Different string gauge for neckthrough and bolt-on?

[Martelino]

Hi all,

first of all a happy and safe 2023 to you, with lots of low-end.

I have a question I have been brooding on for some time, and would like to know your ideas and experience:

I have a couple of basses, some neck-through and some bolt on. I love them all and use them all for different styles and sounds and all with teir best- fitting (to me) strings.

I sometimes think that my neckthrough basses have a more solid feel and can do with a lighter gauge than the bolt-on. For instance DR Low Ridders 45-100 on my Yamaha BB1000s (neckthrough) feel the same (tension-wise) as 45-105s (same brand) on my Fender Jazz Bass. Also the 105s feel just a bit too tight on the neckthrough and the 100s too floppy on the bolt-on. The more sustain and low-end the neckthrough provides make up for the slight loss in bass of the lighter gauge strings.

I think I read somehwere that a lighter gauge would be better for neckthrough, but I really can't remember where I read it, why it was or if it's true in any way.

Do you use different gauges for neckthrough vs bolt on? Is one or the other 'better for neckthrough? Or is it just in my head?

Looking forward to all input.

 

[GTHintz]

It's not exactly in your head. Different basses will feel different so it just makes sense that a different gauge would help you get the right feel for you. 35" scale basses I have been told have a higher tension when strung to pitch than 34" and with that players would be going for lighter.

 

[iiipopes]

I use the same strings on both top load and string through body. I hear no sonic difference. Strings do not have different tension at pitch whether top load or string through body. The only thing that affects string tension is mass, scale length, and pitch. Consult both the D'Addario and the GHS string manuals which explain this in detail. What the greater angle over the saddle of a string through does is make for more downforce over the bridge that may affect tone or sustain or both. But again, I have played both for decades, including basses with convertible bridges so I could try both ways on the same bass, and I hear no sonic difference. Yes, since tension varies as the square of the scale length (not linearly), a slightly lighter gauge string on the 35-inch scale bass may have a similar feel to a slightly heavier gauge string on a 34-inch scale bass, depending on the make, model, and gauge of strings used and the player. Going the other way, I use the same set of strings on my gig bass, which was a "standard" 34-inch scale until my fretting hand started talking back to me some years ago, so I had a custom 33-inch scale neck made for it. No issues using the same strings. The only item I am aware of is that La Bella has a separate set of flat wound strings for string through, and this is to prevent string fatique and breakage over the saddle from the tight bend in the string, not for tonal reasons.

 

[Martelino]

I use the same strings on both top load and string through body. I hear no sonic difference. Strings do not have different tension at pitch whether top load or string through body. The only thing that affects string tension is mass, scale length, and pitch. Consult both the D'Addario and the GHS string manuals which explain this in detail. What the greater angle over the saddle of a string through does is make for more downforce over the bridge that may affect tone or sustain or both. But again, I have played both for decades, including basses with convertible bridges so I could try both ways on the same bass, and I hear no sonic difference. Yes, since tension varies as the square of the scale length (not linearly), a slightly lighter gauge string on the 35-inch scale bass may have a similar feel to a slightly heavier gauge string on a 34-inch scale bass, depending on the make, model, and gauge of strings used and the player. Going the other way, I use the same set of strings on my gig bass, which was a "standard" 34-inch scale until my fretting hand started talking back to me some years ago, so I had a custom 33-inch scale neck made for it. No issues using the same strings. The only item I am aware of is that La Bella has a separate set of flat wound strings for string through, and this is to prevent string fatique and breakage over the saddle from the tight bend in the string, not for tonal reasons.

Thanks for your reply but I think I wasn't clear. I meant to refer to neck/body construction, so neckthrough vs bolt on, not string mount (through-body vs topload). I am wondering whether the same string gauge can give a different feel with different constructions. For instance DR LowRiders 45-100 seem more floppy on my bolt-on Jazz Bass than on my neckthrough Yamaha BB1000s.

 

[iiipopes]

Thanks for your reply but I think I wasn't clear. I meant to refer to neck/body construction, so neckthrough vs bolt on, not string mount (through-body vs topload). I am wondering whether the same string gauge can give a different feel with different constructions. For instance DR LowRiders 45-100 seem more floppy on my bolt-on Jazz Bass than on my neckthrough Yamaha BB1000s.

The tension will be the same, since that is only a function of mass^2 X scale length^2 X pitch^2. The feel and tonality may be different, in no small part due to the neck-through-body will resonate differently than a bolt-on neck.