GHS Strings Cryogenically Treated - Is this a gimmick?

Rosewood99 · #1 08-24-2019, 06:20 AM

Has anyone used these? Would love to get a couple of opinions before I buy them. Sound intriguing if it isn't just a marketing gimmick.

jim1960 · #2 08-24-2019, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Has anyone used these? Would love to get a couple of opinions before I buy them. Sound intriguing if it isn't just a marketing gimmick.

Dean Markley has had a set out for decades called Blue Steel that make the same claim. I tried them once... nothing noticeably different or special about them and I never bought another set.

atticus1019 · #3 08-24-2019, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim1960

Dean Markley has had a set out for decades called Blue Steel that make the same claim. I tried them once... nothing noticeably different or special about them and I never bought another set.

Seconded ^^^

A local brick and mortar “sponsored” my high school band back in the early 00s and the guy was really pushing these on us. He couldn’t believe I was more into the $5 Martin strings than the magic blue steels he was trying to give us.

kiva238 · #4 08-24-2019, 07:41 AM

I just threw all my new string sets into the freezer. . . .

Really? What's next?

rokdog49 · #5 08-24-2019, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiva238

I just threw all my new string sets into the freezer. . . .

Really? What's next?

Yes but you need to wash them after they get dirty with use too.
Place them in a pan of boiling water to remove all the gunk and contaminants.
I figure with the freezing and cleaning it could be years before you need to buy another set of strings.

Sorry, I couldn't resist and I just don't get it.

Rosewood99 · #6 08-24-2019, 08:00 AM

Sounds like most of you think it's a gimmick. I would love to hear from some who have actually used them.

AuntieDiluvian · #7 08-24-2019, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Sounds like most of you think it's a gimmick. I would love to hear from some who have actually used them.

Strings are cheap. Try a set and see if you like them. Personally, I've been using the same strings for so long that I have little knowledge of what's out there today - but that's because every time I get a new guitar I try several types, then pick what's right for that instrument and stick with it.

JMNSHO, YMMV.

atticus1019 · #8 08-24-2019, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Sounds like most of you think it's a gimmick. I would love to hear from some who have actually used them.

I used the blue steels I was talking about. I don’t think the cryogenic treatment did anything. If memory serves, I stopped using them because they were obnoxiously bright for my taste.

Rosewood99 · #9 08-24-2019, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atticus1019

I used the blue steels I was talking about. I don’t think the cryogenic treatment did anything. If memory serves, I stopped using them because they were obnoxiously bright for my taste.

I didn't think the blue steels were GHS.

Rosewood99 · #10 08-24-2019, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuntieDiluvian

Strings are cheap. Try a set and see if you like them. Personally, I've been using the same strings for so long that I have little knowledge of what's out there today - but that's because every time I get a new guitar I try several types, then pick what's right for that instrument and stick with it.

JMNSHO, YMMV.

I realize that I can buy them but I was still hoping to get some actual user feedback.

vindibona1 · #11 08-24-2019, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atticus1019

I used the blue steels I was talking about. I don’t think the cryogenic treatment did anything. If memory serves, I stopped using them because they were obnoxiously bright for my taste.

In 1998 or so I was in a (blind) study to test the perceived effects of cryogenically treated brass instruments (specifically trumpets). It was tough because I think some instruments responded distinctively and some did not seem to respond at all [kind of like a Tonerite process]. I think what cryo does is brings out the natural character of the vibrating metal, whatever it may be.

After the test I had one of my trumpets cryo'd. It was a Yamaha 9335 with a tunable bell. It was a good instrument, but a little on the bright side. After the cryo two things were noticeable: The horn had a quicker response and was a bit easier to play. But the second thing was that its inherent "bright" sound got snarly bright. I subsequently sold the instrument. I suspect whoever bought it had a darker sound than I do naturally.

TBman · #12 08-24-2019, 08:25 AM

I've used the Blue Steel, nothing remarkable about them. I used them once. It's just marketing to me.

Rosewood99 · #13 08-24-2019, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TBman

I've used the Blue Steel, nothing remarkable about them. I used them once. It's just marketing to me.

Different manufacturer. I'm sure you're right in that it's just marketing but I would still like to hear from those who have used GHS.

Also, this is probably gimmick also: Each single string is sealed in a nitrogen environment, eliminating all oxygen, in a tear-resistant package. Whether you use one string or the whole set, the Nitro Pack guarantees straight from the factory freshness

printer2 · #14 08-24-2019, 08:41 AM

I used to work in a metallurgical test lab, I don't think it would make much of a difference in tone.

zhunter · #15 08-24-2019, 08:42 AM

From a materials perspective, I am going to suggest a >95% probability it is a gimmick for the wire itself. I have to stop before 100% since I haven't laid hands on a set. But I can understand the materials science at play.

Cryo treatment of tool steels is a real thing and has real benefits in terms of dimensional stability and uniformity of mechanical properties. Music wire steel is a different animal from tool steel. The metallurgical features that make cryo treatment beneficial for tool steels are not present in music wire. Subcooling music wire probably won't change a thing.

There is a big, loooong story behind this but probably not one worth telling.

Winding materials contribute in a different way and have even more different metallurgical characteristics.There are several material options and it can get harder of bundle. But two of the most common acoustic winding materials, copper zinc and copper tin, behave basically as copper metallurgically. Keeping in mind this is a generalization and there are minor deviations at the fringes. But overall it means the mechanical properties of these materials are not affected by subcooling.

Which is not to say the shrinkage and expansion that would occur as wound strings are cryo cooled and then returned to ambient wouldn't have an effect on the winding distribution and shape. It could but I don't have any data addressing that. Toss that effect's uncertain impact on sound into that last 5%.

hunter