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June Update and Exciting Announcement
 June 2014
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F5/F4/H5/H4
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       Jul 27-Aug. 1, 2014
       Oct 19-24, 2014

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Dear Luthiers, 

Roger

 

In each monthly newsletter, we do our best to bring you a broad spectrum of luthierie content and product information that will expand your building experience. The goal is to provide rich and meaningful content with the hope that each issue has something for everyone.

But this month, I am very excited about an important announcement and I ask your indulgence to allow me to focus our entire newsletter on one very important topic: strings.

For the five decades that I have been building, I've always believed that the strings are the heart of the instrument. For those of you who have followed my articles and columns, you've heard me say that "it is the strings that provide the energy and frequencies, and the instrument that produces the tone." To this end, the precise interaction between the strings and the instrument is critical, and just how each string interacts with neighboring strings is equally important. Along these lines I've focused on string gauge, string core and wrap wire combinations, and string tension as vital elements of good tone production, but generally speaking, there was little information available about strings to support the needs of luthiers and musicians. Prior to the mid 1980s all we knew were words like "light," "medium," and "heavy" when purchasing strings.

The typical reporting of gauges for wound strings can be misleading because there is more than one way to arrive at a final gauge. For example, a .024" string can be made with a .012" core plus a .006" wrap wire (.012 + .006 + .006 = .024), or a .014" core with a .005" wrap wire (.014 + .005 + .005 = .024) and so on. In each case we end up with a .024" string but the tensions and tonal qualities at the
desired note will be different.

When I became founding editor and technical columnist of Frets Magazine in 1979, I saw an opportunity to explore strings further, and I launched a column in late 1980 called Frets String Clinic in which we evaluated a set of strings in each issue. We double checked the reported diameters of the core and wrap wires, measured the tension at pitch of each string in the set (which the manufacturers didn't provide), played the strings and listened carefully, listened for the string-to-string balance, and commented on just how well each set fit or didn't fit into its stated categories of "light," "medium," and "heavy." We discovered a lot of incongruities and reported on them; the upshot was lots of favorable comments from our readers contrasted with lots of unfavorable and sometimes angered comments from string manufacturers. But I believed in our objective, and we pressed on.

It all came to a head in 1982 at a summit-level meeting in which a dozen string manufacturers were present in which me and my team were able to prove that balancing the loads (tensions) of the strings in guitar, banjo, and mandolin sets was important to good balanced tone. I implored string manufacturers to show string tensions on their packages and for them to better coordinate the gauging categories. My efforts caused a lot of disdain, angered some manufacturers, and raised the eyebrows of a few. But even with rather intense push-back we pressed on with editorial comments and string tests in our Frets String Clinic column.

The upshot is that by mid 1984 all of the major string manufacturers were providing string tension information on their packages and in their catalogs. Manufacturers began to focus on providing string sets in which the tensions of the strings were more similar, and the result was better sounding instruments. It was a very interesting and very difficult turning of the tides. (If you would like to read a detailed story about how this all took place, I've prepared a white paper and you can find it here on as the lead story on Mandolin Cafe this week.)

So, for the past 30 years, string tension - the linear load measured when a string is brought up to pitch - has become commonplace and has given luthiers and musicians a better means to know more about the strings they are selecting.

But this was only part one of a two-part story. Where strings are anchored to a bridge that is driven by the longitudinal (lengthwise) energy of the string, such as on an acoustic steel string guitar, balancing the longitudinal tension of each string in a set is critical for good string-to-string clarity, sustain, and tone. But where the movable bridge is concerned (such as on the mandolin), the soundboard is driven by the lateral (side to side) energy that is transmitted down through the bridge's posts, and this presents a new set of criteria; welcome to part two. 

The heralded adjustable bridge patented by Gibson in 1921 solved the problem of height adjustability but left us with a bridge with the outer E and G string pairs positioned near the posts of the bridge, and the inner A and D string pairs positioned in the center unsupported part of the saddle. While the result is a sound we've become used to, it is an imperfect balance of tone, sustain, and clarity of the string pairs positioned near the posts compared to those sitting near the center of the bridge's saddle.
Stradavari was aware of the problem of routing the energy of the strings through the bridge structure and down to the belly (soundboard) of his violins. In the late 1600s, he designed a violin bridge with strings positioned over openings such that no single string's energy had a direct route to the belly. In his design, the energy of each string was equally modulated through the waist of the bridge. This design has endured the test of time and is seen on every member of the violin family today.
I've written much about the negative attributes of the typical banjo bridge design with three strings position over feet and two strings positioned over arches, and I've demonstrated better results with five-footed and six-footed bridges in which each string was either positioned over a bridge foot or over the bridge's arch.
While focusing on the design of the mandolin bridge to achieve a better routing of the strings' energy to the soundboard, it became obvious that I could take a straight-up approach to the problem, and look at the strings rather than the bridge. Borrowing from my past experience with string loads, I considered the proximity of each string pair to the bridge's post and strove to engineer a set of mandolin strings whose combination of plain and wound gauges were determined by their relative down-pressure loads at a 16� string break angle. With that research done, I shared the information with my team and we developed a set of mandolin strings whose gauges were dictated by the down pressures required for the strings sitting in the center of the bridge's saddle and those sitting near the bridge's post. In essence, we paid little attention to the gauge and focused solely on the down pressure. With prototype string sets in hand, Ken and I strung up several high-level mandolins we have at our disposal and played them for our team to evaluate.

The result was remarkable.

We all commented that the instruments sounded more balanced. One very interesting comment Ken made was "I can hear all the notes of the chord equally as I chop!" Further, I was surprised that the gauges were very different from what I might normally select - especially having an .0115" for the E string - something I would not normally choose. The new balance and tone color is very noticeable. The mandolins that I typically play, that I always perceived to be rather excellent sounding, I now play with greater frequency because I'm driven to play them. I'm hearing things in them I didn't hear before. Our straight-up approach to developing a set of strings proved to be the right path.
Available for PRE-ORDER now. Start shipping 6/16
So, after almost two years of testing and evaluation, I am more than pleased to announce Straight-Up Strings; a set of medium-gauge mandolin strings whose down pressure at the bridge, and relative proximity to the bridge's posts has been normalized. It's a new way of thinking about string gauges, a new way of realizing how strings work on a mandolin bridge, and a new way of hearing your mandolin's voice.

Straight-Up Strings are made to our specifications by a leading string U.S.A string manufacturer, and at the moment, are available in medium gauge (light and heavy gauges will follow). The wound strings have the popular phosphor bronze wrap wire.

Here are the specs of our Straight-Up Strings medium set:
Gauges: E .0115˝, A .016˝, D .024˝, and G .039˝
Down pressures*: E 5.5 lbs, A 4 lbs, D 4 lbs, G 6.5 lbs
Total down pressure at bridge base: 40 lbs*
Wound strings: phosphor bronze.
*Down pressure measured at 16� string break angle.

We've competitively priced them and they are available as single sets, 3-packs, and 6-packs, (the 3- and 6-pack have multi-set price advantages). As an introductory offer this month, Kali and Amy are offering a special "deal," so I hope you take advantage of it.

Also this month, we're going to bring to your attention our string-related tools which include our string-break angle gauge, our string spacing guide, and our V-shaped string-notch files.

Lastly, I would really like to personally hear from you once you try Straight-Up Strings. It is important that I get your feedback and know your honest comments. Please drop me an email once you have tried them.

Thanks for building with us!

Roger

P.S. We head to Grass Valley next week for CBA's annual Father's Day Festival, where we'll be debuting and demonstrating these strings at our booth in the Luthier's Pavillion. Please do stop by!
Product Highlights

This is one of the first diagnostic tools we use when instruments come into the shop for repair. You'll use our Siminoff-exclusive gauge to measure and adjust the string-break angle on your instruments. Our String Break Angle gauge features 14�, 15�, 16� (optimal), and 17� (excessive) edges, with a recess to enable measurement over the bridge saddle.. Order Part #368 ($10.95 plus P&H)
 
Here's another custom template, which we use in mandolin and mandola construction and repair to mark string and pair spacing on nuts and saddles for F5, A5, F4, A1, H5, and H4 instruments. Luminescent 1/8" acrylic plastic, laser cut for ultimate accuracy, 2" x 7.5", includes measurements. Order Part #369 ($10.95 plus P&H).
This handy triangular needle file is useful for cutting "V"-shaped notches in nuts and bridge saddles. Made of hardened steel. Order Part #450 ($6.55 plus P&H).
 
June Deal of the Month:
Free String Break Angle with Purchase of 3-Pack or 6-Pack of
Straight Up Strings  

 
 
When you order a 3-pack ($22.95 ) or 6-pack ($46.95) of our brand new Straight Up Strings with compensated downloads.
 
Be sure to ADD the string break angle to you cart and enter Strings2014 at check-out to receive the free template.
Free String Break Angle Gauge
       

June Promotion: Purchase a 3-pack or 6-pack of Straight Up Strings and we'll send a free String Break Angle Gauge.

This promotion is not valid with any other offers and does not include sales tax and P&H. Promotion valid through June 16, 2014.


You must add the string break angle gauge to your cart AND enter coupon code Strings2014 at checkout to receive the free item.
              Offer Expires June 16, 2014.