What is the deal with dead spots?

[SrMeowMeow]

The idea that guitars can have specific areas on the fretboard that are "dead" is fascinating to me. So

 

1. How do you check for them before buying a guitar? Are these subtle effects or obvious?

 

2. Anyone know what causes them?

[PrawnHeed]

Usually it is a high fret which is easily fixed.

 

Rarely, can be something else resonating at the same frequency (wolf tone) which is a PITA

[jrockbridge]

You have to play all over the neck to discover dead spots. On a well made neck with super low action, you will typically start to find the frets become somewhat dead somewhere between the 12th and 22nd frets and get worse as you approach the 22nd. This is normal. Personally, I prefer medium-high action so that the notes ring out pretty well everywhere...even on the 22nd fret.

 

It's not always easy to discover dead spots in a noisy store. That's why I only buy guitars with some type of return policy...even 24 hours. I play the hell out of a new guitar and try to see if I can fix any flaws with a setup.

 

I think random dead spots can be caused by a few different conditions. Worn frets are one cause. High frets can cause them. Poorly manufactured neck can be another cause (uneven wood instead of flat). Also, a warped neck can cause dead spots. The warped necks I've experienced caused the entire neck to be pretty dead.

 

There's another thing that can happen that's different than dead spots. I call it 'speed bumps.' If a neck stays in a position of extreme relief for a long time and then is one day straightened it can result in speed bumps. In between each fret you can feel the wood feels like it has a peak in the middle. This can lead to dead spots if the action is super low. If the neck was properly manufactured, the spots generally appear evenly over the whole neck. Setting proper relief (slight to medium) and raising the action (medium to high) will get rid of the dead spots. But, those necks feel funny to my fingers and it seems to become more noticeable the longer I play them.

 

I've owned a few guitars that had dead spots in random parts of the neck. Two examples that stand out vividly in my memory are an ash Dillion Strat made in Viet Nam and a Fender Robert Cray Strat that was MIM. There were many things I liked about both of those guitars.

 

The ash Dillion Strat had a rosewood finger board and jumbo frets. I got around the dead spots in the neck by straightening the neck slightly and raising the action. The dead spots were still there but much less noticeable since the overall tone of the guitar was improved by the change in setup. When I finally sold the guitar on eBay, the buyer was very pleased with how the guitar felt and sounded for the price. Even with below average QC manufacturing, a good setup can help.

 

The MIM Robert Cray Strat was used. The frets were larger than vintage, medium jumbo. The neck was all maple and the body alder. The neck was a vintage style but very poorly made. The dead spots were so blatant that even a good setup couldn't do enough to bring it around. I returned that guitar and spent extra for a new '06 Am Dlx Strat.

 

The only thing I didn't like about the Am Dlx were the SCN pups. They were quiet and capable of some great sounds when tweaked properly but just not my thing. I replaced them with 2 x Fralin Vintage Hot and SP43 bridge. The neck is all maple and the body alder. The guitar is nearly flawless. Recently, I've been playing it a lot.