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September Update 
 September 2014
In This Issue
Marketing, the "Old Way"
Product Highlights
Luthier's Tip: Binding Celluloid
Q & A: Reader's Ask
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Upcoming Luthierie Camps...

F5/F4/H5/H4
 Construction:
       July 26 - 31, 2015

Tap Tuning:
       TBA

Tools & Fixtures
        TBA
 
Please visit our website or email Kali for more information about these programs. 

Dear Luthiers, 

Roger

 

Last month I commented on how Mother Nature is treating us, weather-wise, and I'm wondering if she's angry. It's been pretty hot and blistery here (fortunately, the shop is air conditioned) and we're in a very serious drought condition. And looking at the weather maps around the country it looks like most of you are involved in one kind or another of non-fun weather. The weather phenomena is being recorded in the annual rings of our trees, and luthiers of the future will be able to read about the weather of our day if they carefully study the rapid or slow growth that is left as a permanent record by the springwood and summerwood.
We just completed a wonderful Luthierie Camp attended by two luthiers from North Carolina, one from Tennessee, one from Nebraska, and two from California. One of the luthiers returned for his second Luthierie Camp. The focus and workmanship was amazing as was the flow of great questions and the exchange of ideas. The instrument mix was interesting, too; two luthiers built F4 mandolins, one built an H4 mandola, and three built F5 mandolins. The week is rather intense, moving along at a fairly rapid pace against a well mapped lesson plan but everyone was on their game and we were pretty much right on schedule day after day.

Speaking about being on their game, I'm really excited about our team's involvement. Kali, Amy, Nolan, Rosemary, (Ken was out of state for this Camp), and I were excited about the interaction with everyone, as well as with each other. Maybe it was the group dynamic, maybe it was because we've done so many Camps, maybe it was an outgrowth of what many of you former Campers gave us. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter - it was a great time; thanks to all of you, both former Campers and everyday luthierie friends who help energize us!
Our  Straight Up Strings for mandolin have been met with great success and rave reviews and I'd like to share some comments with you:

"I have your strings on two of my mandolins. These are great. The best they have sounded. And they seemed to really open up and depart a real nice tone."  IP

"I've had my [XXXX] mandolin for four years, play it almost every day, and have tried probably 4 or 5 different kinds of strings on it over that time. I've never heard it sound like this! Thank you!" FE

"Hard to believe you can do something to a piece of wire and make it different from another wire - but you did! Now my banjo picking buddies are wondering when you'll get to them?" NR

"Tried bluegrass to Bach and all of it rang through with bell like clarity. I am one excited mandolin player today!" CR

These and other comments are received here with excitement and joy. The excitement is that the responses from players recognize the rather extensive effort we have put into researching and developing Straight Up Strings. The joy - which puts smiles on all of our faces - is from knowing that we've made a difference in your music and in your playing experiences. Thanks to all who have tried our Straight Up Strings, and thanks to the many of you who have come back for Tri-Paks and Six-Paks.

Oh, one more thing. Heavy gauge Straight Up Strings for mandolin should be arriving on our doorstep by the end of the month. If you are a heavy gauge user, you might want to take advantage of the special pre-release offer below.

Thanks for building with us...


Roger

P.S. As I'm sure you can tell from our website, we've got another very exciting announcement to make soon. Stay tuned!
More about strings...

The announcement and release of our Straight Up Strings has raised a new awareness and stirred quite a bit of interest and questions about strings in general. The emails and calls have centered around a few specific issues, including: the difference between round and hex wires, why our strings intonate so well, how we selected the exact gauges, how do we go about achieving balance, and using our Straight Up Strings with pickups. Each of these are interesting points, and I'd like to share some of that with you.
Round wire vs hex wire
When steel wire was first used for musical strings the wire that was used for both plain and wound strings was round. As I think you know, to produce the bass notes and keep the string tension low, a "wrap wire" is wound around a "core wire" on a machine that resembles a lathe. The loop of the string is placed in a small hook at one end of the machine, the free end is tensioned in a collet at the other end, and the string is spun at high speed as the wrap wire is wound around it from end to end. For years, round wire was used for both the plain strings and the core of the wound strings, but attaching a secure wrap wire to a round core wire has always been problematic because it is difficult to get a tight wrap that will not unravel. I'm not sure of the exact date that hex core wire was announced, but if I remember correctly, it was in the late 1960s. Having a core wire with a hexagonal shape enabled the wrap wire to be tightly drawn against the ridges in the wire, and this provided a tight unravel-free covering.

The National Musical String Company of New Brunswick, NJ, under the leadership of Herbert Hagel, continued to produce banjo and mandolin strings using round core wire in their wound strings. The round core wire actually produces a warmer cleaner tone for several reasons that go beyond the scope of this newsletter.

Because the wire is drawn through small dies that do wear, the hex core wire is not really a true hexagonal shape; it is more often rather irregular (one of the contributing factors to it not sounding as clean as round wire). But it is a necessary evil because of the tight, secure wrap which equates to longer string life and buzz-free strings. The wound strings on our Straight Up Strings are made with hex-core wire.

Intonation
Folks have commented that our Straight Up Strings do intonate well. "Intonation" is the phenomenon of a string changing pitch when its tension increases as a result of it being pulled to the fretboard. Managing true pitch is difficult because thicker strings will change pitch more quickly (when drawn the same distance) than thinner strings. To solve this problem the bridge saddle is notched so that the thicker strings have a longer string-scale length than the thinner strings. (These are called "intonation-corrected" bridge saddles.) Banjo players have straight bridges so it is very typical to see their bridges cocked slightly counterclockwise to lengthen the string scale of the heavier strings.

True intonation was a very important focus for us when selecting the exact gauges for Straight Up Strings. This becomes an especially critical issue when selecting the core and wrap wire combinations for our wound strings.

As a side note, you may notice that our mandolin and mandola bridges have different intonation notches than most other Gibson-copy bridges. This is primarily because we have compensated for the elasticity of today's "mandolin wire" (which is quite different from the elasticity of the wire that was used in 1921 when Gibson received its patent for the adjustable bridge).
Measuring gauges
Some folks have asked us if we're just taking the word of our string manufacturer to determine gauges or if we are actually measuring strings. The question first popped up when we announced our .0115" gauge that we selected for our first string on both our Straight Up Strings medium and heavy sets.

We have measured every string we have tested to five decimal places, and we are spot-checking our production runs. This includes plain strings as well as wound strings.

We also measure the consistency of the flats on our hex core wire. The green micrometer in the photo above is designed for measuring wire and indicates the flats and high spots in hex core wire when we rotate the wire in the micrometer's jaws.
Balancing the sound
In addition to measuring wire gauges, and calculating the best combination of down pressures for the strings depending on where they sit on the bridge, we've followed the guidelines of ISO 226-2003 which speaks to the perception of equal-loudness in humans. Formerly referred to as Fletcher-Munson, this study describes how we do not hear low notes as well as high ones, and how the intensity of low notes or high notes have to be adjusted so that we perceive the entire range of notes equally. It is an important element in balancing mandolins strings so that the open low G string is perceived at a similar intensity to the open high E when played with the same attack.

Using pickups with our strings
Lastly, we've received questions asking if our Straight Up Strings for mandolin will perform on amplified mandolins. The outcome depends a great deal on the type of pickup used as well as how and where it is installed. From the little testing we have done and the responses we have had from musicians who do plug in, the improved balance of Straight Up Strings comes across on their amplified instruments.

We don't have enough data back on this, but I will provide an update as soon as we accumulate more information. We did have one person ask about using our strings on a solid body electric mandolin that had a coil-wound electro-magnetic pickup. Our wound strings are covered in a high quality phosphor-bronze wrap wire. Bronze is a non-ferrous material and does not contain any iron. As a result it has no magnetic properties and cannot excite the field of an electro-magnetic pickup. For all other piezo or acoustic amplification systems, the feedback is all positive.
Product Highlights

As we announced last month, we've got heavy gauge Straight Up Strings for mandolin on the way! Preferred by performers and heavy pickers, you can pick 'em up online (pre-sale), to start shipping the week of October 6 when we return from IBMA's World of Bluegrass.

We'll also have them for sale at our Bluegrass Marketplace booth - along with another exciting new product - at WOB in Raleigh on Thursday, October 2 from 10am - 12pm, so stop by if you'll be there.

Pre-order Part #2500-H. They're $8.95 per set, available in 3-pak ($22.95, save $3.90) and 6-pak ($43.95, save $9.75). Ships starting week of October 6.
  
You've got the tools, fixtures and maybe a mandolin or two under your belt? We've value-priced this master set of drawings for luthiers and serious students of the mandolin and mandola. Learn and build from these full-sized and complete computer-generated drawings. A special 4-Drawing set which includes the DF5, DF4, DA5 and DH5 prints. Order Part #DMS ($120.95 plus P&H).

F5 Mandolin Template Set
Our durable and luminescent plastic templates are laser-cut for ultimate accuracy. This set features the complete template set-up required for an F5 mandolin. You'll receive the body template, peghead, neck contours, neck side profile, and soundboard/backboard scroll peak profile. Order Part #370-KS ($82.45 plus P&H).
Luthier's Tip: Binding Celluloid 

Binding is a critical stage in the construction of the mandolin. It is the step in which the instrument's shape is highlighted and defined. And, the rigid celluloid binding provides an strong and durable edging that protects the instrument from accidental dings and possible damage.

Celluloid is an interesting material that was originally developed by a printer as a replacement for ivory. Early versions of it were made from paper dissolved in acetone. Celluloid bends easily under heat and it glues well to wood with the proper adhesive. At our Luthierie Camps we demonstrate how to bend and shape celluloid binding to fit the contours of the mandolin's fretboard, body, and peghead, and we show how Duco� Cement will soften the glued-side of the binding so that it becomes a rather permanent bond when pressed into the fibers and cells of the wood.

Celluloid melts in acetone as well as Duco, and to join those corners where a seamless connection is desired either acetone or Duco can be used to join the pieces. But some corners - like the body points where the binding comes out to an extreme angle - are a bit tricky to hold together. Using small spring clamps with their tips bent in provides an excellent "pincher" to hold the binding together and squeeze the adjoining surfaces of the softened binding until it dries.

You can also make a celluloid paste by scraping the celluloid binding and dissolving it in a very small glass jar of acetone. Then the paste can be applied as a filler to any open joints. When dried, it becomes a durable part of the surrounding binding. Be careful when using acetone; the vapors are harmless and the acetone is highly flammable.

Check our YouTube channel for a library of instructional videos.
Q & A: Readers Ask

Q: I've read that spruce is used for the head and point blocks in violins. Is there any reason that spruce couldn't be used for headblocks in mandolins instead of hard-to-get mahogany.

A: Yes, blocks in violins are made from spruce, but there is a huge difference in the construction and purpose of the components of these two instruments. Some of these differences relate to structural integrity and others relate to acoustical properties. For example, the mandolin's structure needs to be able to withstand 160 pounds of string tension; the violin only needs to withstand 50 pounds.  The violin is generally a shrill instrument and some damping of its components - such as spruce blocks - is a good thing. The violin is a bowed instrument and sustain is produced by the constant movement of the bow, whereas the mandolin needs a durable structure to promote sustain and reduce damping because it is played with a plectrum.

Have a question? Be sure to send it in and we'll answer it in an upcoming issue. We won't post your name, and chances are, if you have a question, someone else probably needs the same answer!
September Promotion

We'll be throwing these Straight Up Strings case stickers into our bags as we head out to IBMA's World of Bluegrass in Raleigh later this month.

And we'd love to send you one when you pre-order a single pack, 3-pak or 6-pak of our new Straight Up Strings for mandolin, heavy gauge. Enter "sticker" in comments when you pre-order Part #2500-H (shipping week of 10/6).

 
Free
Case Sticker

September Promotion: Free Straight Up Strings case sticker with any 2500-H purchase.

This promotion is not valid with any other offers and does not include sales tax and P&H. Discount valid September 1, 2014 - September 30, 2014.


You must enter sticker in comments when ordering online. Online orders only.
              Offer Valid: September 2014