Post by Richard on Feb 8, 2005 22:20:09 GMT
I had a chat with Mr Newtone Strings today in pursuit of finding the right, right strings for the Oahu I aquired recently and thought this subject may well be of general interest - and, note I am not (yet!) on commission 
Knowing very little about strings let's start with the basics, as I think I understand them..
With few exceptions the inner core (thats the shiny bit under the bronze winding) of the majority of strings produced today is hexagonal in section and produced by a technique called rolling. The outer winding is then wound (hence the winding name) onto the core and, since the core is hexagonal, the winding is effectively bent to shape as it is wound, thus it stays firmly in place.
Now, the Newtone strings use a different core which is produced by a drawing process rather than rolling. The core is round and not hexagonal and therefore it does not have the inherent ability to anchor itself to the outer winding - hence the warning on the packet not to cut strings to length untill they have been tuned lest the outer winding doth unwind. Got It?
Okeh, you say, but so what?? Answers on a postacard to..
I'll save you the trouble!
When a conventional hexagonal based string is tuned the whole string including the winding is put under tension. Now, the important bit , since the Newtone strings have that round core and the winding is effectively only a casing and not structural, when they are tuned only the core is tensioned as the core is able to move within the winding - ergo (latin) since you are tensioning only the core and not the core plus the winding the force required to tune the string is less, which of course translates into less strain on the guitar and everything else mit repair bills. There, simple
And, to make the point it seems that Martin owners are very keen on round core strings since it allows them to safely use heavier string sizes than Martin suggest.
Whilst on the string subject, I also learnt that the reason strings go "off" is really because during playing they collect all manner of rubbish from ones hands including bits of dead skin, sweat, chip grease, beer slops and anything else in the atmosphere - obviously all that rubbish deadens the string. So that also answers another question, as to why strings on a resonator appear to last longer - because they are usually played with picks and a slide which both help remove contact with the hands and the inherent tranference of string deadening junk.
So, the answer is simple rush out and buy some Newtones - there is a great range including of course, Michaels own National varieties developed specifically for resonators.
Knowing very little about strings let's start with the basics, as I think I understand them..
With few exceptions the inner core (thats the shiny bit under the bronze winding) of the majority of strings produced today is hexagonal in section and produced by a technique called rolling. The outer winding is then wound (hence the winding name) onto the core and, since the core is hexagonal, the winding is effectively bent to shape as it is wound, thus it stays firmly in place.
Now, the Newtone strings use a different core which is produced by a drawing process rather than rolling. The core is round and not hexagonal and therefore it does not have the inherent ability to anchor itself to the outer winding - hence the warning on the packet not to cut strings to length untill they have been tuned lest the outer winding doth unwind. Got It?
Okeh, you say, but so what?? Answers on a postacard to..
I'll save you the trouble!
When a conventional hexagonal based string is tuned the whole string including the winding is put under tension. Now, the important bit , since the Newtone strings have that round core and the winding is effectively only a casing and not structural, when they are tuned only the core is tensioned as the core is able to move within the winding - ergo (latin) since you are tensioning only the core and not the core plus the winding the force required to tune the string is less, which of course translates into less strain on the guitar and everything else mit repair bills. There, simple
And, to make the point it seems that Martin owners are very keen on round core strings since it allows them to safely use heavier string sizes than Martin suggest.
Whilst on the string subject, I also learnt that the reason strings go "off" is really because during playing they collect all manner of rubbish from ones hands including bits of dead skin, sweat, chip grease, beer slops and anything else in the atmosphere - obviously all that rubbish deadens the string. So that also answers another question, as to why strings on a resonator appear to last longer - because they are usually played with picks and a slide which both help remove contact with the hands and the inherent tranference of string deadening junk.
So, the answer is simple rush out and buy some Newtones - there is a great range including of course, Michaels own National varieties developed specifically for resonators.
