What do you do about dead spots?

[stringthrough]

I accept that they exist, play through them but do try to not spend a lot of time on them.

 

[2saddleslab]

I've used Warmoth steel-bar necks for decades and have consistently had no dead spots with them. Every non- Warmoth bass I've owned or played had dead spots.

I've had the same experience.

 

[Gustopher]

My current basses don’t exhibit this. I’ve never really noticed it on any that I’ve played and if I did I wouldn’t buy it.

 

[Max Bogosity]

Dead spot at 0:31, 0:59 & 2:19:

Sounds to me like he missed those notes more than anything. I could be wrong though.

That’s what I thought too, but on repeated listening it seems like it consistently happens on the same C# and nowhere else. That doesn’t prove anything, but it does suggest it’s something about that note rather than the player.

Kinda demonstrates that dead spots aren’t really such a problem.

 

[bass12]

My 5 string basses have never had dead spots either.

In my experience fives are just as prone to having dead spots as fours. As a matter of fact, the worst dead spot I ever had was on a graphite-necked five (it was so bad I sent it back to the company for a replacement).

 

[pepj]

Dont recall I've ever had any.
The worst I've had is if the string didnt go on properly..so a quick reset and all good.

 

[A9X]

The only way to totally eliminate all dead spots is to saw the headstock off. Fender was playing around with this concept in the mid-70s. Interesting read here:
Fender Headless Bass | Vintage Guitar® magazine

Nah, definitely can't be the headstock can it?

 

[bass12]

What do I do? If the dead spot is severe enough, I will “tune” the headstock.

This is done by increasing or decreasing the mass of the headstock. Increasing mass causes the dead spot to move flat, decreasing mass moves the spot sharp. The trick is to find the correct headstock mass that places the dead spot a semi-tone between two fretted notes where it will have the least effect.

All basses with headstocks have dead spots, they are most prominent on Fenders and FSOs. Leo Fender was well aware of this and would demonstrate by clamping a heavy c-clamp on the headstock, thereby radically increasing mass and moving the spot flat past the nut. The other method is to reduce mass. Easiest way is to reduce the mass of the tuners with resolites or similar moving the spot a semi-tone sharp. This is what I do, and I can usually get the spot to open up. Since Leo was aware of the relationship between headstock mass and dead spot location, we may have a clue to why he designed the ray headstock much smaller and the original 1k much larger.

The only way to totally eliminate all dead spots is to saw the headstock off. Fender was playing around with this concept in the mid-70s. Interesting read here:
Fender Headless Bass | Vintage Guitar® magazine

Headless basses can have dead spots as well, unfortunately.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

What are your approaches to dead spots on the neck (7th fret G string and others)? Do you ignore them? Do you change out strings to fix them? Change tuners, bridges, something else? Sell the bass?

And have you found a reliable solution or is is really just hit or miss?

Hold that note out on a different spot.

 

[A9X]

Headless basses can have dead spots as well, unfortunately.

I currently own 6 and a guitar and have owned a number more, and not one has had a dead spot.

 

[bass12]

I currently own 6 and a guitar and have owned a number more, and not one has had a dead spot.

Well you’re lucky then. A few posts above I mentioned the worst dead spot I ever encountered: that bass was headless. It’s not the only headless bass I’ve played that had dead spots either.

 

[Matt O]

Nah, definitely can't be the headstock can it?

‘Tis

 

[HardNHeavy]

my old 83' p bass had one on the G string 5th fret...couldn't figure it out. Oneday i switched strings from GHS bass boomers to Rotosound slinky 66's and adjusted the microtilt feature on the neck to bring bottom of neck at the pocket a bit higher. Dunno but, no more deadspot

 

[Matt O]

Headless basses can have dead spots as well, unfortunately.

Possibly yes. It would then be the body mass causing the resonant freq of the neck to be in the fretting range. Then there ain’t much you can do but chamber or add mass somehow.

What types of headless basses have dead spots in your experience?

 

[M.R. Ogle]

In recording: Punch in that phrase playing in a different position on the neck
Live: Play that note louder. Nobody's going to notice but the player.

 

[lokikallas]

Never noticed any so I guess ignore.

 

[lokikallas]

Maybe other: use an always on comp

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I need to pull off my P bass necking see if the center of mass is right around the C# / D spot on the neck. Is that spot essentially the 12th fret harmonic for the neck? Does the shape and density of the wood, plus the headstock tuners make the tuning of the neck about a C# or D and then you have that note right at the *possible* harmonic node, so C# and/or D die quickly as the neck absorbs the note readily. But if you play the same note elsewhere, it doesn't die. Tune the G down to F or F# and play that same C# (my dead spots tend to be C#) down a fret or two and it's fine. So adding mass to the headstock shifts the center of mass up a fret or two and the neck no longer resonates at that node that unfortunately coincides with the tuning of the G string at the infamous spot. wondering if 5 string basses tuned down a whole step mishap have a similar dead spot, I guess it would depend on the neck.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Maybe other: use an always on comp

The note usually dies too quickly for a comp to do anything if there is no signal passing out of the instrument, no note to boost. A comp will give you a little bit longer note sustain, but we're talking about typically half a second.

 

[JRA]

i ignore them so that's the way i voted --- cheap, readily available solution.