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THE EVOLUTION AND HISTORY OF STRING MAKING AND DESIGN
INTRODUCTION BY DEAN L. FARLEYIt is my great hope that this series of articles will enhance your UNDERSTANDING of how important strings are to the creation of your sound, and how the string's role affects your personal technique or style. Most people don't realize how many FACTORS are involved in the string-design/manufacturing process, and imagine string production as a simple operation.
This article will begin in the modern era and gradually trace the art of string-making back to the 1900's (circa 1910). Strings are the very FIRST part of your "signal path" ( e.g. string, pick, fingers, pickup, cable, amplifier and speakers). You may also assume that there might be a "stomp box" along the way too! Once the string is picked or set in motion, or made to vibrate, sound will be created at the amp's speaker(s). This is where your personal sound via your own picking technique comes into being, and this is where all the MAGIC begins!
You have probably noticed that different brands of strings (of the same gauge), don't feel or sound the same even if they are constructed of the same material. A good example would be nickel- plated steel. Why is this so? There are many different types of strings used for different purposes. Some of these types include nickel-plated steel, stainless steel, various bronze and brass alloys, pure nickel roundwound, flat-wound, and semi-flat-wound. There are other alternative compounds available as well! We will analyze these various types at length as they are all VASTLY different from each other in sound, feel, flexibility and design.
We will discuss recorded musical examples thru-out our rich musical history so you can relate to a particular string type's own sound characteristics where and when they occurred in time. For example, modern strings don't sound anything like the strings that were made and used at the Dawn of Rock "N" Roll. String-making technology was different in those days.
The evolution of string design has changed due to availability of raw materials, advances in the design of string-winding machinery, and the techniques employed in their production. As well as improved process control in raw materials through final production stages.
Just as tube amplifiers were considered the norm in the early days of rock, the strings of that era were likewise viewed as the same.
As we were growing up as kids, our brains were imprinted forever with this sound, but we never psychologically analyzed what exactly it was because we didn't care.....we just DUG IT! I hope that you find this series of articles enjoyable as well as educational. I really plan to dig in and get our fingernails dirty, to say the least!
Among the subjects we will cover are:
A) Why strings of various brands FEEL, SOUND, and PLAY differently from each other and have their own PERSONALITY.
B) How a string's tension factor can affect your personal technique and sound.
C) CORE-TO-WRAP ratios and how they change the feel and tone of the string.
D) Why modern strings don't sound remotely close to the OLDER types of strings.
E) How a guitar's weight and wood density affect the sound of any string type.
F) How you can customize your sound based upon what guitar and amp rig you use versus what string type you choose, and what style of music you play.
G) How a string can physically affect how your hand and forearm really REACT to different tensile-strengths and gauge sizes.
H) Exposing the myth of "A plain string (unwound) is a plain string" and how different steel alloys affect their life, volume, sustain, and bendability.
As you can see, there are many FACTORS involved in the design of a good guitar string, and the afore-mentioned subjects described above are really only the tip of the iceberg! So....with your open minds it is my hope that your playing and sound will become what you really hear in YOUR head. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at any time. I will be glad to brainstorm with you and help you in getting the right sound you desire.
Next month we will begin our journey through the musical annals of time. STAY TUNED!
Copyright 1993 by Dean Farley
Reprinted from "Vintage Guitar" February 1994 issue.