body string ferrules.. do they make a difference?

[phatbassplayer]

I purchased a set of 6 string ferrules like these here... to put onto my Rondo Douglas WOB826, the brige is through the boddy capable but no holes were drilled from the manufacturer, so I want to drill my own holes and install these.. what do you think about that?

My question is will they make any real difference in sustain or tone?

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by phatbassplayer

I purchased a set of 6 string ferrules like these here... to put onto my Rondo Douglas WOB826, the brige is through the boddy capable but no holes were drilled from the manufacturer, so I want to drill my own holes and install these.. what do you think about that?

My question is will they make any real difference in sustain or tone?

No.

Extra screws in the holes to hold down the bridge more firmly might help if there aren't enough already, tho.

LS

[OutToPlayJazz]

Yes, it does change the tone. You get a more resonant bottom end on a passive bass like a Jazz. In effect, you're using the whole body as the bridge, instead of a thin piece of metal.

My 09 American Standard is strung through body and it sounds huge and rich.

[phatbassplayer]

just what I was hoping for... anyone else have any input on this?

[JTE]

Side-by-side comparisons show there's no discernable difference between top-load and string-through. I strung one of my Laklands with the E and D through the body and the A and G top-loaded, and strung the other one the opposite way. Couldn't hear any difference, couldn't feel any difference. Restrung both basses alternating the order, and still no difference.

Now, do the ferrules make a difference in sound? Probably not. They only keep the string from digging into the wood, so they add stability to the tuning.

John

[Richard Lindsey]

Doubt that there's much if any benefit. Perhaps by increasing the downward pressure on the saddles, but other than that, it's hard to see what the benefit could be. It's not as if the portion of the string between the saddle and the ball end is vibrating much in either scenario anyway. There would have to be some action going on in that part of the string for the termination method to matter much, and there isn't much action there.

I've tried it both ways on basses I've owned and never once heard a difference I could be sure of, though admittedly the sample size was in the single digits and thus hardly conclusive.

[phatbassplayer]

I just know that my G&L tribute sounds great, no floppy B string, strings seem tighter and only thing I can attribute it too would be the strings through the body..

The rondo douglas wob826.. is a backup and sounds phenominal for the price I paid for it, workmanship of this bass is second to none and is flawless.. I remember back in the early 90's I bought a Jackson active bass and it cost me quite a bit.. I still had to have it set up and all... and this $200 bass sounds better and plays better than the $900 Jackson..

[Richard Lindsey]

Originally Posted by phatbassplayer

I just know that my G&L tribute sounds great, no floppy B string, strings seem tighter and only thing I can attribute it too would be the strings through the body..

Your strings aren't tighter when you string through the body, no matter what you think. This is physics and not debatable, as outlined in many another thread.

[phatbassplayer]

oh ok I see.. well didn't know that.

I figured that I own a dean Razorback ( I play guitar as well ) well if you look at the headstock you'll notice that the low E string's , string is strung up longer than say a standard fender strat string.. although I understand that the length of string has nothing to do with the tuning.. bc it's the 25.5" scale.. but even that dean has a slight more bassier tone and a little bit difference in the way that the low E string responds to picking... as say to a standard strat.

Im probably confusing the heck outta you...

it just seems to me that I understand what matters here is the scale length... but seems that the amount of string that is actually being stretched for point a being the the tuner key to point be being the ferrule in the the body would have some sort of affect on string feel and maybe tone but not have any affect on the actual tuning..

maybe im just not seeing the bigger picture here??

ring in on this one guys.

[PaleMelanesian]

I have a bass that can be strung either way. I have tried and failed to notice a difference.

[Richard Lindsey]

Originally Posted by phatbassplayer

oh ok I see.. well didn't know that.

I figured that I own a dean Razorback ( I play guitar as well ) well if you look at the headstock you'll notice that the low E string's , string is strung up longer than say a standard fender strat string.. although I understand that the length of string has nothing to do with the tuning.. bc it's the 25.5" scale.. but even that dean has a slight more bassier tone and a little bit difference in the way that the low E string responds to picking... as say to a standard strat.

Im probably confusing the heck outta you...

it just seems to me that I understand what matters here is the scale length... but seems that the amount of string that is actually being stretched for point a being the the tuner key to point be being the ferrule in the the body would have some sort of affect on string feel and maybe tone but not have any affect on the actual tuning..

maybe im just not seeing the bigger picture here??

ring in on this one guys.

If you're interested, you might read this.

http://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/perception.htm

[JTE]

A. The tension of the string is a function of its pitch, the vibrating length (between the nut and the saddle), and its average mass along that lenght. For the string to be tuned at any particular pitch, the tension can't change. That's because the other two factors can't change. You can't change the vibrating lenght, and you can't change the mass of the string. So, if you change the tension, you've changed the pitch.

B. THere might be some perceptible difference in the feel of the string, but that'd be based on how much you bend them more than anything else. A string with more length beyond the nut and/or bridge will have more area to spread the stretch across as it were. But that's a ver small variance in my experience with lots of basses that offer the option of doing both ways.

C. It's pointless, just utterly and totally pointless to compare two different basses and state that any difference in sound or feel is down to whether the strings go through the body or are top-loaded. That's because wooden basses vary so much between them. Now, if someone were to make, say three dozen basses, all the exactly the same except 18 are STB and 18 are top-load only, then you MIGHT be able to draw some conclusions. But to compare a pre-Ernie Ball StingRay to a post EB 'Ray has too many other variables to consider that just as easily alter the sound and/or feel.

That's why I did that side-by-side comparison on my Laklands. Before I did that I was of the opinion that STB was superior. It made sense- the body would vibrate more, the string feel would be different, etc. And I was sure I heard and felt those differences. But the actual experiment in the real world with control of as many variable as possible proved my preconceptions to be wrong, very wrong. And I also strung my Hamer Cruise Bass (with the Gotoh bridge) both ways and there wasn't any difference there either.

So why do companies offer them both way? Because musicians aren't well known for letting facts and reality cloud their judgement. Lakland's bridge allows you to go either way. Why? Because Dan Lakin found out that EB/Music Man lost Pino Pallidino as an endorser because they refused to make the STB option available. Seems the Ernie Ball people felt it made no difference so they wouldn't do it. Dan decided that if it didn't make any difference, he'd let the musician go either way.

John

[phatbassplayer]

Fair enough.. thanks for all of the info.. peace

[phatbassplayer]

Originally Posted by Richard Lindsey

If you're interested, you might read this.

http://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/perception.htm

This was a great article - thanks and it helped to clear up a lot of stuff.