What do you do about dead spots?

[bass12]

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?

Status - wood bodies with graphite necks.

 

[Big Heavy Bass]

Changing things around can make a difference...I started getting a pretty bad dead spot in the same place as yours, I happened to take off the hipshot D-tuner that i had on and put the old gear back and surprise...the dead spot basically went away.

 

[fishdude101101]

I added "all" to the pole.

The non-poll question still stands - have you found a reliable solution to dead spots, or put another way, can you reliably address them to your own satisfaction?

Nope. I swapped necks once though and got enough improvement to keep the bass. Otherwise tolerate them or move on.

 

[MattZilla]

I'd place the instrument quite close to the speakers of my stereo and play music on that steareo often, thus letting musical-range vibrations condition the wood. Rick Turner's column here explains why.
View attachment 4336739

My grandfather built his third home on a plot setup twenty years prior as a managed Maple “farm(?)” before the lumber company folded. If only he’d had the initiative to set up a three walled building with full range speaker cabinets to playback his Herb Alpert records on infinite repeat from when he built the house in ‘55, the lutherie world would have a nice cache of experimentally musicified maple- some of it probably very curly due to a few of the trees growing on a windy & erosion/mudslide-prone slope.

 

[Matt O]

Status - wood bodies with graphite necks.

Interesting! I wonder if the dead spot would disappear if it was made completely of wood or completely of graphite. The article I posted deals with a headless wooden bass. It’s noted in the article that removing the headstock moved the dead spot to around the 14th fret and was not as pronounced, so yes it still existed but was hardly noticeable.

I’m curious, where about was the dead spot on the Status basses? My guess would be higher than c#

 

[Deleted member 165050]

My grandfather built his third home on a plot setup twenty years prior as a managed Maple “farm(?)” before the lumber company folded. If only he’d had the initiative to set up a three walled building with full range speaker cabinets to playback his Herb Alpert records on infinite repeat from when he built the house in ‘55, the lutherie world would have a nice cache of experimentally musicified maple- some of it probably very curly due to a few of the trees growing on a windy & erosion/mudslide-prone slope.

 

[bass12]

Interesting! I wonder if the dead spot would disappear if it was made completely of wood or completely of graphite. The article I posted deals with a headless wooden bass. It’s noted in the article that removing the headstock moved the dead spot to around the 14th fret and was not as pronounced, so yes it still existed but was hardly noticeable.

I’m curious, where about was the dead spot on the Status basses? My guess would be higher than c#

Yes, 11th and 12th frets on the G string. I have also encountered dead spots in a similar area on a couple of headed Status basses.

 

[darwin-bass]

I see people on this forum talking about "dead spots" all the time, but I honestly don't even really know what y'all mean by it. I've been playing guitar and bass for about 23 years, and I'm a guitar tech for a living - and I still don't know *** you are all on about.

A dead spot is a note that is quieter or sustains shorter than surrounding notes. If you haven't noticed them, then consider yourself lucky and don't go looking. I can practically guarantee that most basses you've handled have them and you just haven't paid attention enough to spot them.

They typically don't really interfere (much) with playing so most who just play don't hear them. If you have your amp up loud enough they are a non issue. If you try to run your amp just barely loud enough (in the mix, not on top of it) they will become more apparent.

Sadly, I'm keenly aware of them and find them to be annoying, especially since my main basses for decades have not had dead spots. They stick out like a sore thumb to me.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Fender Fat Finger did the trick for me the couple times I've had to deal with the problem (both cheap DIY kit/parts FSOs)..

Yes, I read some where Here long ago, Adding weight to the headstock helps! That Fat finger thing was the answer! Also ive had luck with a set up Myself, So maybe a slight tweak on the truss rod works too!!GL

 

[-Asdfgh-]

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.

I've never found playing louder to be effective as the sustain is short in the lower frequencies. If anything, it seems to call attention to the issue.

 

[Ellery]

Avoid basses that have them whenever possible.

When it’s not possible, use alternate neck positions and fingerings to get around the otherwise dead notes.

Beat me to it.
THIS.

/

 

[Bartrinsic]

Bottom purple half of the Oxford Envolution. For this 5-string bolt on, the Envolution boosts sustain centered on the D (147hz 7th fret G string). I have a preset like this improving the tone of every bass I own since they all have an area of maximum phase cancellation (body resonance--all you need is a tuner, a meter and ears to find it). This one has a lot of boost (+9dB), so it will add audibly processed sustain to the low end--a great alternative to OD. For a clean correction, +3-7db is a rule-of-thumb. On neck thru 5s, I usually look higher around the 10-12th fret G string. The neck thru spot tends to be narrower, so I use higher focus and lower width--boost and dry mix to taste. The top (yellow) is a screech/clank peak cutter at 1.1khz, which allows me to run 50% more upper-mids/trebles without anyone but me knowing. Not an easily portable solution, but similar concepts apply when tweaking amps and pedals. Most digital multi-effects pedals have ways of doing something similar. This does not eliminate the phasey sound at that frequency, but a little can help a lot and there is little downside if its not overdone.

 

[spantini]

I put a set of La Bella .52-.110 Deep Talkin Flats on my Yamaha RBX170Y and they sounded great.. until I went to mixing. The A-A#-B on the E string disappeared when mixed with a prerecorded Strat rhythm track. When I soloed the bass they sounded great.

After one song I replaced them with OEM Fender roundwounds which don't have this problem.

 

[Pings Bass]

I do the same thing with dead spots that I do with nut width, string spacing, neck finish and dry fingerboards: not notice them.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I have only ever owned one bass that it was so bad as to be considered problematic, so I just generally play with them or play around them. It only really comes into play if I need a sustained note at that spot.

All my basses have dead spots to some degree. Some are barely noticeable while others are more pronounced.

 

[GretschWretch]

I wish I could find the paper that showed the upper and lower horns on a P bass vibrating out of phase at some frequencies but it seems to have disappeared. But anyway you're right, every other vibration analysis paper I've read on the subject shows neck resonance out of phase with the note being the cause of dead spots. My Fender PBAC fretless has the classic dead zone at C# on the G string.

I started to try to track down the specific article, but then I decided to let you all choose your poison.

Google Scholar

And if even one of you -- ONE! -- says everything can be found on the internet, I know a Russian student who can send people to break your bones.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I started to try to track down the specific article, but then I decided to let you all choose your poison.

Google Scholar

And if even one of you -- ONE! -- says everything can be found on the internet, I know a Russian student who can send people to break your bones.

I've already read through too many trying to find it but thanks It was interesting though, the vibration analysis was carried out specifically on a P bass and I found the idea of the upper and lower horn vibrating out of phase fascinating.

 

[ACRock]

Tuner configuration seems to affect this. Every 4 string Fender or Squier I've owned had a dead spot on the G string. None of the bases with alternative tumer configurations 2 +2, 3 +1, 3+2, had a easily identifiable dead spot.

 

[sean_on_bass]

You take the bass to your favorite luthier to fix it.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Random thought in the shower - someone earlier mentioned that you can minimize the dead notes by fretting, but not plucking the note and octave lower on the A string. That does work, what's happening is the lower octave vibrates at its first overtone, which would be the fundamental played on the G string. The G string note still decays quickly, but the A string overtone rings on. So, it's not really the note by itself. It's that particular note played at that particular spot on the neck. C# is dead on the G string, G# is just fine.