<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV><DIV>On Apr 27, 2007, at 9:09 AM, Jeff Tanner wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>I'm no physicist. But it just seems like plain wire keeps on and keeps on stretching over the years.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Jeff</DIV></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV>Hi Jeff,</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>On the issue of stabilizing over time (not just responding to humidity change and whatnot), it may have to do, again, with low tension. The tension is causing stretch (whatever the physical/metallurgical explanation might be for it), very slowly, much more slowly than a string at higher tension. You can often get a string to stabilize very quickly by giving it a tuning to, say, 100 cents sharp and leaving it 24 hours or so. Then tune to pitch, and the string will behave pretty much like its neighbors, which might be 50 years old. </DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>So that low tension string just continues to stretch for years and years because it has never had a chance to "get it out of its system" once and for all <G>.<BR><DIV><DIV>Regards,</DIV><DIV>Fred Sturm</DIV><DIV>University of New Mexico</DIV><DIV><A href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</A></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV></DIV><BR></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV></BODY></HTML>