bass string twisting

[Russell Brown]

                      Subject:                              Time:  11:42 AM
  OFFICE MEMO         bass string twisting                  Date:  12/6/95

For several years, I, too, felt there should be some correct procedure and
rule for twisting or not twisting and how much to twist and which
manufacturers don't twist or do twist, until I realized that my entire
approach to the problem was itself twisted.  (how much, though, is hard to
say!). Instead of waiting to "learn" "the" "definitive" method I decided to
trust my own skills as a technician.  What I have come up with is the same as
Ken Sloane's report.
 After installing the string with 2 1/2 coils, I prefer to twist at the hitch
pins with the bass string twisting tool.  This way I FEEL the amount of
tension in the string.  When I stop twisting is hard to describe, but
uniformity of tension throughout the scale helps to give an indication.  The
result is that 1/2 - 1 revolution in the lower bass and 2 1/2 - 3 revolutions
in the thin bass is what I end up with.  When I am done, I LISTEN to the
results and, as Ken, adjust individual strings.  On 1 bichord it is possible
(or even  needed) to have even a 1 1/2 difference in twist to achieve tonal
uniformity.

The best approach is to experiment for yourself and you will find the results
and methods that you are searching for.

Russell Brown RPT
Univ. of California, Santa Cruz