Straight Up Strings

[namrok]

Roger,
I look forward to trying your strings! I was wondering if you had any thought to making a DADGAD specific set, since this is a fairly popular open tuning?

Interesting stuff!
Dave

[darylcrisp]

Originally Posted by namrok

Roger,
I look forward to trying your strings! I was wondering if you had any thought to making a DADGAD specific set, since this is a fairly popular open tuning?

Interesting stuff!
Dave

was just about ready to post that question, thanks Dave

i will say the "straight up strings" have been well received by the mandolin community and perform very very well. we like'm a lot!

d

[Racerbob]

HI Roger. Great to see you are on the forum. Appreciated talking with you about tuning out wolf notes. Got you book, it's great

A question : I tune my guitars down a half step. How would this effect choice of string sets with your strings.

Bob

[El Conquistador]

I must say, I don't get the "Handy Cloth Bag" deal. IMHO, I see it as being useless and, since it must cost you something, driving up the cost of already pricey strings. I would lose the bag and lower the price.

Just my opinion.

Steve

[sprucedup]

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

I must say, I don't get the "Handy Cloth Bag" deal. IMHO, I see it as being useless and, since it must cost you something, driving up the cost of already pricey strings. I would lose the bag and lower the price.

Just my opinion.

Steve

I have to disagree. I love the bag. I can leave the strings in the bag on the side table and my girlfriend doesn't nag me for leaving it out. Fits in nicely with the decor.

[Siminoff]

Racer Bob…
Thx…
As long as you tune down all of your strings 1/2 step, the torque load each of them presents will come down equally. And just to give you a frame of reference from a tension perspective, lowering a .012" E string from E to D# will reduce its tension from 21.75 lbs to 19.25 lbs.

Dave and Daryl…
We're considering several things for the future, but nothing to report at the moment.
Roger

[ronbo]

Looks like they've taken extra light strings (11-52) and labeled them lights (normally 12-53) and lights to mediums, etc. just like DR does. Initially it seems like just marketing, and so now I have to buy Mediums when I want lights? I'll probably try a set if they're they're not TI expensive, cause I'm a sucker for different strings, but will be interested to read what others say about the tone and longetivity.

[srick]

Originally Posted by ronbo

Looks like they've taken extra light strings (11-52) and labeled them lights (normally 12-53) and lights to mediums, etc. just like DR does. Initially it seems like just marketing, and so now I have to buy Mediums when I want lights? I'll probably try a set if they're they're not TI expensive, cause I'm a sucker for different strings, but will be interested to read what others say about the tone and longetivity.

Ronbo - check out Roger's website. The SUS and the SCGC strings are not sorted as far as gauge, but instead, tension and torque. Gauge means little as different materials, treatments and construction will provide strings with different properties. Bottom line - do get a set and try them - that is the only way to judge whether the strings are right for you.

[srick]

Roger - I have a few questions that have bugged me for many moons. We usually talk about the wound strings and their variables, but always ignore the unwound strings.

• Do most manufacturers us the same alloy for their unwound strings?
• Do manufacturing processes (ie) how you draw out and/or anneal the wire affect the resultant tension?
• How about gauge? is a .012 from one company equivalent to another?
• How about tone? Are their tonal differences in unwound stings?
• Are the unwound strings coated in the same way?

I think you get my drift. Thanks - looking forward to your thoughts here.

best,

Rick

[Siminoff]

Rick…

You're going to open up my flood gates if you get me talking about strings! (All great questions - thank you!!!)

Same alloy? As far as the steel itself is concerned, there are several manufacturers of high-carbon steel "mandolin wire" (in the US and worldwide) and the specs for their alloy is virtually the same, and the resultant wire is virtually the same. The key difference between these makers is how accurately and consistently they draw their wire in its initial bulk size (before being drawn down to musical wire sizes). (As a point of interest, the wire is called "mandolin wire" up to .050" and called "piano wire" in thicknesses above .050").

How wire is drawn? Yes, how the plain wire is drawn, how many sizing dies it goes through, the condition of the dies, and how efficiently its temperature is controlled during drawing does affect its hardness and the resultant elasticity, both of which affect tension. What sets manufacturers aside from each other is how they draw their wire. The critical factor here is how the wire is straightened and the number die stages the wire is drawn through as comes from the starting spool and is drawn down to fractional sizes for musical core wire. The greater the number of dies, the greater the quality of the wire - metallurgically, and dimensionally. (The elasticity of this wire is an interesting side note. You may have noticed that as your strings go out of tune, you are always tightening them UP to pitch. The high-carbon steel wire is considerately elastic; on a 26" scale instrument, a plain .012" E string will stretch about 1/4" from when you have the string snug to when you bring it up to pitch.)

Gauge? Yes, we're measuring our wire to 5 decimal places and it has been my experience that most wire manufacturers are reasonably consistent, gauge wise. I've not worked with many of the non-USA based wire manufacturers, so I can't really comment on the wire quality and consistency of some foreign-made string sets.

Tone? As long as the strings being compared are a high-carbon steel (HCS), and the gauge of the test string is the same as the string it is being compared to, there is virtually no difference in tone, sustain, or amplitude.

Coating? There are really two issues here: plating and coating. The high-carbon steel wire - whether used for plain strings or as core for wound strings - needs to be protected because it is very susceptible to corrosion. So, while the alloy of the wire itself (as previously mentioned) might be virtually the same, the plating process is quite different among musical string manufacturers. (How this is done and what plating techniques are used would take a whole page here, and some of the processes are confidential to musical string manufacturers.) Regarding coating, as I mentioned in a previous post, the bronze wrap must receive a protective coating to keep it bright in the package and on in-store guitars to prevent it from tarnishing.

Roger

[srick]

Roger - great information! There is so much mythology in our field and so much marketing malarkey, it is refreshing to see solid information.

But of course, I could have the greatest guitar equipped with the greatest strings that the world had ever seen and I would -still- sound like.....me.

best,

Rick

[Siminoff]

Rick…
You hit the nail on the head! About 50% of the difference in tone we hear from one string acoustical instrument to another is the result of the musiclan's attack.
..Roger

[srick]

Oh - and one more:

Seeing another thread reminded me of this. The thread concerned 'twang' of E and B (1st and 2nd) strings on an 000 mahogany guitar. One reply was that the Monels sounded much better - Now as far as I can tell, I think that just about every 1st and 2nd string out there, regardless of the brand or variation, is carbon-steel. Am I correct?

Thanks,

Rick

[yoni]

Ok, it's been a few days and a class spent with the strings on both guitars. My Santa Cruz Vintage Jumbo sounds amazing. I was starting to fall out of love with it but now I have to say that guitar aint going anywhere. As I was practicing last night in front of my 6 month old as he was grumping the notes were so sweet that i didn't notice him pass out and I was able to keep practicing in front of him asleep for about another 10 minutes.

The braz 00 I'm still not a 100% sold on. I will keep playing and see how I feel.

[Siminoff]

Rick… Yes, you are correct. It's been my experience that all string manufacturers - especially domestic ones - use HCS (high-carbon steel) for plain and core wire. Monel is used for wrap wire (Martin's "Retro", etc.), and several manufacturers use Monel for the winding on electric guitar strings. It was a popular choice on Gibson electric strings years back. Labeling is sometimes confusing; when a package says "phosphor bronze," "nickel," "brass," or "Monel," it is referring to the wrap wire. ...R