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Top-loading your strings vs. Thru-body

landry.bass

landry.bass

Jun 14, 2007
796
634
Ontario, Canada
#1
Ok, so if youhad two basses that were exactly the same except that the strings on one were strung through the body, and on the the other they were just loaded through the bridge, would there be any noticeable differences between the two basses? Perhaps increased sustain with the thru-body? I'm just very curious about this. It seems logical to me that there would be a difference in the sound of the two basses.
 
#2
It's been debated on here ad nauseum. There are always so many other factors with each individual bass that it's almost impossible to say for sure what impact could be attributed to the stringing. Even if you go back and forth between them on one particular bass, more often than not we fool ourselves into hearing what we think we're supposed to hear.

I string the low B through-body on my Jazz, and leave the others topside, because I think it sounds best to me that way. But I would not promise that I could hear the difference in a blind test.
 
#3
landry.bass said:
Ok, so if youhad two basses that were exactly the same except that the strings on one were strung through the body, and on the the other they were just loaded through the bridge, would there be any noticeable differences between the two basses? Perhaps increased sustain with the thru-body? I'm just very curious about this. It seems logical to me that there would be a difference in the sound of the two basses.
Click to expand...

On a string through body setup there is a good chance the strings would be twisted against themselves, so there is that...
 
#4
I have two basses, one fretted, one fretless, that can go either way.
I haven't noticed a difference no matter which way they are strung.

For some reason, I prefer to string through body when I have long enough strings.........I don't know why.
 
#6
For me, it's always been a matter of resonance. The vibrations just seem more "in" the wood when I string through.

I tend to think this is a function of the stress applied to the bridge/body via string tension.

On a Top-load, the tension is trying to lift the bridge off the body.

With String-through, the tension is actually clamping the bridge tighter to the body.

In spite of all the fancy wood, pretty finishes, and high-tech electronics ... a bass is still a machine. The Rules of Physics Apply.

Just an opinion.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming ....
 
#8
landry.bass said:
Ok, so if youhad two basses that were exactly the same except that the strings on one were strung through the body, and on the the other they were just loaded through the bridge, would there be any noticeable differences between the two basses? Perhaps increased sustain with the thru-body? I'm just very curious about this. It seems logical to me that there would be a difference in the sound of the two basses.
Click to expand...

I can pretty much guarantee that there will be a difference between the sound of two basses but because they are two different basses.

I once put two A strings on the same P bass, one top loaded and one strung through. There was absolutely no difference.

Then I did it again on a J bass. Again, no difference.

IMO, the only thing string through is good for is keeping the string through ferrules from falling out of the back of the bass.
 
#10
mongo2 said:
IMO, the only thing string through is good for is keeping the string through ferrules from falling out of the back of the bass.
Click to expand...

+1
I had a P copy that could go either string thru or traditional top load. The only difference I could "feel" was that using the same gauge the thru body way seemed looser when playing close to the bridge. Probably my imagination.
 
#11
My 2c experience is that the string life is somewhat proportional to the break angle between the tailpiece and the saddle. Designs that string through from the lower bout side of the bass with low break angle make sense, but going through the body and doing a 90 at the saddle makes my strings die quickly. Since the sonic difference is relatively minor, I choose not to string through the body, but probably would use that approach if the through holes went to the side of the slab.

If that makes sense....
 
#15
mongo2 said:
I once put two A strings on the same P bass, one top loaded and one strung through. There was absolutely no difference.

Then I did it again on a J bass. Again, no difference.
Click to expand...

The problem with that test is that if the string-thru A is doing its purpose and clamping the bridge down, the top-loaded one will benefit from that too.

My understanding was that the greater break angle behind the saddles caused a greater downward force on the saddles, holding the strings against them more tightly. Clamping the bridge down would also help increase the effective mass of the bridge by coupling it with the body more strongly.
 
#16
bucephylus said:
My 2c experience is that the string life is somewhat proportional to the break angle between the tailpiece and the saddle. Designs that string through from the lower bout side of the bass with low break angle make sense, but going through the body and doing a 90 at the saddle makes my strings die quickly. Since the sonic difference is relatively minor, I choose not to string through the body, but probably would use that approach if the through holes went to the side of the slab.

If that makes sense....
Click to expand...

Why would a break angle cause strings to die quickly? What about sweat, dirt, acidity, etc?
 
#18
biff malibu said:
i was going to make a thread in strings forum but i may be able to get an answer here.

i have an MIA jazz that only has a string through option. what scale length d'addario's would i need to string thru body by their measurements? long scale or extra long?
Click to expand...

On D'Addario's web site there's a section that tells you how to determine the proper scale length for your bass, using their strings. I'm pretty sure that you need the extra long scale set, but double check.

Getting back to the original post...

I like solid core Nickel strings like Ernie Ball Slinkys and D'Addario XL's. Solid core strings (especially thick ones), don't seem to want to bend like that, so I top load.
 
#19
Steveaux said:
...

In spite of all the fancy wood, pretty finishes, and high-tech electronics ... a bass is still a machine. The Rules of Physics Apply.
.....
Click to expand...

Yep, which is why there's no difference.

The minute difference from the strings is nothing compared to the massive force exerted by 5 screws holding the bridge to the body.

I've done A/B recordings on the same bass with the same strings. No difference sonically, and no logical or physical reason why there should be any difference.
 
#20
I've A/B'd on my Warmoth, and for me, string thru seems to make for a snappier tone. I think its like Bucephylus said about a better break angle, the string gets held tighter between those two points, which seems to make for a better, sharper tone.

Of course, that's just my opinion. The "body wood makes a difference to tone/maple sounds brighter than rosewood" squad will be along soon...:hiding:
 

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