56 replies to this topic

[mikebass78]

Through body stringing + Drive + playing behind the bridge = The only reason to do it really, IMO. Fun for a coupla minutes though.

[DoctorEEEvil]

eastwind, on Jun 19 2008, 12:43 AM, said:

Hi

I
I am not suprised that the standard Jazz bridge gives the bass the least sustain irrespective of the through stringing I just don,t think they are that rigid, but have noticed that it gives better control as note decay is faster so lends itself to fast finger playing. My Squier Jazz (also fitted with a J-Retro) was still "dead" until I put a high mass Fender style (Chinese of course)bridge on. The bass came alive especially with harmonics, brightness and sustain but didn't sound like a Jazz anymore. I had to consciously damp strings more than I would normally when playing.
I think bridge choice is very important and can completely change a bass sound and the way you have to play it.
I have knife edge saddles on my Hofner S7B and the sustain is amazing.
Aren't basses ace.......I learn more every day...

My God! I've finally found someone other than myself with an S7B! Are there others out there?

[Prosebass]

DoctorEEEvil, on Nov 28 2009, 09:01 PM, said:

My God! I've finally found someone other than myself with an S7B! Are there others out there?

Just you and me and a Guy in America to my knowledge.....get a photo of it in the Bass Porn thread...there are fewer of the S7B's than 1948 Fender Precisions......

Edited by Prosebass, 29 November 2009 - 03:05 AM.

[maxrossell]

I'm not really sure I see the point of thru-stringing. It's always struck me as one of those "magic" options that people throw money at when they're looking for a perfect instrument. End of the day, you can have thru-neck, thru-strung spalted bollockwood basses with 24 fanned frets and nine strings and active preamps and five pickups and ramps and D-Tuners and stereo outputs and high-mass bridges and elixir strings, and all that won't charge the fact that the best recordings of all time were made by some dude and his beat-up old Fender Plank-o-caster.

[thumperbob 2002]

maxrossell, on Nov 29 2009, 04:53 AM, said:

I'm not really sure I see the point of thru-stringing. It's always struck me as one of those "magic" options that people throw money at when they're looking for a perfect instrument. End of the day, you can have thru-neck, thru-strung spalted bollockwood basses with 24 fanned frets and nine strings and active preamps and five pickups and ramps and D-Tuners and stereo outputs and high-mass bridges and elixir strings, and all that won't charge the fact that the best recordings of all time were made by some dude and his beat-up old Fender Plank-o-caster.

Absolutely +1

[Mr. Foxen]

thumperbob 2002, on Jan 14 2010, 04:50 PM, said:

Absolutely +1

The original precision and the tele bass were through strung though.

[jonthebass]

Balcro, on Oct 13 2008, 11:39 PM, said:

My apologoes if this is slightly off at a tangent to the original post, but it may be relevant to "Wazz's" & CarazyKiwi's earlier replies.
I've been looking to treat myself to a set of Flats and had narrowed the choice down to La Bella or Webstrings/Detroit Bass. I looked at La Bella's catalogue this evening and they say Deep-Talking flats "are unsuitable for thru-body stringing. They suggest a "flexi-core flatwound" as a suitable alternative, but I can't find any such product in the catalogue. Google came up with just the one reference at La Bella.

As I've got thru-body stringing with brass saddles and no bridge option, I've e-mailed both La Bella & Webstrings for further info as to suitability. Anyone come across this before or have any recommendations.

Thanks folks.

Balcro.

I've been told D'Addario Chrome flats and Thomastik Infeld (T.I.) Jazz flats are OK with through body stringing...
Not tried it myself though.

[skelf]

Not sure that is the case with the TI flats. Tried to string a B string on a 34" scale and the wrap started on the wrong side of the nut had to top load it to fit.

[Mr. Foxen]

skelf, on Jan 18 2010, 09:54 PM, said:

Not sure that is the case with the TI flats. Tried to string a B string on a 34" scale and the wrap started on the wrong side of the nut had to top load it to fit.

Wrap issues can be fixed, like so many things, with blades and fire. Its the string going skinny that is the trouble.

[mart]

Through-body stringing must be better, because they use it on them fancy Sue Ryder basses.

[gsgbass]

I've been stringing through the body for so long, I just like it, and never had any string issues doing it.

[Lozz196]

I`ve always liked the thru-body stringing, until I read up a bit on Fender Precisions, and realised that the tones that I love from these basses - JJ Burnell, Bruce Foxton, Bruce Thomas, John Deacon - were all played on Precisions that didn`t have thru-body stringing.

Kind-of changed my mind. And now have a `77 Precision, which plays and sounds fantastic, and definately no worse for not having this feature.

[EBS_freak]

I don't really care. I generally string my B through the body and the rest on the bridge. Why? Because I always have done and I like it... it probably makes no difference but it's now the norm and I wouldn't change it.

Daft isn't it?

[shizznit]

I have a Lakland 55-02 and thankfully you can either string through the body or at the bridge. Great, but because of the 35" scale I struggle to find strings that will fit past the nut on the E and B string if I string through the body. So, I just string up at the bridge in most cases. I prefer string through because you do get a bit more sustain, but it doesn't really change the overall tone or playability in any siginifcant way for me.

[bengreen49]

Surely the vibration damping effect of your body/arm in contact with the guitar body would have a greater effect when through-strung?

Just a thought.

[iiipopes]

I have thru-stringing on my custom fanned fret P-style bass. Since a G string can whang or twang, I have it perpendicular down through the body right at the back edge of the saddle to get as much down force and therefore as much fundamental as possible. Conversely, an E String needs as much help with overtones as possible, so its angle is as shallow as possible, with the string guide as far back from the saddle as possible, almost as if it were conventionally top strung. The A and D strings are proportioned accordingly. This has ever-so-slightly helped with string-to-string tonality on my bass, which has a reissue "bolt-stock" mid-'60's style bridge.

Edited by iiipopes, 09 November 2012 - 02:46 AM.

[chrismuzz]

I like the tighter feel you get from through body stringing, due to the sharper angle past the saddles. I find if I play real hard with bridge stringing on SOME bridges, the strings can pop off the saddles. The classic Fender style ones don't have this problem though.