IMO, another BS feature on some basses...

[gjohnson441496]

Impossible, for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage.
Impossible, for a plain country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage,
And four white mice will never be four white horses.
Such fol-der-ol and fid-dle-dy dee of course, is--- Impossible.
But the world is full of zanies and fools
Who don't believe in sensible rules
And won't believe what sensible people say.
And because these daft and dewey-eyed dopes keep building up impossible hopes,
Impossible things are happening every day

 

[Blaargh]

The bass playing community isn't interested in the results of proper double blind studies. Personal anecdotal evidence is far more compelling.

This, this is too true. The last time tone woods came up I found a nice university paper that concluded that the differences are only audible in an unamplfied guitar. Apparently this was wrong, according to some guy who played bass for so many decades and therefore knew better than physics, reality and people who had actually studied it.

How can it not, it's science and science is absolute. A stronger connection and the instrument acts more as one.

It's possible that the improvement just isn't enough to be particularly noticeable though, or might not come through in the amplified signal. I'd be hesitant to say it's just science without some kind of proper research.

 

[JoeWPgh]

This is one of those silly arguments that lead to one conclusion - which is that NOTHING MATTERS!
Bridges don't make an audible difference, wood doesn't. No one can reliably identify what brand of pick up is used, or what brand of strings. In some cases, people can't discern the difference between rounds and flats.
So. It's all BS. Nothing matters. So, why bring it up? Why beat a dead horse?

 

[gjohnson441496]

Because, I love the dead

 

[obimark]

I think there's more attack when strung at the bridge.

This. I never liked string thru body. Even on basses that had the option I used the bridge.

 

[Deak]

This is one of those silly arguments that lead to one conclusion - which is that NOTHING MATTERS!
Bridges don't make an audible difference, wood doesn't. No one can reliably identify what brand of pick up is used, or what brand of strings. In some cases, people can't discern the difference between rounds and flats.
So. It's all BS. Nothing matters. So, why bring it up? Why beat a dead horse?

I really enjoy these threads as it will trigger a thought or idea or even shed light on something else I have been wondering about in the bass realm. I am having the same mental debate about Barts verses Nords not to mention the argument of the accompanying pre amps and the US made etc. Makes my head hurt so after reading this thread I figured I'm not up far enough on the sensitivity hearing level and knowledge ladder of pick ups and pre's and decided screw it 'til I have enough ear experience and time to do hands on for the brands I'm questioning.
And these threads are entertaining, which is a big plus. Discussions like these seem to be a happy addiction here, and that's much better than an unhappy one.

 

[Adam Wright]

bass building woo woo

 

[songwriter21]

I have never been able to tell apart the sound difference, if any, between these variations. I have, however, certainly noticed a difference in the tension. My ESPs' playability definitely feel tighter when I string through the body, versus more supple and "bouncier" through the bridge.

On my 35" one, I string through the bridge, and on my 34" , I go through the body.

 

[Liam Wald]

Having owned several of each type I can say that I can't tell a difference in the sound.
Good instruments sound good and bad instruments sound bad regardless of the stringing arrangement.
I prefer instruments that have quick release at the ball end of the string.
Unwinding the coils at the tuner end and pulling it through a little hole whether on the bridge or through the body is an unnecessary complication.

 

[Planespotter]

I always use the through body stringing on basses that have the option. It keeps the ferrules from getting lost.

 

[I am Soma]

The OP seems to be into dropping turds and then taking off. Looking forward to a ric quality control or mixing cab thread next.

 

[Crazy John]

From a mechanical viewpoint I prefer through body, it reduces the force pulling the bridge toward the neck. I have had bridges loosen. As far as the sound goes, every time I play the sound seems a little different. It could be bad memory, moisture affecting the speaker and the bass, or I disturbed the controls a little.

 

[40Hz]

How can it not, it's science and science is absolute. A stronger connection and the instrument acts more as one.

There's a lot of things that are measurable by scientific instruments that don't translate out into things our senses can readily perceive. So for the purposes of this particular discussion, unless it's an audible difference, it doesn't really matter what differences there - are unless they're detectable with human senses rather than exclusively by instrumentation. Unless it's a difference that makes a difference to our senses, it's moot in the context of music.

FYI - got a few scientists in my famiy and they'll be the first to tell you science is not absolute. It's a process of establishing verifiable and predictable causality of observed phenomenon. And it's conclusions are constantly being reviewed and reassessed (by the scientists themselves) as additional observations and information becomes available.

If you want to deal in absolutes, take up mathematics, not physical science.

 

[BaltBass5]

I don't think there's a tonal difference that a human ear could detect, although I suppose it could probably be measured - still wouldn't sound different though.

But string thru basses do feel different to me, at least. The string and wood feels like it vibrates somehow more deeply. It could be entirely in my head but the fact that I perceive that difference is enough to cause me to play differently, however subtly and THAT is quantifiable in recordings. I PLAY better when I feel that I'm playing on a quality instrument, and to my mind that often includes it being a string thru bass.

I'd argue that I play 3 different Fender USA basses that each are $2000 plus basses and not one of them has string through body.

Perhaps some people perceive this to mean they are playing a "quality" instrument but that's all it is: perception.

 

[BPhillips]

Tried both methods on my MIA precision bass V. The B string has always been less than impressive on this bass. Partly because the action was too high and the saddle was slammed all the way against the back in order to get proper intonation. This would not allow the saddle to come down any further. The bass came from Fender strung though body, and I have always followed suit. I tried to put some new flatwounds on this week and noticed I pretty much had to make a 90 degree angle to get the B string out of the body and over the saddle. This also slightly damaged the outer wrap of the flatwound B string. It occurred to me that maybe the intonation / saddle position would improve if I strung through the bridge. Sure enough. Now the saddle is significantly further forward with dead-on intonation. I finally lowered the saddle height because I could. The string sounds great. Feels much better due to the action being where I want it. A luthier was going to shim the neck so that I could lower the action. Glad I didn't go that route. I ordered a new set of strings so that I can just string them all through the bridge this time. My other two basses don't have the through body option and they sound great. Not going to use the through body on the P-bass any more.

 

[groooooove]

some basses strung thru bridge (i had a 90s carvin with this problem) don't get enough downward pressure on the saddle and it may buzz. i've heard people i really respect say going thru the body is bad because it puts the string at too sharp of an angle and causes bends in the windings on the saddle.

as far as the marketing of it changing the tone, i doubt there's much to it. but, downward pressure on the bridge saddle is definitely a real thing. it results in bad strings / buzzing.

i gennerally go thru the bridge if it matters. my new carvin came stock thru body (it has both options.)

 

[superheavyfunk]

I'd argue that I play 3 different Fender USA basses that each are $2000 plus basses and not one of them has string through body.

Perhaps some people perceive this to mean they are playing a "quality" instrument but that's all it is: perception.

That's literally exactly what I said: It's a matter of perception.

 

[rujulian]

Tried both methods on my MIA precision bass V. The B string has always been less than impressive on this bass. Partly because the action was too high and the saddle was slammed all the way against the back in order to get proper intonation. This would not allow the saddle to come down any further. The bass came from Fender strung though body, and I have always followed suit. I tried to put some new flatwounds on this week and noticed I pretty much had to make a 90 degree angle to get the B string out of the body and over the saddle. This also slightly damaged the outer wrap of the flatwound B string. It occurred to me that maybe the intonation / saddle position would improve if I strung through the bridge. Sure enough. Now the saddle is significantly further forward with dead-on intonation. I finally lowered the saddle height because I could. The string sounds great. Feels much better due to the action being where I want it. A luthier was going to shim the neck so that I could lower the action. Glad I didn't go that route. I ordered a new set of strings so that I can just string them all through the bridge this time. My other two basses don't have the through body option and they sound great. Not going to use the through body on the P-bass any more.

Flat wounds aren't meant to go through the body. I had a similar experience putting flat wounds through an SR 900 I used to have. But I never had any problems stringing through round wounds. Prefer it actually..

 

[JoeWPgh]

I hear a small difference between the two. Bridge mounted seems to sound 'zingier' which can be a good or a bad thing. I have no idea if this is because bridge mounted has more highs, or if through body had more low mids, or perhaps muted highs. Is it a big difference? Not enough to make it a deal breaker for me. That said, I have to laugh at the OP for whining about companies providing 2 options. What on Earth does it hurt?

 

[megafiddle]

I found a difference too. Stringing through the body had no effect on the string tension as measured with a digital tension meter, but the compliance showed some change - the longer the amount of string between the nut and the tuner, or between the saddle and the anchor point, the more compliant the string was. Compliance in this context is the degree of side to side movement for a given force under set string tuning. The longer the "after length" (as they call it in the violin family) the more compliant the string.

Do you recall what the change in compliance was?

At the very best, with a string that was perfectly free to move along it's entire length from tuner to ball end, the change in compliance would be about 3 to 4 percent. Strings are not free to move like this however. There is friction to overcome before the afterlength can take part in the overall stretching of the string when it is deflected. There is also the additional resistance of the string to flowing over a break point, especially at the bridge plate hole when strung through body. The bend radius is very small there compared to the bend radius over a barrel type saddle. Also, there is a total of 90 degrees of bend when strung through body, compared to top stringing, which can be as small as 10 degrees.

So I would guess that an increase in compliance might be on the order of about 1 or 2 percent?

More importantly, could such a difference be noticed?

On an upright bass, the afterlength has more freedom to stretch. The bridge can be seen to move noticably when a string is depressed to the board, stretching the afterlength along with it. Unlike an electric bass saddle, the upright bridge top has some freedom of movement. This, plus a relatively long afterlength, can make a noticable difference.

One thing that I would like to measure, is the effect of an unset witness point on compliance. Also the effect of curls or kinks in the string. If someone were to move a string from top strung to thru body, there would be new opportunities for bends and curls within the active length of the string. There would be a new one at the saddle if witness point was not set, and curls from the tuning post wrap that moved into the afterlength at the nut. If not ironed out, these might account for an increase of compliance after restringing.

I suspect that it is mainly all these collateral changes that account for much of what might be noticed when making a setup change.

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