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has anyone run into this problem. I recently chased away a dead spot on my 62' jazz. The string tree was in a bad spot on the stock. I moved it back and I now have sustain where once I did not.

tell me your cures for this ailment. are there othr ways of curing your bass to hold on to a note.

it took me a second to figure out a string tree is the same thing as a retainer. for the fender head stocks i really like the three string retainer cause that A bend is a little shallow and you get a more even tension overall.

also for the sustain, BADASS bridges.

Another thing you might try is playing the dead spot note and pressing on the pick guard at various locations. I found a dead spot that way once.

Any loose piece can do the same thing, so go over the entire instrument.

Retaining nuts on the posts of the machine heads are another place to look for. Also the retaining nuts on the pots, and the output jack.

Have a look at all the bridge adjusters to see that they are resting firmly on both adjustment screws. Use the adjustment wrench to just be sure they are all snug.

Even loose strap button can deaden certain frequencies.

The concept is that when an unwanted resonance occurs in your instrument, that resonating object absorbs vibrational energy taking it away from producing sound/music.

It's more complicated that that but in some circumstances it may be the source of diminished musical energy in certain notes.

another problem is the stupid paint jobs!!! i took the paint off under the bridge, back of the body and under the pick guard (50's tele style covering both horns which i cut from leather) and guess what; the wood can breath and resonates; it's about 10 times louder acoustically.