What causes dead spots?

[Philly Q]

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?

[hunter]

I also wanna know (has dead spot on beloved LP Special on G string 12th fret.

[Twinfan]

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.

[Twinfan]

Great thread about the problem on the PRS forum:

http://forums.birdsandmoons.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1928&highlight=dead+spot%2A

[Philly Q]

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.

[Twinfan]

Yep - it's all about shifting the frequency resonance to somewhere that's not over a fret....

[WezV]

I find the carbon fibre rods i put in most of my necks drastically reduce deadspots

[FernandoDuarte]

I find the carbon fibre rods i put in most of my necks drastically reduce deadspots

Thanks for the tip 8)

[Philly Q]

I think my Precision bass has graphite neck reinforcement rods.  Haven't noticed any dead spots, but I don't play it that much!

[badgermark]

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.

[Will]

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

[Philly Q]

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.

[jibidy]

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? :?

[Philly Q]

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.

[FELINEGUITARS]

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.