Any fix for a dead spot on a guitar?

[skoora]

Just got a used, Les Paul where when you play B on the G string it just dies. Is there any fix for a dead spot? I can’t imagine there is. I made sure the relief on the neck was good. I don’t get any Fret buzz. The note just falls off a cliff where around it they decay naturally.
I changed the strings and it didn’t change anything.

 

[DanTravis62]

IME it's generally the fret after being a little high in that spot, or maybe a divot somewhere

Generally speaking the only way to surefire fix this is to do a full fret job and setup

 

[Geo]

LP's are notorious for the high end of the neck rising up a bit.

A fret leveling would probably be an order.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Just got a used, Les Paul where when you play B on the G string it just dies. Is there any fix for a dead spot? I can’t imagine there is. I made sure the relief on the neck was good. I don’t get any Fret buzz. The note just falls off a cliff where around it they decay naturally.
I changed the strings and it didn’t change anything.

I assume you gave it a setup. I ran into this with my lp jr when i got it. There were a ton of problems with the setup honestly. It was so bad I wasnt sure if i could fix it. I have no idea what the idiot that had it before me was doing.

Took about 6 hours to fix it by slowly adjusting truss rod (and the waiting period that comes after) and then adjusting the bridge.

But now, it is fucking solid and just feels right.

 

[skoora]

Did some rudimentary changes. It came with a very low but playable action. Neck was dead straight. Kind of got away with it because the frets are pretty low. There was no relief though so I loosened it until I had some. Didn’t need to adjust the bridge. Something else I wasn’t crazy about was how loosely goosey the posts were for the bridge and the tailpiece. I double checked against my V and it too, had some sideways play on the posts but it was minimal compared to the Les Paul.
Basically I’m not interested in spending more on “fixing it” after what I spent getting it so I’m just going to return it. Shame because the neck shape is good but now at least I think I have a year of production to keep looking for. I got it from GC so I’ll let their guy take a look first and see what they would offer to do. Also the nut is chipped at the B string slot so it needs a nut.
I just spent more than I felt was right on a refret for another guitar so just don’t want to go through that right away.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Did some rudimentary changes. It came with a very low but playable action. Neck was dead straight. Kind of got away with it because the frets are pretty low. There was no relief though so I loosened it until I had some. Didn’t need to adjust the bridge. Something else I wasn’t crazy about was how loosely goosey the posts were for the bridge and the tailpiece. I double checked against my V and it too, had some sideways play on the posts but it was minimal compared to the Les Paul.
Basically I’m not interested in spending more on “fixing it” after what I spent getting it so I’m just going to return it. Shame because the neck shape is good but now at least I think I have a year of production to keep looking for. I got it from GC so I’ll let their guy take a look first and see what they would offer to do. Also the nut is chipped at the B string slot so it needs a nut.
I just spent more than I felt was right on a refret for another guitar so just don’t want to go through that right away.

Yeah. When i gave my lp the setup, in the back of my mind I was sure I would fail and have to return it. But it worked out.

You are making the right decision. Just sucks when you get a deal and then have to send it back

 

[DanTravis62]

Did some rudimentary changes. It came with a very low but playable action. Neck was dead straight. Kind of got away with it because the frets are pretty low. There was no relief though so I loosened it until I had some. Didn’t need to adjust the bridge. Something else I wasn’t crazy about was how loosely goosey the posts were for the bridge and the tailpiece. I double checked against my V and it too, had some sideways play on the posts but it was minimal compared to the Les Paul.
Basically I’m not interested in spending more on “fixing it” after what I spent getting it so I’m just going to return it. Shame because the neck shape is good but now at least I think I have a year of production to keep looking for. I got it from GC so I’ll let their guy take a look first and see what they would offer to do. Also the nut is chipped at the B string slot so it needs a nut.
I just spent more than I felt was right on a refret for another guitar so just don’t want to go through that right away.

No shame in returning it with a playability and function issue man

That's on GC

Hopefully they will make it right

 

[skoora]

Yeah. When i gave my lp the setup, in the back of my mind I was sure I would fail and have to return it. But it worked out.

You are making the right decision. Just sucks when you get a deal and then have to send it back

Yeah. It’s a 2003, not too heavy, nice even, darker rosewood board and a pretty flame top. I was pinning my hopes on an older one having a neck I would like and the shape is just a tiny bit bigger than a new 60’s neck, let’s say more rounded so it’s pretty good for me.
I’ve been looking at the Epi, inspired by Gibson custom models and if I return this one Gibson I could get almost three different models of those, used

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

The real crazy thing is on these tradeins like this, why dont they have their techs play it and look at it. It really only takes a few minutes to find these things..

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Yeah. It’s a 2003, not too heavy, nice even, darker rosewood board and a pretty flame top. I was pinning my hopes on an older one having a neck I would like and the shape is just a tiny bit bigger than a new 60’s neck, let’s say more rounded so it’s pretty good for me.
I’ve been looking at the Epi, inspired by Gibson custom models and if I return this one Gibson I could get almost three different models of those, used

Yeah. I was talking with @DanTravis62 when i was shopping. And it was tough to decide between a gibson and epi. I chose gibson in the end. But the epis have come pretty far along

 

[DanTravis62]

Yeah. I was talking with @DanTravis62 when i was shopping. And it was tough to decide between a gibson and epi. I chose gibson in the end. But the epis have come pretty far along

That's what people say but I couldn't do it either

I ended up finding a really well sorted deep purple classic, and I wouldn't trade it for 5 epiphones

Everyone has their own picadillos and mine is with Epiphone, no matter how much their quality has improved

I will say though I had to go through a shitload of Gibsons to find the right one though

 

[cardinal]

Test if it's resonance based: firmly plant the headstock against a door jam or dresser etc. Does the note now ring out? If yes, then it's resonance based (damping the neck lets the energy stay in the string and allows the note to ring out). Also if it's resonance based, bending to the problem note will also die quickly.

Theres really nothing you can do to remove a resonance based deadspot. Adding or subtracting weight on the headstock can move it up or down a few steps depending on placement etc. But nothing can eliminate it entirely. Best you can do is a Fat Finger or clip on tuner that you move around depending on which note you need to ring out.

 

[skoora]

The real crazy thing is on these tradeins like this, why dont they have their techs play it and look at it. It really only takes a few minutes to find these things..

Oh man, all you have to do to do is pick up some of the used stuff on the floor and the fucking horrendous condition some of it is in and you know they don’t so a damn thing. Look at the amps they’ll have online with fucked up tolex, missing knobs etc and still priced like it’s mint. Last time I was in a platinum room that had two used amps that had major problems.
You would think with a Gibson Les Paul standard or any 2K plus guitar, they would give it to their guy to just put on fresh strings (if needed), check the basic set up, slap it on the ass and then pack it up.

 

[VonBonfire]

Everyone has their own picadillos and mine is with Epiphone, no matter how much their quality has improved

I'm cool with some of the better epiphones and of course the elitists are killer but my thought process is if I'm gonna spend this much time with a guitar, it might as well be the best I can afford.

 

[DanTravis62]

I'm cool with some of the better epiphones and of course the elitists are killer but my thought process is if I'm gonna spend this much time with a guitar, it might as well be the best I can afford.

Yeah i am 1000% in the camp where I'd rather have one higher quality guitar then 5 lower quality ones, and its double so for gibson/epiphone

It's just much more than other brand splits you can feel the difference so starkly

Squier versus fender it's a difference, just not a huge one - I think mexican fenders are great, and I wouldn't have any problem playing one as my main guitar if I was a strat or tele guy

Gibson vs epiphone it's a massive, overwhelming difference IMO. The gap has closed the last decade or so but it's still one of the most noticeable brand split quality differences of any manufacturer I can think of. Maybe sterling vs EBMM? That's a pretty wide gap too.

 

[VonBonfire]

Yeah i am 1000% in the camp where I'd rather have one higher quality guitar then 5 lower quality ones, and its double so for gibson/epiphone

I def agree with you about the Fender Mexican stuff. Wife's new used mexican thinline tele is nicer than a couple 90's era strats I had....

It seems like any time I found a decent (non elitist) epiphone there was always at least one glaring error with it, usually starting with shit electronics. I had a pretty sweet Sheraton II pro but since I sing and need to be hands free I can't be gigging neck diving axes and that thing went straight for the floor as soon as you let go of it. And the selector switch died about the third time I brought it to a gig.

Some of the IBG series seem to have rectified the trash electronics they are also $1200+ chinese guitars and what kind of used Gibson can be hand for that kind of money? Never mind Edwards or LTD....

 

[DanTravis62]

I def agree with you about the Fender Mexican stuff. Wife's new used mexican thinline tele is nicer than a couple 90's era strats I had....

It seems like any time I found a decent (non elitist) epiphone there was always at least one glaring error with it, usually starting with shit electronics. I had a pretty sweet Sheraton II pro but since I sing and need to be hands free I can't be gigging neck diving axes and that thing went straight for the floor as soon as you let go of it. And the selector switch died about the third time I brought it to a gig.

Some of the IBG series seem to have rectified the trash electronics they are also $1200+ chinese guitars and what kind of used Gibson can be hand for that kind of money? Never mind Edwards or LTD....

I got one of the nicer japanese epiphone semihollows in a trade, and it was pretty nice

And in another trade I got one of those epiphone prophecy les pauls, and the electronics (fishman) were nice but it needed a whole bunch of work to get it playable

You can still find nice used gibsons for 1200 bucks used pretty frequently honestly - tons of LP classics, any SG you want

Shit you can even get a new 135 for about that IIRC

The problem is that the chinese crap is skyrocketing in price, and as people get hip to the nice japanese stuff the prices for those are slowly closing in on the gibson usa stuff too

 

[VonBonfire]

I got one of the nicer japanese epiphone semihollows in a trade, and it was pretty nice

Jose has an elitist Casino and in terms of the fit and finish it's on par with a nice Gibson though it's a poly finish. Sounds killer too.

I was really tempted to throw a bigsby onto the Sheraton just to balance it out cause the neck carve, width, and action was outstanding for me and in a live setting you couldn't tell the difference between it and a 335. The probuckers were pretty sweet but the pots and switch was trash. I think I paid $450 used for it at the time but c'mon, sink another $500-600 into it just to make it giggable? That was a hard pill to swallow at the time though considering where prices went in recent years I probably should've bit the bullet.

If I was looking for a high quality axe for serious work I'd definitely be looking at the LP classics you mentioned. Pretty solid deal. Too bad the days of the $350-400 used faded series are ancient history now....

 

[DanTravis62]

If I was looking for a high quality axe for serious work I'd definitely be looking at the LP classics you mentioned. Pretty solid deal. Too bad the days of the $350-400 used faded series are ancient history now....

Yep I got mine for 1500 bucks and honestly it was a solid deal. I shot it out against a standard and a USA custom when I bought it and it was by far the nicest playing guitar.

You can still find studios for 800ish sometimes, but you have to kiss more frogs with those.

USA juniors and specials (and SG specials) can all still be found for under a grand easy though

I wish the gothic explorers and vs were still cheap but unfortunately they have shot up

 

[VonBonfire]

Yep I got mine for 1500 bucks and honestly it was a solid deal. I shot it out against a standard and a USA custom when I bought it and it was by far the nicest playing guitar.

Gibsons can def be all over the place. There were some 5k 335's that were total dogs when I went shopping last year. Somehow I walked away with the cheapest and best sounding/playing 335 they had there. Even the used Bonamassa Epi 335 was more resonant and lively than many of the Gibsons I put hands on. I think most buyers aren't serious players so just having a "Gibson" leads them to believe they have a great guitar.

I took my old man to GC back in 2000 to pick out a strat when they were blowing out CS models. There were maybe 3 or 4 worth owning out of 25 or 30 guitars. I narrowed it down to a CS 58 and a CS 60. He bought the 58. Couple weeks later a buddy went down there and shows up with that '60. He went through them all too, lol.