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String through the body - is it better ?

K

kara_05

Nov 18, 2007
5
0
Australia
#1
Hey there everyone,

In the process of getting my first bass. I have been looking at Fender P basses. When I was in my local music shop the other day the salesman showed me a MIM P, Highway 1 and an USA Standard P. From what I could tell the main difference between the Highway 1 and USA was that the USA Standard was string through the body option.

So, what difference does it make to the bass with string through the body ? Does it increase string tension ? Increase sustain ?
 
#7
The theory/arguement/propaganda is that my increased downforce over the bridge saddle you get better sustain and because the strings are longer you lose less tension when you detune.

very few people can notice the sustain issue. the tension thing is also up for arguement.

There's also some theory about vibrations transfered straight into the wood as opposed to into the bridge then into the wood. this arguement doen't hold much merit with me.
 
#8
kara_05 said:
So, what difference does it make to the bass with string through the body ?
Click to expand...
A lot. Or none. Depends who you ask.
kara_05 said:
Does it increase string tension ?
Click to expand...
No.
kara_05 said:
Increase sustain ?
Click to expand...
See answer 1. I personally don't think so, but I've never had a bass with a sustain issue.
basslyon said:
because the strings are longer you lose less tension when you detune.

the tension thing is also up for arguement.
Click to expand...
Nope. Tension between the two witness points is all that count. The physics doesn't lie.
 
#9
basslyon said:
the tension thing is also up for arguement.
Click to expand...
No it's not. You can't argue with the laws of physics. The tension is ONLY a function of mass per length of the string and scale length, at a certain pitch.

T = (f∙2∙L)²μ

T = tension
f = frequency
L = scale length (has nothing to do with total length)
μ = mass per length

Argue with that...
 
#11
The fact of the matter is, EQ and preamp settings can give you sustain for days. If you turn all that crappola off and just plug into your amp, you can absolutely tell the difference. Strings thru the body flat out make the wood in the body of your bass resonate. W/O all the electronics, if you plug a real 50's, or reissue 50's, thru body bass up to a good amp..........you will notice the difference in sustain and string tension has nothing to do with that. It's wood. It's strings. It's called "making a connection." It's turning the wood of your bass into a sounding board and it works and that's why they built basses that way in the 50's. They didn't do it because they had nothing better to do with their time!!!!!!!!!!
 
#13
Maybe I shouldn't say it's "better." I would agree with you. There is a difference. I'm a pretty big guy. "Fat" is probably more accurate. 6'1"/260/18.5"neck. Former linebacker at Odessa Permian. I'm old now and have a gut. When I have my thru body basses on, they rest on my stomach and I can absolutely feel the vibrations from the plucking resonating thru my innards. When I'm playing a bass that only strings thru the bridge, not the body, I don't feel the same vibrations. I definitely can feel each note resonating from within the wood, the body, of the bass on a thru body strung bass. It's real. It's there. Maybe you have to be a big guy like me to feel it. I'm sure if I was 5'10"/175 like I was in my playing days, and had a flat stomach, my basses would actually hang from my neck and there would be space between the back of my bass and my stomach. The basses would probably rarely rest against my stomach.........so I wouldn't feel it. But I do feel it when my basses ride on my stomach and they are strung thru the body. The entire body of the bass vibrates and each note resonates and I feel it.
 
#16
pmoran said:
The fact of the matter is, EQ and preamp settings can give you sustain for days. If you turn all that crappola off and just plug into your amp, you can absolutely tell the difference. Strings thru the body flat out make the wood in the body of your bass resonate. W/O all the electronics, if you plug a real 50's, or reissue 50's, thru body bass up to a good amp..........you will notice the difference in sustain and string tension has nothing to do with that. It's wood. It's strings. It's called "making a connection." It's turning the wood of your bass into a sounding board and it works and that's why they built basses that way in the 50's. They didn't do it because they had nothing better to do with their time!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
If the wood of the body resonates more, then this will decrease sustain time rather than increase it. The vibration of the wood will dissipate the string's energy faster.
 
#17
I don't buy that it makes that much difference. As mentioned above there is already a large connection to the body through the bridge base, and adding 4 small ferrules doesn't significantly increase that. I also don't buy into the body resonance idea as whilst they do vibrate, it's not like the soundboard on an acoustic guitar.
 
#18
The best way to tell which bass resonates better is to pluck a string on it and then carefully touch the tip of the headstock against a wood or sheetrock wall. Do this with the amp off. You will notice that sound is amplified. Another method is to place you ear on the unplugged body of the bass and pluck a string. Philip Kubicki has done considerable research on neck woods and tones and says that the neck contributes more to the resonation than the body. I’m not sure you will still be able to make a decision based on this test but let your ear be your guide.
 
#19
Its always entertaining when peope listen with their eyes.

When you pluck a string, the vibration is terminated at the bridge saddle. At the other end of the string, either the nut or a fret terminates the vibration. To say otherwise would mean that you couldn't create a specific note with a vibrating string. The saddle and the nut/fret transfer the vibration to the wood. String-thru ferrules are out of the equation all together.

Physics: the other white meat.
 
#20
pmoran said:
The fact of the matter is, EQ and preamp settings can give you sustain for days. If you turn all that crappola off and just plug into your amp, you can absolutely tell the difference. Strings thru the body flat out make the wood in the body of your bass resonate. W/O all the electronics, if you plug a real 50's, or reissue 50's, thru body bass up to a good amp..........you will notice the difference in sustain and string tension has nothing to do with that. It's wood. It's strings. It's called "making a connection." It's turning the wood of your bass into a sounding board and it works and that's why they built basses that way in the 50's. They didn't do it because they had nothing better to do with their time!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

As I understand it, that would be precisely backwards. A resonating body would decrease sustain, just like a resonating truss rod causes a dead spot. Acoustic instruments need a thin resonating body in order to project sound. Electric instruments do not. The pickup is less than a half an inch from the vibrating string. Only things that affect the vibration of that string have a chance of being reproduced by the amplifier, and typically the most likely things to be audible would be negative.

In my opinion, it's called "psychological". You might have heard its more common name, MOJO.
 

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