Post by antares on Aug 6, 2022 17:17:23 GMT -6
Well there are no "string through" Lesters so far as I'm aware, and you don't hear too many folks complaining about those instruments. Same with archtops and trapeze tailpieces- folks go all dewey eyed over those, and my so-equipped Heritage Sweet16 sounds just so lush it's to die for.
I've never seen a classical (or flamenco) guitar with "string through", but again, I've never heard so much as one opinion that such a guitar design has a fundamental flaw. Same with violins. Where do you stop with that logic?
That said, I always think it helps to think in terms of perceived extremes, because then the answer has to lie some where between those points. If you have insufficient break angle over a bridge, bridge saddles (or even a nut for that matter) it is possible to get buzzes and subdued notes, eg- a Leo type without "String trees". Even with Sperzel staggered capstan height locking machine heads designed specifically to avoid a string tree, I couldn't get rid of "sitar" sounds without deploying a string tree.
The break angle over the biscuit bridge on a resonator is fairly critical. If you have very little break angle over a cone then the vibrations do not "drive" the cone satisfactorily. By the same token too much break angle chokes the cone with a precictable impact on the sound. It follows that with insufficient break angle over such a fulcrum or anchor point, you will exert insufficient transfer of vibrations. OK, a resonator isn't a great analogy, but by the same yardstick, A "string through" simply has to exert much greater pressure down on the saddles than will "top loader". (Interestingly, you do get the occasional Tele bridge drilled for both.)
The question remains as to whether, provided there is sufficient downforce to preclude buzzing, the sound is any different. I'm with you guys because I don't think it does have any significant or even measurable impact.
Returning to the resonator, if you "understring" the tailpiece as a short term fix for a necessary neck reset, it soon becomes apparent that it chokes the cone. (Curiously, if you "*don't* understring a banjo's tailpiece, you get insufficient down pressure on the saddle and your 'jo will complain by way of lacklustre performance. I cannot explain this phenomenon, but I know this much from hard learned experience.)
So that's got my version of armchair theory based upon instinct and imagined extreme examples out of the way. Over to you Pro guys for the real world lowdown!
でつ e&oe ...
I've never seen a classical (or flamenco) guitar with "string through", but again, I've never heard so much as one opinion that such a guitar design has a fundamental flaw. Same with violins. Where do you stop with that logic?
That said, I always think it helps to think in terms of perceived extremes, because then the answer has to lie some where between those points. If you have insufficient break angle over a bridge, bridge saddles (or even a nut for that matter) it is possible to get buzzes and subdued notes, eg- a Leo type without "String trees". Even with Sperzel staggered capstan height locking machine heads designed specifically to avoid a string tree, I couldn't get rid of "sitar" sounds without deploying a string tree.
The break angle over the biscuit bridge on a resonator is fairly critical. If you have very little break angle over a cone then the vibrations do not "drive" the cone satisfactorily. By the same token too much break angle chokes the cone with a precictable impact on the sound. It follows that with insufficient break angle over such a fulcrum or anchor point, you will exert insufficient transfer of vibrations. OK, a resonator isn't a great analogy, but by the same yardstick, A "string through" simply has to exert much greater pressure down on the saddles than will "top loader". (Interestingly, you do get the occasional Tele bridge drilled for both.)
The question remains as to whether, provided there is sufficient downforce to preclude buzzing, the sound is any different. I'm with you guys because I don't think it does have any significant or even measurable impact.
Returning to the resonator, if you "understring" the tailpiece as a short term fix for a necessary neck reset, it soon becomes apparent that it chokes the cone. (Curiously, if you "*don't* understring a banjo's tailpiece, you get insufficient down pressure on the saddle and your 'jo will complain by way of lacklustre performance. I cannot explain this phenomenon, but I know this much from hard learned experience.)
So that's got my version of armchair theory based upon instinct and imagined extreme examples out of the way. Over to you Pro guys for the real world lowdown!
でつ e&oe ...
