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thunder

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Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
320
Location
Brooklyn N.Y.
To The Research And Development Department: One Request ....... More String Thur Body Insturments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Goofball Jones

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Joined
May 19, 2007
Messages
132
Location
70 miles East of Chicago
I agree, doesn't make any difference to my ear. Though I have to wonder why did they do it with the 30th anniversary? Which itself has probably been asked and answered a 1000 times...so one more time wouldn't hurt would it? :p
 

oli@bass

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Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
4,272
Location
Switzerland
I'm with thunder. I don't care whether some think it makes a tonal difference or not. I just like it. And I especially like that I get no chance to scratch the body finish below the bridge when changing strings...

Why not just put it on every instrument with a dual mounted bridge. So every player can decide how they want to string their instrument. Best of both worlds. IMO
 

mynan

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Joined
Feb 25, 2007
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2,695
Location
Spring Lake, MI
They did it on the 30th for the nostalgic look...nothing to do with the sound of it.

BP covers it HERE
 
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RobertB

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Dec 5, 2007
Messages
1,657
Location
Denver area.
Well, not at all trying to second guess BP, but I know that if I were a producer of instruments & it was more cost effective to NOT incorporate a given feature - string-thru body in this case - I would certainly not talk about that feature as one that makes a huge difference, when I did include that feature in a limited edition/anniversary model, etc... I think it was BP being smart, by saying what he said .. "for you kooks who think that makes a difference" - you have to consider his perspective. Why would you verbally hype something you normally don't offer? But that doesn't necessarily mean that it really doesn't make a difference.

As for me, the jury's still out about any tonal differences, although the 30th does have incredible sustain. And I've had other Mahogany bodied basses which were not string-thru, and which didn't have this kind of sustain, so it's not just because it's Mahogany. But aside from pure tonal characteristics, one thing I can say for sure is that the string tension feels different. It feels better. So in that sense, it has a positive effect on how it plays.

But for anyone curious about the question of whether or not it makes a difference, I'd definitely say try it yourself. Don't just blindly accept what someone else says just because they say so, no matter how convinced of themselves they seem to be.

~Robert
 

mynan

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Feb 25, 2007
Messages
2,695
Location
Spring Lake, MI
Well, not at all trying to second guess BP, but I know that if I were a producer of instruments & it was more cost effective to NOT incorporate a given feature - string-thru body in this case - I would certainly not talk about that feature as one that makes a huge difference, when I did include that feature in a limited edition/anniversary model, etc... I think it was BP being smart, by saying what he said .. "for you kooks who think that makes a difference" - you have to consider his perspective. Why would you verbally hype something you normally don't offer? But that doesn't necessarily mean that it really doesn't make a difference.

Well I've been here less than a year, but my impression of BP is that he's a little more straight-forward than that.
 

RobertB

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Dec 5, 2007
Messages
1,657
Location
Denver area.
Well I've been here less than a year, but my impression of BP is that he's a little more straight-forward than that.

Yeah, I've only been here just about a month, and I can see that too. I'm not saying he's not; I'm saying he's a business man.
 

jaylegroove

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Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
424
Location
I'm a French Knucklehead
Ah, there are soooo many common thoughts, especially when it comes to sustain : strings through body, neck-thru construction, 35" scale, mahogany, etc. I completely suck at technology in a general way, but I guess that's much more subtle than that. Some basses have none of these features and have incredible sustain.
 

Sonnyonbass

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Joined
May 31, 2006
Messages
481
I had a 35" L@kland with maple top etc. etc. and it played different somehow when the strings were going thru the body.

But who cares when my Sr5 sounds better when the strings just go thru the body...
Like the way they are supposed to I guess.


No pm's please. The L@kland has been sold. :p
 

oli@bass

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Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
4,272
Location
Switzerland
I'm a bass player.

I don't really want a lot of sustain.

How long do you guys let your notes ring?

As long as the chord stays...
BTW, to need a bass with short sustain or mutes instead of actually stopping the notes at the proper musical time is a bad habit... we're not drummers, are we? :D
 

RobertB

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Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
1,657
Location
Denver area.
I wouldn't dare it, but Jack did. Never understood the need of a long time ringing note.

It's true that long sustain is rarely a factor while actually playing a tune, unless you're filling one of the more boring occasional requirements of the bass player's charter, like some whole-tone stuff at slow tempo.

But somehow it's still just a nice characteristic for an instrument to have, to me. Don't you guys ever just hit the E or B with your amp cranked, all by yourself/not playing a song & just sort of "surf" or meditate on it until it dies? It can be a religious experience for me.

I read an article once about a black hole that'd been found that was resonating at a frequency corresponding to B, 12 or so octaves below middle.

Hum of the cosmic motor, baby. =)
 
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