Hey! Could a different tailpiece fix dead spots on the fretboard? These are definitely dead spots, they are not fret issues. The F's are the issue, most noticeably 10th fret G string and 15th fret D string. Or even better, string gauge?
Yes, the SG. It's absolutely dead spots though. If I detune half a step the spots move one fret up. If I put the headstock against a wall the dead spots are gone. It's pretty cool actually, if I remove the headstock from the wall while the note is ringing out there's like a BOING going through the neck. It's not a huge issue, the notes are still OK, it's just that all the other ones have crazy sustain.
Truss rod tight? Good break angle over the saddles? I like the stop bar as low as it can go. I know a bit about this. See avatar.
That's cool. So you have a neck that vibrates at the same frequency as a certain note, that explains why it goes away when you lean it against the wall, it isn't confined to the neck alone anymore. I'd still get it checked out by a tech, he or she can pin point what exactly is causing it and fix it, difficult to say withoothe guitar here in front of me.
I couldn't help but notice The break angle looks good, the truss rod is tight. It's a wraparound tailpiece.
For that reaso, or because they always tilt forwards? I have a cheap Chinese semi hollow that came with a wraparound tailpiece that tilted forward so much that it sounded like something Ravi Shankar would have played. I changed it to a Wilkinson which fixe the issue. With this one I'm thinking either changing the bridge or string gauge, I'll start with the strings. In theory at least, heavier or lighter strings should ever so slightly change the break ange over the nut...
I'll add that the only guitars I've ever owned with dead spots were guitars bought online. Its why I no longer buy guitars online. LOL
This was bought in a store. I even brought my own amp to audition the guitar. Either I missed it or it wasn't there then. I've chenged strings since then (same gauge) and I've tightened the trussrod because it had more neck relief than I like. I'll experiment with strings tomorrow...
. Use a credit card as a fret rocker and go along all the strings bridging three frets at a time. Put a marker dot on any high spots. They line up to your dead areas (one fret higher)? Get a fret level, by a guy who uses a string tension jig. .
I just did a google search "gibson SG with a dead spot on neck". There are a bunch of threads on multiple forums about this issue. The only "solution" that was consistent amongst the threads was ............ "unfixable, so I sold it". I didn't rabbit hole all of those threads so it would be worth doing some reading.
A FatFinger can alter neck resonance by adding weight at the headstock; this sometimes can alleviate dead spots. Might be worth trying.
Yeah but since it's an SG I figured I'd go easy on the neck weight. I have thought about locking tuners, those should increase the mass atbthe headstock somewhat. I changed strings today, from 10-46 to 9-46 so not a massive difference. It improved things slightly altough I'm not sure what did what. The tension on the neck is less of course, which might have changed things but I also backed the truss rod a bit, so that could also have something to do with it. @johnnymg yeah, a lot of them seem to suffer from one or more dead spots around the 10th to 12th frets. I think that the very long unsupported nexk has something to do with that. This isn't a huge issue for me, I still get a good 4 seconds of sustain from the dead notes when playing unplugged.
I don't think a note with a 4 second duration is short enough to be considered a dead spot. Anyway, any change in mass could make a difference. Small changes in intonation, hardware and strings too.
