Dead Spot On some basses

[olieoliver]

I was wondering if anyone else has ever notice some basses having what I call a dead or flat spot at the 5th fret of the G (1st) string? I have a 76 Jazz that this is very noticable on. I have played several other Fenders and Musicman that also have this dead spot in the same location. I've noticed this on some ther brands too but also have played another Jazz that didn't have this.
It sounds as if you had a very old set of strings on. No sustain and almost a muted sound. But only around the 5th fret on the 1st string.  
On some you can notice it also around the 10th fret of the 2nd string.
Maybe my ears just don't like middle C. HMM

[bsee]

Not your ears, those Fenders are famous for that dead spot within a couple notes of that spot.  It's a matter of physics.  A resonant frequency of the neck lines up with the note being played and the energy of the note is absorbed by the neck.  The solid maple necks are probably the worst for this.
 
That's why materials like graphite and ebony make such great bass necks.  They move the resonant frequencies outside of the range of the instrument so all the notes come through more evenly.

[pas]

I had the same problem in the exact same location on my Guild B-302.  I finally got fed up, stashed away some cash & got my Spoiler -brand new - in '85.  We've been happy together ever since...

[hankster]

This is a problem on Fenders or any decent Fender copy, and on some MusicMans.  If you like your bass, but hate the dead spot, you can overcome the resonance by placing some weight up at the end of the headstock - a small dense piece of something glued to the back of the headstock, or even a small c-clamp at the end, will fix it even though it looks stupid.  Some company actually used to manufacture a device just for this purpose, although I can't remember who they were or what it was called.  These kinds of tricks can make all the difference for recording particularly.

[edwin]

Hankster, you are thinking of the Fathead, marketed by Groovetubes. It was a sheet of metal that gets held onto the headstock and increases the mass. I don't know how effective it is (I do believe that they are still available).
 
Edwin

[David Houck]

Here is the Groovetubes Fathead.

[David Houck]

And here is the Groovetubes Fatfinger.

[jlpicard]

The Fathead page brings up an interesting point. They claim that the headstock mass can audibly affect the sustain and tone of the instrument. If so, does the headstock shape that we choose on our Alembic's have any effect or is it negligable because they are all probably very similar in mass?

[crgaston]

It's probably pretty negligible, because the construction of the neck, the sustain block, and possibly the brass nut already add enough mass and stiffness to move the resonant frequency of the neck above anything which would cause dead spots, which means any tone changes would be in the uppermost frequencies.  I think the Fatheads are simply trying to retrofit to a normal guitar or bass what is designed into an Alembic.  If anyone has one of these, it would be an interesting experiment to see how it affects an Alembic, though.
 
(Edited to add)
It looks like there might be a significant mass difference between a crown or cone and a fan or knobby headstock, balancewise, but maybe not enough to affect tone noticeably.
 
(Message edited by crgaston on March 25, 2006)

[olieoliver]

I always wondered what caused this. I knew it was present in some of my basses but not in others. I also noticed it was worse on some that others too. I had an old Gibson G-3 that had no problem with this at all. My Kubickis don't have this flat spot either and they have NO headstock. But their necks are pretty amazing, they are made with a 34 piece of laminate (maple I belive). None of my Warwicks have this problem and on my Daions it's not present either. But my 76 Jazz and 78 Music man its as if the string is being muted at that spot. The LEO curse I guess.

[David Houck]

Following along the thread, on a set neck bass it would seem that a significant difference in mass in the headstock would be more noticable than on a neck through.  Of course, the trade off there is neck dive.  But I suppose on a well balanced body like an Excel, ordering a knobby headstock and thus getting a little more neck woods might be an interesting idea.

[David Houck]

Olie; my understanding is as Bob stated above that this problem is more common in single piece Maple necks.  Not all single piece Maple necks act the same; some have dead spots and some don't.  All Alembics have multi laminate necks.

[2400wattman]

Hey Olie! Just get a Badass bridge(retro-fits to body, same screw holes!) & be done. I use these on all my jazzes(I have 4) & it makes a world of difference. I also recently got a Fat Finger, but I don't think it has made as much a difference as the Badass. However I do leave it on since I bought it. This is also a lot cheaper than the alternative, which is have graphite rods inlaid into the neck(requires fretboard removal) which is not ideal for the bass if you want to keep it stock or it's a vintage piece. You should be able to find a bridge on e-bay for about $50-60.00 bucks & they're just great you'll never put your old bridge on again. Take care, Adam

[crgaston]

I actually have a Badass bridge I'm not using.  I'm leaving town now, but can post a pic later if anybody is interested.

[811952]

I *gasp* have on occasion clamped a heavy C-clamp to the head of 811952 to even out the neck a bit, particularly when I've strung it a 4th low (low B on a 4-stringer).  It contributes to neck dive just a bit.    It really seems to bring out the fundamental though.  I use yellow pine under the clamp, btw, to leave no marks on the bass.  Not nearly so noticeable on higher notes on this bass with the ultra-skinny 5-piece maple/purpleheart neck but makes a huge difference on the low stuff.  Don't anybody tell Mica...
 
John