Hi all , so I’ve spent more time trouble shooting my vintera jb than I have playing it I thought I had it sorted after shielding it but now I have 2 issues - no staggered pole pieces means a weak output on the a+ d especially the d , the d also has a weird dead spot between the 13-17 fret it sounds really distant no resonance whatsoever
I don’t really play up there but it still bugs me.
I guess what I’m after is any tips .
could the dead spot be a string issue ? I’m using cobalt flat mediums
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Most all basses have dead spots on the fretboard. This is one reason pros (or people who care enough) like to play a bass before buying to insure they are either minimized or they just don’t care.
Your a & d string output question is more suggestive of a string height issue vs. an electronics one.
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Thanks for the reply , I guess I can live with the dead zone as it’s way up the dusty end , the bass is currently set up to fender specs so the strings follow the radius and pups slightly higher on g side - do you think disregarding the radius and setting the strings kind of staggered could work ? So g closest e furthest from board
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This is an ineteresting point, @John_E . . . I have heard of “dead spots” (especially the “C” note) on Fender fingerboards, although I have not personally experienced them myself.
Thanks for bringing this up.
Cheers
Joe
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I learned about them reading the history of the bass. I can’t remember the musician’s name, be he was on a quest for a bass with no dead spots. I think IIRC he/it’s what lead to the development of graphite necks.
Here’s some nerd data.
https://acoustics.org/pressroom/httpdocs/137th/fleischer.html
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Specs are a starting point.
Hard to say what’s going on without seeing bass.
What are your measurements from poles to bottom of strings?
BTW…
Fralin pickups all have higher A/D pole pieces to make up for this. Which is funny cause I never really noticed it before. But obviously he has.
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Got pic?
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I’m not sure what the measurements are now as I’ve been at it for hours but the pick up height is no longer to spec , I have set the e+a to around 2.7mm and the d+g to around 2.4mm this with whatever I done to the pickups has balanced the output somewhat between strings and between the 2 pickups so that’s good .
The dead spot remains I was thinking it could be to do with string silk ? Maybe clutching at straws there , and the real culprit is probably the pf fretboard it feels a little grainy in places …. 0000 steeel wool ?
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I could be the strings. Although on both A and D? Maybe something fell on it and nicked the cover on the flat wound. It happened to my La Belle tapewound, when I installed it. Thanks to @John_E he told me they been having this issues and just let them know and they did.
Dead strings usually the last thing we check and usually the last thing we have to check, lol.
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I do get bad strings every so often, fight it like crazy, then try the simple 'hey, how about if I change the string…"
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Doubt it.
Be careful with steel wool. use it far far away from your pickups, and make sure you are all cleaned up after.
3M pads (the correct color, forget if its white or grey…Gorgomyte cloth, etc are alternatives to steel wool.
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Pau ferro is generally grainy like that but it shouldn’t matter, you fret the strings against the fret wire, not the fret board.
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Funny we were just talking about dead strings. I just doing one song a dozen basses tonight and when I picked up the Ibanez Afr playing the note on A string 12-15 fret and it was dead.
Immediately I raised the action and check the neck relief. Then rubbing my finger in the string I just Lol. There’s a kink on the string. Sure enough it’s the last place I looked.
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Thanks for your input everyone, I grabbed some new strings earlier , while I was at it I took the opportunity to check the neck was seated properly I think it was but anyway that and new strings has sorted it , I now have no problems with the bass at this point I must have picked up a dud set of eb new set are much better and sound more how I’d expect them too , thanks again 
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Hey now! That’s the last place you looked. Lol
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