A bit new here, so am afraid myself of Ken's comments, but here goes. One, I do feel a perceptable difference in my String through body basses, I have two such instruments, wit option to string through body OR bridge. Tried both ways, there is a difference in feel of string tension, and body resonance. As I can tune my bass unamplified on my chest without "hearin" anythin, when strung through, on stage wit all surrounding noise, can't do the same when they are strung through the bridge. The caveat being that my Smith does the same thing without extra holes drilled. Smith bridges are a marvel of design, apparently, and I love the resonance of mine. The 60's bass comparison is unfair, IMHO, they used flatwound strings back then, not a ton of sustain anyhow. And, just to say also that if the strings behind the bridge saddles don't vibrate, then does it matter if they are bent? I've had no issues with breakage or dead strings. And finally, use my Smith passive lots of the time, it's like having two basses in one. Passive sounds great for getting old school and rock tones, hit the switch and you have another beast, entirely. Better than ANY boost pedal made! Please, no one kill me. I'm new, tryin ta fit in.
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