Fender P5 Bstringing
 

So after 5 years of stringing all of my TI jazz flats through the bridge, I tried stringing Just the B string through the body and the rest through the bridge.....BINGO! The B used to be okay but a little flabby, now it is the perfect complement to the other strings. That slight bit of added string control made all of the difference. It is at such a sharp angle going over the bridge now that when I pluck it, it can't stretch over the bridge as much as it did before. The tone is just a little darker than the E string, where as before it was much darker.

Yep. I've been string all my 34" B string through body when it was possible. I think it makes a difference, as well. Although you are likely to get many dissenter here on TB. Gauge make a big difference, in my opinion, as well.

I'd be one of those "dissenters", I personally never string a bass through the body especially a B string. An extremely well respected lutheir told me stringing through the body is overrated and he always strings at the bridge. I consider this man to be the one of the world's top experts on the B string. So I heed his advice.

To each their own though, that is the great thing about opinions.

True enough! I've heard loads of B strings strung through the bridge that sound great! I often wonder if its placebo or wishful thinking myself, but whatever it is, it seems to make a difference to me. lol

I think the break angle over the bridge saddles and the nut makes a big difference in the way the string vibrates and also stretches over those two witness points. My SR5 had a much steeper break angle over the nut and its b string was better than the P5 with both strung through the Bridge. When I strung the P5 through body it improved the feel and sound of that B string and made it a lot closer to the SR5. Granted this is just 2 basses and I'm sure the stiffness of the neck plays into it too. Just getting another data point out there.

Is it possible that your a getting less twist n the string by not locking it in the bridge? I find that any twist at all on the B will kill it.

I agree it seems to make a difference but a small difference. My estimation is, however, that most of the time the difference is too small to bother ordering extra long strings so I can string through-body. If I get the strings on sale or something and stock up then I will but otherwise, nope.

Break angle over the bridge & nut makes a HUGE difference on B strings. It's more apparent on the smaller scales, but I try to have a good break angle on all my B strings.

For me, its really a tension thing. The B string through the body feels like it has more tension than the B string through the bridge. More tension to me = better B.

In no way will string through the body result in more tension. Literally impossible.

However, IF you have a poorly designed bridge, the added down-pressure 'could' result in some minor positives. I often tested the 'through the bridge/through the body' with my Celinders, and never heard or felt ANY difference. However, the Celinders had very nicely designed bridges.

No harm in doing it though, so if you feel it is 'better' in some way, what the heck!

Stringing through the bridge or body makes absolutely no difference for tension. That said, there are other factors that affect tone such as break angle at the witness point.

If you really want to know, you sould string your bass with 2 B-strings (brand new ones of the exact same model and gauge, of course) so you can compare them directly.

Not as good as a blind test but it's easy and at least better than changing strings between tests.

+1

I know...I've read every piece of literature available! But from a tactile standpoint, they feel different to me, placebo, wishful thinking, whatever, I know I prefer it. I think we've all had a 5 or 6 string bass that had a less than desirable B string. I have had a few, especially the earlier incarnations. But these days, all of my B strings sound just fine to me. The 35" strung through the bridge and the 34" strung through the body. Of course, my basses are, what I'd consider, much better quality these days! YMMV

Not really. The string can still turn in the body, much like it can on a typical fender bridge. Neither of those stringing options really lock the ball in place. The newer HMV bridges would be better at removing twist when stringing through the bridge than through the body.

What I do with my basses to counteract string twist is to wind the string up while keeping it as straight as I can. Then, I let off the tension until the ball is loose enough to move, keeping the string in the tuner. I then run my hand down the string from the tuner, removing whatever minor twist has formed from wrapping. Then, apply tension & tighten the tuner up again. There's no way to remove 100% of string twisting, but you can get pretty close this way.

This is a break angle thing, again. By having a more acute break angle, the string has less "wiggle room" in the saddle. It's not added tension, but restricted movement that's making that B brighten up.

You shouldn't string flats through the body - they might well get damaged by the break angle.

That is debatable. I think it depends on the string. LaBella flats come with a warning to not string through body. TI jazz flats are really flexible so they are supposed to be okay. I can't remember who told me that. Think of me as a test case. If my B breaks at the bridge I will report it here.

You will be fine. TIs and Lakland flats are OK thru the body for sure.