Hex Core Bass Strings

[John Delacour]

At 4:46 pm -0700 4/10/06, Jurgen Goering wrote:

>...More recently, uprights by Schimmel and Steingraeber (today) use 
>hex core bass strings.  Interestingly, Steingraeber grands do not....
>
>So what gives?  Hex core wire costs a lot more than round wire, but 
>perhaps it can still be cheaper to use?  The number of reject 
>strings could be lower because copper grabs onto the hex wire 
>better.  But is that enough of a factor to go hexed?

First of all allow me to kill the nonce word "swedge", which has been 
used by two contributors, before it is added to the list's vocabulary 
of false terms. There is no such word.  The word is swage, swaging 
and refers to the flattening of the core wire at each end of the 
copper cover.

The hexagonal wire used by Ibach and Grotrian (+ Berdux etc.) was 
made by Poehlmann and was of the same superlative quality as their 
round wire, extremely tough and well polished.  I imagine the idea 
came about when one of these makers realized that the same dies could 
be used for wire as was used for drawing nut and bolt stock and that 
this would eliminate the need for flattening and thus reduce the time 
taken by the string-maker.  In those days all strings were made on 
traditional machines.  How long they continued to use this wire I 
don't know, but I'd guess it was just long enough to use up the 
stocks of wire when they decided to revert to round wire.  Some of 
Ibach's bass scales are good, but Grotrian was one of the very worst 
bass scale designers.  I have a photograph somewhere of Ibach's 
string machine shop ca. 1910.

I can't speak for Steingraeber because I don't know their factory, 
but I am familiar with Schimmel's methods and have visited the 
factory (about 15 years ago), seen the string-making facility and 
discussed details with old man Schimmel, an excellent man.  The 
reason Schimmel uses hexagonal wire is that their strings are made by 
semi-skilled operatives on an automatic machine.  The prepared cores 
are simply offered up to the machine and turned out as finished 
strings.  This is production work and a batch of one string will be 
produced before setting the machine for the next.  To use round wire 
and flatteners (swaging tools) would greatly increase the time for 
the job.

>The number of reject strings could be lower because copper grabs 
>onto the hex wire better

There are no reject strings in round wire properly flattened at the 
ends.  You don't need 20 belts and 5 pairs of braces to keep your 
trousers up.  In the mid-19th century before flattening was 
introduced, the core wire was roughened with a file throughout its 
length.  I know of one string-maker who files the wire as well as 
flattening, but it is quite unnecessary.

JD






JD