what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

[koshikas]

what do you call a dead note on a guitar. I have a shred stick which I think has a dead note and also has a fret-less bass that definitely has a few.

the one in the shred stick is weird. under gain when I let the note sustain, it goes into feedback more or so instantly. then the note dies as fast as it went in to feedback. (to be exact it is the 9th on g-string) Is this a dead note?

the ones on the fret-less are more generic, they don't sustain as much as other notes do in the same vicinity.

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[ehdwuld]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

Not feedback
String rattling on next fret

High fret one up
Or fretted fret too low



*(Sent from my durned phone!)*

 

[koshikas]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

well that is what i thought too, but there is no audible fret buzz no matter how hard I pick un-plugged. if the fret buzz is so minute, does it happen this way. I know that this not what u call feedback, cos on the same guitar when the other notes feedback they sustain looonger [emoji48] [emoji48] [emoji48] [emoji48] [emoji48]

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[The Guitar]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

Check the fret's height. Grab a ruler, credit card, something similar and lay the edge across the frets. The flat edge should lay flat, unless a fret is raised, allowing the flat edge to teeter on the raised fret. If that's the case, you can use a rubber mallet to lower it, or take it in to the shop. Try raising the action and see if it goes away.

 

[greekdude]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

well that is what i thought too, but there is no audible fret buzz no matter how hard I pick un-plugged. if the fret buzz is so minute, does it happen this way. I know that this not what u call feedback, cos on the same guitar when the other notes feedback they sustain looonger [emoji48] [emoji48] [emoji48] [emoji48] [emoji48]

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put some cloth to your headstock to prevent it from damage and push your neck to the wall with controlled strength. Play the same note and measure its sustain. If this increases then you have a dead note on this particular string/fret. Also you might try tuning up/down one step and see if the dead note moves frets.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

From what I understand, either a wolf tone or a dead note:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_tone
If I'm correct, they're sort of the same or slightly different concepts.
A wolf tone is a note that gets away from you rather quickly. I don't expect most electrical guitar-like instruments to have them, but in theory they could.
A dead note would be similar to wolf tone but instead of the note "getting away", it seems the note dies (possibly due to the wolf note phenomenon, or because the wood for some reason just doesn't resonate that note at all).
Now on an electrical guitar-like instrument, my opinion is that if the wood truly doesn't resonate that note, that's ok, the string will still produce the sound. So in my opinion the dead note is when it's actually a wolf note but the wolf note kills the intended note in a way that you don't really hear the wolf tone harmonics.
With bowed instruments, I've heard a wolf note before, and it's as if the note seems to amplify at first, but then very quickly either changes pitch or the string does some strange rattling.
Can anyone verify that I'm on track here? I think I'm right but I want to make sure.

My advice if it's a wolf note: get a violin wolf note damper and put it like on the picture on wikipedia, if you can. But still, keep in mind that if it's a note you don't need often, you can take advantage of this as feedback and do interesting things with it. But if you don't like it, either wolf note dampers, or get a different guitar.

Really, I can't say I've heard a dead note on any electrical guitar, so I'm both surprised and fascinated by this. Can you take a video of what's happening?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

needs a good fret levelling and setup.

 

[AlexR]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

The feedback is surely the string giving you a natural harmonic at a (5th, 7th) fret compared to the note you play at the instant of playing. Then it keeps hitting that same point (fret) and kills the sustain.

 

[BrianS.]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

It is possible that the frets could be very flat across the top, too, and are "fretting out" on themselves, so to speak. A fret should have a rounded top so that the string sits on one point, rather than laying across a flat surface. A level/crown/set-up should take care of your problems.

 

[dominus]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

 

[koshikas]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

The feedback is surely the string giving you a natural harmonic at a (5th, 7th) fret compared to the note you play at the instant of playing. Then it keeps hitting that same point (fret) and kills the sustain.

interestingly enough, could be just that. since the note is on 9th fret it might be fretting out 5, 7, 12 frets up

It is possible that the frets could be very flat across the top, too, and are "fretting out" on themselves, so to speak. A fret should have a rounded top so that the string sits on one point, rather than laying across a flat surface. A level/crown/set-up should take care of your problems.

the frets on it are jumbo, but I'm pretty sure that it has gone through few fret levelling jobs. they are not that tall now, for seemingly fat frets the tops are bit flat

haha

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[koshikas]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

My advice if it's a wolf note: get a violin wolf note damper and put it like on the picture on wikipedia, if you can. But still, keep in mind that if it's a note you don't need often, you can take advantage of this as feedback and do interesting things with it. But if you don't like it, either wolf note dampers, or get a different guitar.

Really, I can't say I've heard a dead note on any electrical guitar, so I'm both surprised and fascinated by this. Can you take a video of what's happening?

thanks man. if it is not a fret level issue it could very well be a wolf-tone. I've been very inventive with note, since it is a 'e' I'm getting (if I'm tuned to E-standard). [emoji39] I will shot video out audio today if I find time

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[koshikas]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

still not ruling out it is a dead note, I'll do the head stock mass altering to see if the note shifts or goes away. so thanks to everyone who suggested that path of remedy.

if it is indeed a fret issue then there is nothing a good levelling job couldn't fix. seriously guys, this is not a guitar I would call as setup for low-action. unplugged I don't hear any buzzes. I bought it used, and never done a fret job cos visually there were no dimples, and while playing I did not have any other issues. but considering the location of the note, it could be that whoever worked on the frets last, had to salvage a pretty badly worn fret. it could very well be tops being too flat, and minute buzzes on frets higher up

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[SixStringMamba]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

I have 2 Warmoth part-casters, both using 25.5" scale length.

The one with the smaller modern strat headstock and standard thin contour suffers from similar situation here - dead note on G -string, 10th fret even though it's mounted on a heavy mahogany body. The other one with the large CBS headstock and a fatter wolfgang contour does not has any audible dead note and can sustain for days even if the body is light swamp ash.

I tried other guitars with similar thin necks and most seems to suffer from similar dead note situation on almost similar strings and frets. This seems related to the sonic property of the neck design but this is just my observation.

 

[koshikas]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

yeah hate to admit it, my agathis bodied bolt-on has no issues with dead notes. I think to conclude this thread I owe to record what happens in my case. I'm out of home now, but thinking of recording in the weekend before moving on accessing the frets and with a possible fret job

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[greekdude]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

yeah hate to admit it, my agathis bodied bolt-on has no issues with dead notes. I think to conclude this thread I owe to record what happens in my case. I'm out of home now, but thinking of recording in the weekend before moving on accessing the frets and with a possible fret job

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did you do the "press against the wall" test? have you tried the fat fingers test? (attaching some weight to the headstock)

 

[koshikas]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

did you do the "press against the wall" test? have you tried the fat fingers test? (attaching some weight to the headstock)

I don't have a fat finger, but I'll do mass attachment to headstock test also and see how it goes, thanks

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[greekdude]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

Its easy to do by just tapping some set of wrenches to the back of the headstock with masking tape.

 

[koshikas]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

thanks man, one more thing. the guitar has a locking nut. do I have to unlock it when adding mass.

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[greekdude]

Re: what is a 'dead note' on a guitar

thanks man, one more thing. the guitar has a locking nut. do I have to unlock it when adding mass.

No need to unlock the locking pads, just add weight on the headstock to see if this changes the sustain on the suspect frets/notes. I had a scalloped partscaster (yngwie clone) with silly short sustain, ended up selling it.