TI flats, string through body or bridge?

[Tom Howland]

I've used them both ways. They work fine. Through the body does tighten them up a little.
As for tone, to me. Through the bridge gives these string there natural tone. They just seem to sound better.
Part of what make these string special is the tension. String vibrate a certain way. And tighten up these strings to me seem to effect tone in a small way.
Both ways sound good.

 

[Liam Wald]

Not sure I could live with intonation not being exactly spot on. I guess it would work if you played mostly in the lower register. But if you set your intonation to be "close" on the lower frets it will be noticeably off if you play all the way up the fingerboard past the 15th fret.

 

[joebar]

i run mine thru body on my MIA P
these strings seem designed for this.
awesome strings-nothing like them.

 

[Thumper]

Ok, strung the TIs on my P5. B and E are top loaded, A-D-G are STB. Taking my wife to Wendover for Vday, so tomorrow evening will set intonation and neck on Monday if needed. Plugged it in for a few minutes, these strings REALLY respond to plucking location. Tension is more balanced than the Sadowsky Black label stainless rounds it previously wore. Just what I was hoping for!

Thanks again for your input.

 

[Shedua511]

I left my B string top-loaded, the others through body.
The next time (in +/- 10 years from now ) I might leave the E top-loaded too, had too remove a tiny bit of the silk. Great strings! in combination with the graphite neck, the Nordstrand pickup and the John East preamp they sound wonderful.

 

[Mystic Michael]

I'm going to string my P5 with TI flats. P5s can be strung either way, but I don't have any experience with TIs strung through body. Had them on a Sukop and now on a Zon 5/1, neither with the body through option.

I worry that the severe break angle could damage the outer wrap. Should I be concerned or does it not matter?

Does stringing through body change the feel of the string in any way? This is the first bass Ive ever had that offers this option, so I have no knowledge base.

There is no advantage to stringing through the body. If the strings are of good quality, and the instrument is of good quality, then you can just as well anchor strings at the bridge, with no loss of function or performance. In fact, there is simply no good reason to not do so.

MM

 

[Mystic Michael]

I was hoping through body would tighten up the feel, even if just minimally, but for all I know its just urban legend.

It is, in fact, an urban legend.

MM

 

[SirMjac28]

I have a set on my Sing P and I have them stringed through

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Some body/bridge/string combinations may result in intonation issues when strung through, but if strung through works here, that's fine, leave them alone.

 

[nshuman]

String through no problem. Have it on a P-Bass, on a Mustang, all through, all perfectly fine.

 

[Thumper]

Played the TI strung P5 through my home rig yesterday, urban legend or not, the tension felt more substantial than I remembered, will find out more about that when I play it at practice on Wednesday. What really jumped out to me was the "woody" tone I've heard described in TI posts. It is really hard to describe, but it's there in a good way. I will know more after I hear it through my big - boy rig. So far, WAY GOOD!

 

[RabbidX]

As far as I understand, flatwounds plus fretless produce less sustain, so my decision was to string through body. It works great for me.

 

[Thumper]

I didn't take it to practice, due to less tension the action got higher but I kind of like it, so thought I would play it at home longer and decide if I really want to lower it. Here is an interesting bonus, the Planet Waves Micro works real well with the TIs, not sure what that's all about, but I'll take it. Still digging the tension.

 

[mccartneyman]

I string them through-body on both my Lakland 5-94 and my Lakin Glaub. No problems.

 

[TalkBassTanner]

From the manufacturer, Thomastik-Infeld: "Thank you for your interest in our products. Please note, the strings in the set JF344 where designed for a standard bridge, however musicians often do stringing them also through the body.
I hope this helps.

Best regards,
Marianna Leszko"