String extensions?
 

This might sound like heresy, or simply madness...

I *really* prefer the sound and feel of silk & steel strings, esp. the 80/20 wound ones, and lately I've become one of the most recent addicts to the Thomastik Plectrums (after reading the rave reviews elsewhere on this forum).

I was thus looking forward to trying them on that archtop I'm hoping to acquire soon, and then someone pointed out they might be too short. Lo and behold, that someone might be right - I've already noticed this on my resonator.

Of course I couldn't resist dreaming up workarounds. I've used the double fisherman's knot with good results to repair string breaks between nut and tuners. I expect that I could use the single version to tie a piece of B string behind the ball end to add just enough length to the wound strings so that the red tissu-wound part can go where it belongs, beyond the nut.

But maybe a solution already exists commercially, or maybe there are well-tested DIY solutions? I could imagine that one could be made from a folded-out sturdy paperclip?

In the past I’ve tied broken wound G strings with a sheet bend knot, behind the nut, using a thinner gauge string for the extension. It’s a bit tricky but once the knot is tight, it has worked fine, no noticeable tonal impact that I can recall. So maybe that would work. You might also write the factory for a few custom sets of extended length and see if they will accommodate. Good luck!

That one looks a lot simpler than my double fisherman's knot, and easier with thicker (wound) strings. I suppose you did the loop that passes under itself with the thinner string?

For the ball-end side of intact strings, you'd think a solution should be possible hooking into those little balls that looks so suspiciously like brass rings ;)