Is there really a benefit with "sting-thru" vs toploading?

[Lowbrow]

Had a Fender P-bass (MIA 2007) with string-through. I actually preferred top loading it.

Same here. Given the option I went with top loading.

 

[clockworkcorpse]

Both my basses have some sort of gimmick to their string thru, a yamaha with 45° string through, and a godin with a brass block instead of ferrules... I'd be doing the basses a disservice to top load and ignore these features.

 

[cheechi]

A bass I converted to string through now has better intonation & tuning stability, especially on the B string, compared to before. I also changed the bridge which also improved intonation. The bass is a Carvin LB75 so not some wild claim of turning a Squier into a real boy.

 

[BurtMacklinFBI]

If all else is equal I prefer string through body, but I honestly have no idea what, if any, objective difference it makes.

 

[Loring]

Only thing I can think of:

All else being equal, a longer total string length will have to have a higher tension to achieve the same pitch as a shorter string length, so it might be a way to use lighter gauge strings for downtuning.

My LTD B-204’s were topload AND string-thru. I experimented with both. Couldn’t discern a tonal difference, and the only practical difference I noted with string-thru was that it made changing strings a longer process. So I always toploaded.

only the length from the nut to the bridge saddle so...

No this is not entirely correct.

 

[superheavyfunk]

Never noticed a difference in sound but I can say from experience that a top-loader is preferable when one has to do a quick string change on the fly at a show.

 

[CoffeeLove]

Have owned many of both and I cannot tell the difference. So, no.

 

[2F/2F]

No difference in tone or feel IME. Through body can slightly complicate certain string purchases, because on some sets, your silks won't clear the nut.

 

[bobdabilder]

It's more difficult to untwist the string properly thru the body.

Edit: and no.

 

[kerrycares]

Of course it makes a difference by just physics alone .
Now if you can tell the difference, that’s another story.
I prefer top loading , can’t tell you why , but ergonomically it just “feels” loser.
Not a “sustain” fan .......

 

[Copperhead]

you'll often end up with the fat part of your fattest string wound around the tuner if you go top load, which isn't how it's supposed to work.

I view this as a positive because it causes a little sharper break angle over the nut by forcing the string down farther on the capstan.
Like so many others have admitted about their quirky viewpoints, it probably doesn't amount to squat in the real world, but has a satisfying psychological effect.

 

[djaxup]

I have pretty much always kept my Gibson Ripper string-through. My impression is that the bridge (and the bushings it is bolted into) prefer to be compressed by the strings, rather than having to hold the full 200 pounds of string tension if I top loaded. I don’t really think I’ve detected a difference in sound, it’s more a matter of avoiding long-term stress on the bridge and bushings that are now over 40 years old and imposing it on the body of the instrument.

...

This. My Ripper definitely had a different 'setup feel' when going from toploading to string through. The action was lower with string through, and I guess it was because of that crappy bridge design. Just as ofajen pointed out, in that particular bridge type, string-through presses the whole floating bridge down on the body, while top loading wants to pull the bridge up basically. My Ripper had a bit of wiggle space, meaning I could move the bridge up and down a bit when there were no strings on the bass.

Difference in sound? Only because of the setup difference (to rasp or not to rasp). I was not able to tell any other difference. I had an american Fender Jazz with both options available and it made zero difference.

 

[Calebmundy]

It makes a big difference to the way my 35” scale láklands feel. I string the B and E through the body and the rest through the bridge. Just right for me.

 

[Mike Marshall]

With lower tension strings, the extra down force on the saddle prevents rattling.

Also if it is a string thru bass, it holds the ferrules in place so they dont fall out.

Some will says adds sustain, if it did we would be talking a minimal amount. Minimal....

The answer is no and if an elevator cable breaks and it goes into a free fall it wont help to jump before it hits either.

 

[SgtHulka]

The more the different parts of your instrument connect and resonate together the better the bass sounds. String through provides more of a complete vibration that includes the back of the instrument also.

 

[Auspuff]

Me American Standard P-Bass is string-through, however, my MIJ, round-wound, non-string through Jazz Bass smokes it for tone.

 

[cnltb]

Is there really a benefit with "sting-thru" vs toploading?
I guess it depends what you sting through. If it is a finger, I can not see any benefits at all - unless you are the dep for the player whose finger has been stung though.
If it is the Musician you are refering to, I'd guess it would depend on where or what you ask him to go through and if he does comply with your request voluntarily.

 

[2saddleslab]

Not all of them, if you read this thread from the beginning.

Mine have.

It's not "what" they're made of, but "how" they're made.
Some flat wounds (depending upon core thickness, and how tight the outer windings are) aren't able to make the very sharp radius required to get up, around and over the saddle.
That sharp break over the saddle can break a stiff string.

What flat wounds do you have experience with that have broken due to stringing thru the body like you describe above? I've used GHS heavy gauge 115-55, Pyramid, Fender (various gauges), LaBella (various gauges), and TI flats strung thru over the past 30 years & 3000 gigs and never had a string brake, ever. I take that back. I did have one string break when a cue ball flew off a pool table and hit my bass sitting on a stand between sets. But it was a top loader.
You can go with theories, which on the surface seem to make sense, or 3 decades of experience. Just wondering how many who propagate the theory also have the experience to confirm it. Now there will be a few who can state, yes, they've had a string break due to stringing thru the body. However, there are exponentially more broken strings from top loaders just due to the sheer numbers and no one blames the breakage due to the bridge.
Those who prefer top loading bridges, for whatever reason, more power to ya'! Just no need dismiss out of hand a string thru due to the possibility of string breakage.

 

[Lowbrow]

The answer is no and if an elevator cable breaks and it goes into a free fall it wont help to jump before it hits either.

Six bodies crumpled up on the elevator floor and one head through the ceiling. Emergency Responders will say, “He sure did try.”

 

[baxter_x]

I tried both and ,ever heard any difference.
However, the string through was bending the B string pretty hard. his resulting in a muted/unatural B string. But the other strings were sounding exactly the same.