Dead spots?

[TRBboy]

It's not a problem I've had before, but I noticed yesterday that I seem to have a dead spot between about 8th and 11th fret on the B string of one of my basses. In fact, nothing above 7th is amazing, but that area in particular is bad. The set up is good, tweaked the truss rod and string height the other day.

Just wondered if anyone has any thoughts about what causes this, and how I could remedy it? All the other strings are fine, so I don't think it's a fret issue.

Thanks for your help!

[PlungerModerno]

Have you tried the old "press the headstock against a wall and see if the dead spot goes away" trick?

I've a Jazz with a deadspot (fret 5, C on G string) that does just that.

EDIT: Watch the finish! Do it against a poster, piece of cloth or something on the wall. Also don't forget to see if the dead spot moves!

Edited January 2, 2015 by PlungerModerno

[gary mac]

If it has only just appeared, the first thing I would be doing is changing the string.

[HowieBass]

If it's only just appeared and the string seemed reasonable before then the only thing I can think of that might change is the amount of neck relief (with the advent of much colder wetter weather). Your low B needs more room (in terms of action) than any other string so it could be choking on the higher frets which suggests maybe a touch too much relief. I'd raise the action a little bit more to see if that improves matters; also check the neck relief again and maybe just a slight tweak to flatten it could help.

[TRBboy]

Thanks for your replies guys. Resting the headstock against something to increase the effective mass does not seem to improve matters really. I restrung it not long ago, and the string seems very fresh still (I use SS rounds and have to change them as soon as there's any hint of dullness!).

I adjusted the relief and action a little the other day; straightened the neck out a little as there was a touch too much relief for my liking, and raised the A & D strings at the bridge a touch due to slight fret buzz. There was no significant fret buzz on the B, and I wouldn't really want to put the action up much more tbh, but I guess it's a good idea to have a play around with the setup to see if I can alleviate the problem.

[ikay]

Can you describe the sound from the 'dead' notes or post some clips? For example, is the fundamental note missing (or weak) but some of the higher harmonics still present? This is a common symptom of a dead spot where the resonant frequency of the neck at that exact spot happens to coincide with the fretted note - this sucks the life out of the fundamental but leaves some of the higher harmonics intact. Or is the note full bodied but just lacks sustain? The fact that increasing the effective mass of the headstock doesn't improve matters suggests it's something other than a dead spot.

[TRBboy]

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1420219881' post='2646843']
Can you describe the sound from the 'dead' notes or post some clips? For example, is the fundamental note missing (or weak) but some of the higher harmonics still present? This is a common symptom of a dead spot where the resonant frequency of the neck at that exact spot happens to coincide with the fretted note - this sucks the life out of the fundamental but leaves some of the higher harmonics intact. Or is the note full bodied but just lacks sustain? The fact that increasing the effective mass of the headstock doesn't improve matters suggests it's something other than a dead spot.
[/quote]

Hi ikay, sorry for the delay. Won't have time to do any clips this weekend probably, but yes, it feels like the fundamental is missing; noticeably weaker. I think I probably need to tweak the setup and see what I can achieve. Just seems weird that I've never noticed it before, only after I tweaked it last week. Either it's a new issue, or I don't normally play above 7th on the B!