Stephen, Thank you for the info. I have many questions regarding bass strings. Glad to find someone who is making them. I know that many share your view that hex core doesn't give good tone. I can't say that I have enough experience to notice. Now, do you have any idea why that is true if it is? Could the process (whatever it is) affect tone? Could the scaling formulas be wrong for hex wire? Is the tension or inharmonicity different and why? I just can't put my finger on any logical reason that hex core would sound different than plain wire. Could it be that they just take round wire and run it thru a die and then don't anneal it or use some other process to finish it? I'm really curious. I routinely use wound strings above the bass break for two to six notes. I usually convert those notes from trichords to bichords. Many pianos have low tension and high inharmonicity at those notes and if you can smooth out those curves, the piano should be more musical since that area is where the left hand plays and it will blend in with the notes up a couple of octaves where the right hand plays. It has been difficult to get strings made accurately (at a decent price) when the exposed core is the most critical measurement. That's the measurement that is hard to get. It is usually necessary to increase the exposed core at this area to increase the inharmonicity to fit the curve. So now, If I wind some strings with hex core and intentionally make the windings a bit long on each end, I can remove some winding after the string is up to pitch to get the exact exposed core I want. A quarter inch change in exposed core makes a big change in inharmonicity, but little change in tension. This increase in exposed core is necessary since copper is not available in infinitely small sizes (you couldn't handle it anyway) Soooooooo, what about aluminum wrap? If the shape of the wire affects tone, would the aluminum wrap sound good, bad or ugly just because it's aluminum? I wish I knew. Since you make bass strings, I wonder if you'd share some information. What is the desired tension of the core wire during winding and does it depend on size? What is the effect if the tension is too high or too low? What is the desired tension of the wrap wire during winding and I assume this would vary greatly with size. I think I have a chart somewhere that lists the tensions for winding coils for electronic components. I've watched bass strings being made and I'm surprised that a leather gloved hand is the only calibration used. Oh, well! Let's hope the winder doesn't have a hangover when he makes my strings. One more question. Where do I find aluminum wire and does it need to be a particular alloy? Again thanks a lot for your response. Sorry to get so carried away. Regards Carl Meyer Santa Clara, Ca. > [Original Message] > From: Stephen Powell <pianotec@ihug.co.nz> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org> > Date: 9/22/00 4:16:27 PM > Subject: Re: Hex Roslau wire? > > > > > >I've looked and looked for a source of hex wire to make my own small bass > >strings to no avail. > >I'd like to know where it is available. > > > >Carl Meyer > > Hex wire is available from Renner and Jahn, both in Germany. As a bass > string maker, I don't use it as I've attributed (perhaps incorrectly) poor > tone to it. This in both individual universal strings (yuk! - I don't use > them anymore) and some pianos that have the entire bass wound using hex > cores. > > Regards, > > Stephen Powell, RPT > Auckland, NZ > > > --- Carl W. Meyer, Santa Clara, Ca. --- cmpiano@earthlink.net
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