Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Tech => Topic started by: Philly Q on December 07, 2008, 01:38:30 PM
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I was playing my SG the other day and noticed a dead spot (at the 11th fret on the G string, to be precise :roll: ). I play the note, it sounds for a couple of seconds, then dies. All the "surrounding" notes sustain just fine.
I had a similar thing years ago on my EB/MM Axis (9th fret that time, I think!).
So, question - what causes dead spots? Is it just something in the wood, or the wood and the truss rod vibrating in such a way that they kill the sustain somehow? I don't suppose there's any way of "fixing" them?
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I also wanna know (has dead spot on beloved LP Special on G string 12th fret.
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I find that adding more relief to the neck (i.e. more of a bow) can drastically reduce dead(er) spots. Thinner necks are more prone to it in my experience too, and it's usally around the middle of the neck on the G string. Something to do with the thickness of the string, the frequencies etc is why it's the G.
More relief should help a lot.
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Great thread about the problem on the PRS forum:
http://forums.birdsandmoons.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1928&highlight=dead+spot%2A
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Great thread about the problem on the PRS forum:
http://forums.birdsandmoons.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1928&highlight=dead+spot%2A
Very interesting, especially what they said about the possible effects of changing hardware, and the longer heel on newer PRS guitars (if I could be bothered, I'd look on Ed Roman's site and see what he says about that, he always moans about those long heels :lol: ).
My SG has a fairly fat neck, and better tuning stability than nearly all my other guitars - so I guess it's pretty rigid. I'll see if it could do with a little extra relief, if that might help. I'm also planning to replace the bridge with a TonePros at some point, maybe that will have some effect too.
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Yep - it's all about shifting the frequency resonance to somewhere that's not over a fret....
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I find the carbon fibre rods i put in most of my necks drastically reduce deadspots
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I find the carbon fibre rods i put in most of my necks drastically reduce deadspots
Thanks for the tip 8)
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I think my Precision bass has graphite neck reinforcement rods. Haven't noticed any dead spots, but I don't play it that much!
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Possibly a slightly low fret? Had this problem with an epi a few weeks ago. Can't really see how something like a string vibrating can be affected by resonance of the truss.
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Possibly a slightly low fret? Had this problem with an epi a few weeks ago. Can't really see how something like a string vibrating can be affected by resonance of the truss.
I dare you to search truss rod condom on the les paul forum.
I DARE YE! :D
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Possibly a slightly low fret? Had this problem with an epi a few weeks ago. Can't really see how something like a string vibrating can be affected by resonance of the truss.
No, it's definitely a dead spot, although my truss rod idea was probably nonsense.
They're quite common and well documented - see the PRS forum link Dave posted above.
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I thought that dead spots were mainly because bad frets. Eg if you have a low fret you get rattling from the next fret.
Or is that not what a dead spot is.
Also i noticed the 11th fret on my G string (epi SG) also is cr@p but because it rattles a bit. But its only that fret on that string.
Some kind of pattern in SG's? :?
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I know what you mean about notes "fretting out", but as I understand it a dead spot's nothing to do with high or low frets (although I've learned today there may be a dead spot under the fret).
There's no fret buzz or rattle, this is a note that rings out perfectly normally but then "dies" very rapidly. The note just won't sustain like the other notes around it, no matter how cleanly I fret it or how much distortion I have.
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Sometimes we have encountered a fret that kills the note too quickly ,
Sometimes it is caused by the resonance problem affecting that particular frequency
Other times it can be caused by a slightly loose fret , which doesnt sound like a rattle , but does soak up the strings energy and we have been successful in rectifying this by bleeding a little thin superglue under the fret and into the slot.
I recommend wiing a little wax (like furniture wax) either side of the fret with a Q-tip to stop the glue sticking to the fretboard and making a mess if you are going to try this.
And have some tissue or rag handy to mop up any excess glue in a hurry too.
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I can't offer any help other than to say my Gibson SG Standard has a dead spot on the 11th fret on the G string!
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Oh well, it seems to be a pretty common problem!
Thanks to Jonathan for the tips :) . If I decide to try gluing the frets I may not risk it myself - I'm pretty good at guitar DIY but I've had a few accidents with superglue.... it's so thin and it sets so bloody fast.
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Isn't this what those Tone Finger things are for. Although I always thought that they would just move a dead spot rather than fix it.
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yeah, the tone fingers can help , worth checking with a clamp first
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yeah, the tone fingers can help , worth checking with a clamp first
Is that like the Fatfinger thing Aspen Pittman makes? I don't think it would be ideal on an SG, they're neck-heavy enough already.
Funny how the idea of that device is to add more mass at the headstock, like a set of die-cast tuners - whereas other manufacturers say tuners should be as light as possible for the best tone.
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But the Fat Finger adds mass to move the dead spot to somewhere not over a fret ;) That's why peopl ethink it adds sustain etc