The Most Bizarre Thing

[Almuzura]

Hello everybody,

yesterday I decided to re-string my bass guitar with flat wounds. I chose the Galli Jazz Flat. I was very excited about the sound and the feel but.. when I reached the D note on the 7th fret of the G string...dead! It has a pluck sound and then no sustain at all, the notes dies out in a second. I spend an hour yesterday trying to adjust the truss rod and the saddles height with no results. I thought I would let the string settle overnight but today I got at it again, messed with the truss road and string height again but in vain. But during all this fiddling, I noticed something very bizzarre, at least to me: the problem is not in the fret, the saddle, the truss rod. It's in the D pitch. In fact, I tuned down the string to F# and now the dead is on the 8th fret. Tuned it up to g# and the dead note is on the 6th fret. So I am starting to think this is an inherent flaw of the string itself. What do you guys think?

 

[michael_t]

Sounds like this is a case of the proverbial dead spot on your bass. It has to do with the resonant frequency of the neck that counteracts the frequency of certain notes.

Here's the thing... Flats tend to exaggerate those dead spots more than rounds as they lack in upper harmonics and overtones that rounds naturally have.

Is this your first time trying flats on that particular bass?

 

[Almuzura]

Hello Michael,

yes, it was my first time trying flats on that bass. I really didn't notice any problems with the rounds. I will try putting the rounds back on now because I am puzzled. I am learning broadway-style tunes and I hit that high D many times, and never noticed any problems with rounds but when I play those passages now with the flats the D note just isn't there.

 

[Almuzura]

Put back the G round. You are definitely right, it's less noticible then with flats but it's there anyway. I guess there is no fix for that except that the bass is still within the money-back policy. Lol

 

[gln1955]

Dead spots are common and a real pain. Sometimes, adding some weight to the head can help tame a dead spot. Or maybe try some flats with different overall tension. Sometimes you just have to play around those dead areas or get a different bass.

 

[Almuzura]

Thank for the answer. I had never experienced that on any of my previous basses (this is my fourth one). I didn't know dead spots were so extreme as to almost mute the string altoghether. I thought it was a problem of the string. I will try adding weight. Thank you

 

[truand85]

Try TI flats, though that's a bit of an investment without knowing if it'll fix the issue, they're very flexible and have more sustain than typical flats. Good luck!

 

[michael_t]

I didn't know dead spots were so extreme as to almost mute the string altogether.

The severity of the dead spot can vary. If the resonant frequency of the neck happens to match the frequency of the note, then it can take all the life out of that note; if it falls somewhere in between any two semitones, it may not be as noticeable.

There have been plenty of discussion on the subject. Search "dead spot" and see what you can find.

 

[Almuzura]

Try TI flats, though that's a bit of an investment without knowing if it'll fix the issue, they're very flexible and have more sustain than typical flats. Good luck!

Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[Almuzura]

The severity of the dead spot can vary. If the resonant frequency of the neck happens to match the frequency of the note, then it can take all the life out of that note; if it falls somewhere in between any two semitones, it may not be as noticeable.

There have been plenty of discussion on the subject. Search "dead spot" and see what you can find.

Yes, now that I know it's a case of dead spot I did some research about it. Thank you for poiting me in the right direction.

 

[bigthemat]

you could try getting a fat finger, it's a clamp for your headstock. You'll need to move it around to find the sweet spot but it has helped me with my basses that have that same dead spot on the G string.

 

[Almuzura]

I

you could try getting a fat finger, it's a clamp for your headstock. You'll need to move it around to find the sweet spot but it has helped me with my basses that have that same dead spot on the G string.

I was reading about that. I will get one. I like this bass, and the flat wounds as well (althought I put back the rounds now because the problem is less noticeable with them) and I'd rather keep it but I also need that high D so much. I hope the FatFinger will help. Thank you

 

[red_rhino]

when I reached the D note on the 7th fret of the G string...dead!

Let me guess: jazz bass, right? Almost every jazz bass I’ve played or owned has had a faster decaying note right at that location. It seems to be inherent to the jazz bass design, and many (not all) seem to suffer from it to varying degrees. It’s the very first thing I look for when playing a jazz bass off the rack at a music store. As others have mentioned, flats do seem to make the problem more noticeable. Still, I love jazz basses, so unless the note dies faster than an anvil falling on a road runner, it’s all good.

 

[Slevage]

Sounds like a typical dead spot.

I had a Stingray in 1977. Nice bass except for the dead D on the G string at the 7th fret.

 

[Zener]

I think you answered your own question. "Still within the money back policy". Unless you really love it and feel it is above average for the model, which it sounds like it isn't, I'd return it and try to play some basses in actual music stores instead of ordering online, sight unseen. You could spend a lot of money and time buying different strings and tweaking, to find yourself looking for a better bass down the road.

There is also the "fat-head", a brass plate that mounts on the back of the headstock, under the tuners, that is supposed to help with that. I think that is where the fat finger is derived from. I have one on a Strat, but can't say that I noticed a big difference.

 

[Almuzura]

I think you answered your own question. "Still within the money back policy". Unless you really love it and feel it is above average for the model, which it sounds like it isn't, I'd return it and try to play some basses in actual music stores instead of ordering online, sight unseen. You could spend a lot of money and time buying different strings and tweaking, to find yourself looking for a better bass down the road.

There is also the "fat-head", a brass plate that mounts on the back of the headstock, under the tuners, that is supposed to help with that. I think that is where the fat finger is derived from. I have one on a Strat, but can't say that I noticed a big difference.

Thank you Zener, yes I think sending it back would be the bast solution. Cheers

 

[micguy]

Your bass has a dead spot - right where they always are. That dead spot steals the fundamental of a note played there fast. If you put rounds, on your bass, the overtones hang around for a while so it isn't as "dead". With flats, the string itself kills the overtones, the neck steals the fundamental, and...it's a much more obvious dead spot.

The cure is often to add (or subtract) mass from your headstock - your bass neck is what we Acoustical Physicists call a mass loaded bar - changing the mass loading will change the frequency at which the neck vibrates, and move the antinode to a place where you're not playing that note - kinda difficult to explain completely. If you take half the tuners off your bass (the E and A ones, leave the G string and its tuner on), and the dead spot is alleviated, then a set of lighter tuners (Hipshot Ultralites) is the real cure.

 

[mike buzzetti]

Wait as you change tuning the dead spot moves ?? sounds like a bad string , If it is a dead spot on the neck it should stay put IMO ?? makes no sense even with a MASS argument. I could be wrong but ?? look for any defects/crimps/junk in that area of the string.

 

[mikezimmerman]

No, the dead spot moves if you change the tuning, because it's related to the resonant frequency of the neck. The neck resonates and absorbs the energy from the string at the fundamental frequency of the note, so that frequency "dies" very quickly. It's more noticeable with flats than rounds (usually) because rounds, especially new ones, have a lot more higher overtone frequencies that fill in the note even when the fundamental dies.

Wait as you change tuning the dead spot moves ?? sounds like a bad string , If it is a dead spot on the neck it should stay put IMO ?? makes no sense even with a MASS argument. I could be wrong but ?? look for any defects/crimps/junk in that area of the string.

 

[Queue]

Wait as you change tuning the dead spot moves ?? sounds like a bad string , If it is a dead spot on the neck it should stay put IMO ?? makes no sense even with a MASS argument. I could be wrong but ?? look for any defects/crimps/junk in that area of the string.

I thought the same at first, but it isn't really a "dead spot" but a "dead note". By tuning the string up and down and finding that the D is still dead on the G string, he proved that it was a problem with resonance, not fretting.