Little sustain on 24th fret on ONE string only (First world problems...)

[biro]

Guys: my BTB is easily the best sounding bass I have, but it has little sustain on its highest note, the 23th-24th fret on the G string. Granted, it's usable and, in the end, it's not like it's a crucial note. It does, however, bother me.

Now, neck is straight, action is low and I've tried different strings. The most irritating thing is that the D string plays perfectly well at the 24th fret. I have been thinking that it might be a dead spot, as it does sound like it might be a resonating frequency problem when I play on the 24th fret, but that wouldn't quite explain why the sustain is not so great at the 23th fret as well, albeit to a lesser extent.

I have also thought about blaming it on the monorail bridge, but that does not explain why the other strings sound fine...

Any suggestion would be most welcome!

Thanks!

[CamdenRob]

What are you doing playing all the way up there anyway?

[The Badderer]

isn't the G string naturally going to have less sustain than all the other strings as you get up to the dusty end? My thoughts would be if it sustains acceptably 1-3 frets lower, you may find it's down to how much a thin string can naturally resonate the shorter you make it. I would imagine a heavier lower string will resonate for longer because there is more energy involved in general. I would only be getting worried if it was sounding completely rubbish about another 3-4 frets lower.

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1433148941' post='2788172']
What are you doing playing all the way up there anyway?
[/quote]
This - even your bass is telling you!

[PTB]

I have the answer - a guitar 😀

[biro]

Thanks mates!

And yes, I know, I know, but... the fact is that my SR506, for example, sustains the note for ages compared to this, which also happens to be neck-through-body. I do understand that it is a very minor thing, and definitely a pet-peeve. Still, I think it may be a matter of bad frets.

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='biro' timestamp='1433154606' post='2788237']
Thanks mates!

And yes, I know, I know, but... the fact is that my SR506, for example, sustains the note for ages compared to this, which also happens to be neck-through-body. I do understand that it is a very minor thing, and definitely a pet-peeve. Still, I think it may be a matter of bad frets.
[/quote]

You're quite right of course... jesting about the dusty end aside, I would expect a bass to sound good at any point on the neck.

Maybe have a luither take a look at it. How long have you had it? If you bought it from a shop you might be able to get them to check it out for nothing.

[HowieBass]

I'm under the impression that dead spots span more than a single fret/note where you would indeed find that sustain was reduced either side of the dead spot itself. You could try holding the tip of the headstock against a wall as you play the G at the 24th just to see if the sustain improves - my Curbow 5 suffers from a dead spot at the 16th fret on the G and sustain is reduced either side but when I hold the headstock against a wall the sustain improves markedly. Also, from what I've seen of pictures of BTBs online the 24th is the final fret for the G and D strings (it has a 'wavy' end to the fretboard?) so it can't be a bad fret.

[biro]

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1433163282' post='2788405']
I'm under the impression that dead spots span more than a single fret/note where you would indeed find that sustain was reduced either side of the dead spot itself. You could try holding the tip of the headstock against a wall as you play the G at the 24th just to see if the sustain improves - my Curbow 5 suffers from a dead spot at the 16th fret on the G and sustain is reduced either side but when I hold the headstock against a wall the sustain improves markedly. Also, from what I've seen of pictures of BTBs online the 24th is the final fret for the G and D strings (it has a 'wavy' end to the fretboard?) so it can't be a bad fret.
[/quote]

Actually, the wall trick is a brilliant idea. That will definitely be my first concern as soon as I get home!

Thanks!

[biro]

Well, tried pressing the headstock against the wall and clamping it. No luck. At this point, I will have to see whether I can find any other solution. This really bothers me -- again, first world problem and all, but still!

[pfretrock]

If you drop the tuning a half step, is the bad sustain still the same on the 24th, and to a 'lesser extent' the 23rd ? If it is a resonance problem I would expect at least the 23rd to improve, since I presume 22 was OK on standard tuning.

May be a bad fret though.

[M@23]

Crikey. The dead spot is probably caused by the dust, way up that end.

Edited to acknowledge the 'dusty end' jokes have already been made... I have nothing else to add here.

Edited June 3, 2015 by M@23

[Roland Rock]

You're not pressing hard enough. The harder you press the longer the sustain. Maybe.

[lojo]

If I go that far up the fret board I have to get the bus back, good luck solving it though

[HowieBass]

If it is a dead spot (and right now it sounds like one more than anything else to me) then at least it's in a place where you can mostly forget about it - other instruments often have them in far less forgiving positions.

[White Cloud]

Wow, I don't ever remember even having to play that note in any song ever...

If the BTB is your best sounding bass then you either learnt to live with it, or its decision time mon ami.