Dead notes and other problems on SGs - How common?

[Robzoid]

I've owned two SGs - an Epiphone G400 and a Gibson Faded SG. They both have the following problems:

1. A dead note (between the 10th and 12th fret on the G string)
2. The notes lose sustain and have a staccato quality as you play on the higher frets
3. The strings hit the back of the tune-o-matic bridge before reaching the saddles. The tailpiece has to be raised quite a bit for the strings to clear the back of the bridge.

From what I've read online, I'm not the only one to encounter these issues on an SG.

Also, I know my two SGs are cheap, so that's likely a reason why they're so faulty. I'm looking to get a nicer SG and hopefully avoid these issues entirely. The catch is I'm not able to travel a lot and play a bunch. I'm going to have to buy one used on Reverb.

My questions are:
1. Are these problems really common on SGs? In other words, is it going to be hard to find an SG that's free of all these issues?
2. Would a custom shop model be substantially less likely to have these issues compared to Gibson USA?

Also, I do intend to ask a seller about these issues before I buy, but I'm just curious how prevalent these problems are on SGs.

 

[JimH]

This is a common issue with SGs, there isn't a cure for it. It can be less noticeable on different guitars, but they all have it to some extent. Spending more money won't get you a guitar that's free of dead spots. You might be able to get the dead spots to move around a little by adding more mass to the headstock, like heavier tuners. It might move in between two notes if you're lucky, but it will always be there. It's the nature of the beast.

 

[Will V.]

I’ve experienced similar dead spots (I.e. in the same places on the fretboard) with other guitars. Extreme volume can make it “disappear”.

 

[DrBGood]

Try top wrapping the tail piece to minimize string angle to the bridge. I like the least angle I can get, I find strings get easier to bend.

I never noticed if my Epiphone does it. I just went to listen and ... yep, you could say there's a difference. But I heard it because I went looking for it. Never in the 10 years I've had it did I realized that.

I suggest you make music with your SGs and stop obsessing over trivial internet imagined problems.

 

[smitty_p]

I've owned two SGs - an Epiphone G400 and a Gibson Faded SG. They both have the following problems:

1. A dead note (between the 10th and 12th fret on the G string)
2. The notes lose sustain and have a staccato quality as you play on the higher frets
3. The strings hit the back of the tune-o-matic bridge before reaching the saddles. The tailpiece has to be raised quite a bit for the strings to clear the back of the bridge.

From what I've read online, I'm not the only one to encounter these issues on an SG.

Also, I know my two SGs are cheap, so that's likely a reason why they're so faulty. I'm looking to get a nicer SG and hopefully avoid these issues entirely. The catch is I'm not able to travel a lot and play a bunch. I'm going to have to buy one used on Reverb.

My questions are:
1. Are these problems really common on SGs? In other words, is it going to be hard to find an SG that's free of all these issues?
2. Would a custom shop model be substantially less likely to have these issues compared to Gibson USA?

Also, I do intend to ask a seller about these issues before I buy, but I'm just curious how prevalent these problems are on SGs.

This is not unusual. Different guitars will demonstrate it to various degrees. There is real physics at play and it's not imagined. Our own @donepearce explained it all in a thread several years ago.

So, that's a good thing! You're not going crazy!

Of course, it goes without saying (but, I guess I'm saying it anyway!) that you want to be sure you have a good setup first and make sure the strings aren't dying out because of fret buzz, or something.

You may try experimenting with differing string gauges. I switched to a wound 3rd string, which does help, but does not entirely eliminate the problem. Granted, my SG was not horrible, but the problem does exist somewhat. I don't really notice it much anymore, though. I'm not saying you definitely have to go to a wound 3rd. The point is, you may be able to shift the dead note by trying a different string gauge.

Here's a little experiment: hold your SG with the headstock pressed against a wall or table, then play the dead note. You'll probably notice that it now rings out better. Some have experimented with plates of brass affixed to the rear of the headstock to help alleviate the issue. There is a product called a "Fat Head" which is a brass plate made for Strats (which also can have this same problem). I've never tried that myself, so I can't speak to its effectiveness from personal experience. But, don't go to extremes like that before dealing with the simple fixes first.

Also, a custom shop model won't necessarily prevent the issue.

 

[TheDixiePig]

I can't speak to how common it is, but I just checked mine and no dead spots. Mine is a '21 standard ordered sight unseen. It has an ABR style bridge and the strings don't touch it either. I did raise the tailpiece some for a more slinky feel, but not due to clearance issues.

 

[jtcnj]

+1 on the setup thing, eliminate that as the cause first.
I don't believe this is a matter of cheap vs. more pricey guitars.
Could be the dead spot thing, but try raising the action on the treble side a little just to see.

I have experienced the staccato type notes / lack of sustain on the higher frets (think it was the B string) - where I could not hear buzzing -and raising the action just a little solved it.
I have a heavy / clumsy picking hand. I think the initial pick attack causes the string to lightly contact the fret above it enough to kill much of the vibration energy. I may be wrong; but that is what I experienced.

The high tailpiece for the strings to clear the back of the bridge is usually due to the neck back-angle - steeper rather that flatter.. (If the bridge is not set unusually high for other reasons). Not uncommon.

 

[laza616]

You have two guitars and both have the issue?
Thats definitely odd, considering one guitar is made in USA and one is made in Asia, this is not a common thing.
But custom shop model or expensive model isnt the solution
Gibson SG faded is an amazing guitar, no bling, but nice kerrang. Epiphone is a great budget guitar
I think both guitars have some radius and you experience the issue in the middle string, middle position on the neck. Did you check the truss rod for the neck relief? Also is the slot for the G string on the nut correct? Isnt it worn and thus string more sitting deep inside the nut? Check the action on treble side.
But i think this can be neck relief issue
What temperature conditions are the guitars usually in?
The latest thing that happened to me, isnt the fretboard dry? Do you use lemon oil on fretboard at least once a year?
I got one guitar that had completely dried up fretboard and some frets were not sitting in the fretboard, but were like half of mm out, upper. I had to put it back with the small plastic hammer, it worked like a charm when i put the lemon oil on the fretboard, polished frets a bit and yeah i top wrapped the strings.

 

[papagayo]

Never listen this on my Gibsons SG. What years are the guitars?

 

[Siamese]

I'm not having those problems. Ummm...if I'm having the dead note thing it's either not that bad or I'm compensating somehow.

With regard to the break angle at the bridge and the strings hitting the back of the bridge, there's nothing that says the tailpiece has to be screwed all the way down. If that's going to be the default position, then why would it be adjustable. When I worked at Gibson, late 70's, they were all about down pressure, and how important it is to sustain. That's the reason for the extreme headstock angle, which PRS figured out, ya don't need. They tended to lower the tailpiece as low as possible in the interest of sustain, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. I'm getting plenty of sustain on my Les Paul Special with a wraparound bridge.

So, either raise the tailpiece until the strings don't rest on the bridge, or do I do (and a previous poster has already suggested), screw the tailpiece down tight and wrap your strings over the top. Isn't that what Joe Bonnamassa does, and isn't he a tone geek?

 

[Col Mustard]

Dead spots on guitars are not unusual.
Most musicians simply play through them and don't fuss.
It's a resonance in the neck wood thing, I believe.
It's not a quality control thing, and it's not a design fault.
It's not a Gibson thing, it's certainly true of Fenders too.
It just seems to happen: Fender basses G string 7th fret etc...

The best thing to do is take it in stride, remember where it is
and play around it. That's what most of us do.
You won't cure it by throwing money at it... Unless you're super
rich and can afford to tell your custom maker: Build me a guitar
with no dead spots... what ever it takes.

You might end up with a guitar made of Ironwood or Red Elm,
with a neck made of curly bubinga or snake wood
and it might sound like chimpanzees were playing it but
have no dead spots. *grins

We've seen threads on this subject before.
There's no cure, no instant solution IMHO...
Get your guitar professionally set up, and ask the
luthier at that time about dead spots. You'll hear
the same refrain IMHO.

If you're looking for an SG, go where they sell them...
Play as many as they'll let you... buy the one that
comes alive in your hands.

Price is unimportant IMHO...
because it's the feel and the tone that's everything.

I bought one that was priced at $600.00 onsale, because it sounded and felt better than others priced at two or three times that amount.
It needed no inlays or gloss or fancy details or binding. The working man's Gibson. Mine may have dead spots but I just play it.

AND... I still have that guitar 14 years later. Good choice...

not till they pry my dead cold hands off it...

 

[Hillebert]

I never had a Deadspot on any of my guitars. I realized that my Epi LPC and the SG have some outstanding "Sweet Spots".
I remember Ed King talked about this particular phenomen on Gary Rossingtons SG in some interview. (at some point of the fretboard there was a note that would sustain forever)

 

[smitty_p]

I never had a Deadspot on any of my guitars. I realized that my Epi LPC and the SG have some outstanding "Sweet Spots".
I remember Ed King talked about this particular phenomen on Gary Rossingtons SG in some interview. (at some point of the fretboard there was a note that would sustain forever)

This also true. Just as there may be dead spots, there may also be "live" spots.