Dead note on small acoustic

[Keith Somerville]

Hi, guys. A customer brought in a Taylor GS Mini with a dead note on 5th fret of the low E. It's really pronounced. Just wondering if this is typical of smaller steel-string guitars. I know it's common on basses. I know it's an area that lies somewhere between acoustic science and witchcraft. :D

[Len Biglin]

The first thing to look at is a damaged string , sometimes they get thumped and develop a kink around the fret , or you could have a loose fret which has lifted up .

[Paul Breen]

The size of the instrument should have nothing to do with the dead note. Check the next fret, it may be a bit high there and interfering with the fretted 5th. Replace the string, it's either one or the other. Pretty much what Len is suggesting, said a different way.

[Keith Somerville]

Sadly, it's nothing as easy as a fret problem! It's a true acoustically dead note. My understanding is that they arise as a result of the neck resonating at the same frequency as the fretted note, or its partial, and dampening the energy before it can move the soundboard. However, in this case I wonder if part of the problem isn't down to the back: it's arched and unbraced and seems acoustically quite lively.

[Paul Breen]

You should be able to test you're theory by double stick taping a weight or sticking on a gob of oil based modeling clay to the neck or wherever else. You could also tune the guitar down a step or two and see what that does. Do you notice a reduction in A notes fretted in other places strings?

[Keith Somerville]

I've tried a few weights and so on without much success. I tuned down a step and 5th fret sounds fine. Weirdly (or not), 7th fret also sounds fine. It must be very specific to this note at this point on the neck. The sensation of playing it (the dead note) is quite odd too in that you can feel the energy suddenly dip immediately after plucking the string, and the string comes to a complete rest very, very quickly.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

Though not the most pleasing to the eye, attach a c clamp (start with a light one) to the peg head. This works on Fender (and other) basses to minimize the dead spot on the g string (somewhere between "b" and "d").  This is the theory behind the "Fat Finger" and, for those of you old enough to remember, the "Fat Head".

We were young once and believed in brass.

[Paul Breen]

Probably worthwhile to try swapping the E string with different brand and/or string gauge.

[Russell Vance]

+1 with Paul.  Everything else you describe does not present logical info to enable  a best guess solution.     .