Schraffed bass strings

[Ron Torrella]

On Sun, 20 Apr 1997, S. Brady" <sbrady@u.washington.edu> wrote:

> Has anyone out there had much experience with the schraffed bass strings
> from Mapes? I just put a set on a lovely Bosendorfer 200, and found that
> at least 4 of the new strings are dead as a doornail. All 4 are in the
> lower bass, which leads me to wonder if perhaps I'm twisting the strings
> too much. I twisted them as I would a normal set of bass strings, ie, 1
> full turn on the bichords and one half turn on the monochords. Do the
> schraffed strings want less twist than normal ones?

I've used schraffed bass strings almost exclusively for the last 5-6
years. I think they have a clearer, brighter sound, but that's just my
ears. As for twisting them, I make no distinction between schraffed or
unschraffed. But I find, too, that how many twists per string can be
variable -- and why not? After all, there are tolerances everywhere. Why
not in the number of twists? It's possible, too, that you got some dud
strings. I'd add a half-twist (make *sure* you're twisting in the correct
direction!) and expect that to tell the story.

Speaking of which: anyone curious to know from where we get the word
"schraff"? Check out the info I've posted at
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~torrella/ptg -- the words schraff and hatch
provide interesting insights!

Ron Torrella, RPT