have dead spots of some sort but some are worse than others. My rule of thumb is that if an instrument doesn't grab you enough to want to slave for it it ain't the right one....sounds like this one isn't that to you.
 
#6
justin, fat fingers just move the dead spot to somewhere else on the neck. they work but their success is mitigated by having to choose which dead spot is more important to get rid of.

i'm with nic...if it sucks so bad you can't deal, don't get it. personally i'm not too bothered by them. most of them are around the C# on the G string and i can deal. plus i'm not a big sustain kind of guy. having dead spots on the low notes on the E string does suck, though. i don't know if i could hang with that.
 
#10
A thousand apologies for burdening this thread with the following shameless outburst of obtuse flaming ignorance, but what exactly is a deadspot?

The name implies something very METAL, yet I gather it is something to avoid. This confuses me.

Is it a place where the strings rattle when fretted or something like that? Because surely that can be helped with a good set-up and maybe a fretjob? What does it sound like relative to the "normal" notes?
 
#12
Mingus Addict said:
I noticed that different strings seems to have some effect on dead spots and can even cause them to move around a bit. Has anyone else had the same experience, or am I crazy?
Click to expand...

I always noticed this .......

An Ibanez Musician i owned only tolerated low tension strings, like Dogal Carbonsteel .... otherwise it had an unbearable dead spot in the 3rd fret of the E string ........ ! ......


PS: the absolutely champion of strangeness as far as dead spots i have seen:
i owned a post-Gibson Steinberger Q5 which was dead in the open G string, and also at the 5th fret of D string ......
 
#14
I'm not famous, but I'll answer your question, St Drogo:

A dead spot is a spot or area on the fingerboard where the notes sound weaker or sustain less than they do on the rest of the instrument.

The OP mentions the Dd and D on the G string, which is a very common place for dead spots on Fenders and Fender-style basses.

As JMJ mentioned, they really suck. I don't really mind them so much on a fretted bass, but they drive me crazy on certain fretlesses. I've got a fretless J and a fretless Stingray where it's particularly bad and I have to make a concerted effort to play around it.

Funny someone mentioned the Ibanez Musician as an offender. I've owned a bunch of those and found them to be pretty trouble-free in terms of dead spots. I've also found that necks with carbon/graphite stringers in them are less prone to the problem. Just my experience...
 
#15
Yeah, it's all over my bass collection like an uncontrollable blight. The instruments I know off the top that don't have dead spots that I've ever really felt or noticed are:

Yamaha BB1200 (c. 1980 or so)
Yamaha BB (new one)
Wal Mark I
Wal Pro IIe
One of my T-birds
'66 P Bass, kind of...
Steinberger XL2

That leaves something like forty other basses with dead spots of some variety. Ultimately, it's not a big deal. I think most of us find that our hands and minds know how to adjust for this. My Rick 4003 happens to be the worst offender.

Best,
JMJ
 
#16
Damn. I have like one bass, the cheapest Yamaha rbx there is, and I bought it second hand to boot. Never experienced anything like that. The gods must favor the poor. Or just the incredibly sexy :D

Actually, I do have an old Hagstrom superswede too, but the head came off and was reattached in a weird way (srsly, with a metal splint and two huge bolts. Looks like Frankenstein's bass). That one doesn't count.

But this thing occurs on fretlessesesses too? Weird. What causes these deadspot then? Or is that as of yet unknown?

Also: seriously Justin? fortyseven-ish basses? Those are, like, Nigel Tufnel numbers.

I really hope you have some with the tag still one, that have never been played and can't even be looked at. Heh.
Not judging here though, if I had more to spend than some bellybuttonfluff and change I'd be drowning in basses too.
 
#17
Damn, JM... I thought I was a glutton at around a dozen. Then again, you make a living at it so you have a good excuse.

I think (and I'm guessing here) they're caused by variations in the density of the wood in different spots on the neck. Wood's a natural thing and it's inconsistent. I've also noticed it's prevalent on basses with shallow necks (thin front - to - back) and not as noticeable on basses with big, chunky necks. Maybe 'cause the chunky necks have enough overall mass to compensate for inconsistent wood? That's my theory, anyway, and I'm stickin' with it!
 
#18
mjchmara said:
Hi Justin,

This may fall outside of your purview here, so my apologies if that's the case. However, I figured that perhaps some of your vintage instrument expertise might be germain to the topic. I started a thread elsewhere on here (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=652945) about my P-bass ('58 relic) that has a somewhat noticeable dead spot on Db and D on the G-string. I just thought maybe you might want to weigh in on your experience with this 'problem', since you've probably played/owned many instruments that have this tendency. Any thoughts?

Thanks a bunch!
Click to expand...

The resonance of the Fender jazz or p-bass body and neck usually means that you get a dead spot around the 5th fret on the G string.

I build Fenderbirds and one has a dead spot on the D string and the 7th fret.

Different strings, a good setup, and a different bridge can help but it won't go away completely.

So Leo Fender designed some good basses but they aren't without flaws.
 
#19
jmjbassplayer said:
The problem sucks! My Ricky 4003 totally has that, but in an even worse spot: The Ab, A, Bb and B on the E string!!

What about those fat finger things that you slap on the headstock - does anyone ever use those to good effect?

In other words, I don't got s*&t to tell you except it f*#%ing SUCKS.

Good luck.

JMJ
Click to expand...

Hey JMJ,

This is big al, aka rokkittbass in NYC.....just to share something, even though you might already know..


I have an 88 ric 4003. The bridge has a space underneath, between the bridge and the actual wood of the instrument.

On the Ric boards, they have 2 solutions.

one, put coins, a metal or wood shim, under the bridge. this makes contact with the instrument wood body, and the underside of the bridge itself.

two, where the bridge adjustable saddles are.....the allen screws to adjust the height of the bridge saddles, the allen screws "rest" on the bridge.
now, some of the guys have drilled out holes so the allen adjusters acutally rest on the wood body, under the bridge.

here is the thread on this stuff....from the ric forum.. hope it helps.
--washer or coin trick thread--mentions the drilling as well
Invalid Link Removed


I have done the coin thing, but not the drilling yet. I did notice a little bit better sustain, but that could be in my head~!!!

Rokkitt
 
#20
A slight tweak of the truss rod can sometimes shift a deadspot somewhere less noticeable.

All my P-Basses have them to some degree, with the exception of a MIJ '62 RI - must have got lucky with that one!

I've also found that a nice set of played-in flats can make a deadspot less obvious. A bit of compression can help too.
 

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