The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    A question for the clever people here

    We all know that the alloy used for string wrap wire has a significant effect on the acoustic sound of a guitar, but exactly how/why? Would that effect be the same on the electric sound, supposing all alloys had the exact same magnetic properties?

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  3. #2

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    Hardness of the string material bouncing off the frets in the first fraction of a second after plucking affects the amount of high frequencies in the string vibration.

    https://www.gitec-forum-eng.de/wp-co...kel-bronze.pdf

    https://www.gitec-forum-eng.de/wp-co...ng-process.pdf

  4. #3

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    That might explain why strings sound different when new; vibration will cause a certain amount of metal fatigue. Though if that actually alters the hardness...?

    But (this is before having had the time to read the texts linked above):
    - open strings don't bounce off anything and yet have different sounds as a function of their winding alloy
    - does this high frequency content persist? Any nylon in the design (silk&steel, classical strings) will cause the higher frequencies to die out first - and yet again the sound difference remains
    - how much of these high frequencies would be transduced by an electromagnetic pickup?

  5. #4

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    Guessing vibration of different frequencies will resonate or get dampened at different rates depending on the mechanical properties of the string material and it's physical condition. Magnetic properties might not have a big effect on the tone but rather volume, probably not dependent on how fast the string vibrates.

  6. #5

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    Must be something like that, indeed.

    However:
    Quote Originally Posted by burchyk
    Magnetic properties might not have a big effect on the tone but rather volume, probably not dependent on how fast the string vibrates.
    No reason they do, not on the acoustic tone, unless you manage to magnetise them so strongly they interact with the earth's magnetic field

    When I wrote supposing all alloys had the exact same magnetic properties that was to exclude this parameter from the equation for the alloy's effect on electric tone. In other words, suppose 80/20 brass had the same magnetic properties as, say, monel, would brass winding still give a different sound than monel winding does, through a pickup?

    Again, what's the typical frequency range of a PU's response? Does the clean sound from the high E of an electric guitar (often quite thin from what I understand) sound so pure and sweet because the PU filters out the higher frequency content that can make this string sound so shrill, nasal and/or twangy on an acoustic guitar?

  7. #6

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    If you suppose that all alloys have the same magnetic properties, you may as well suppose that all guitars are identical, or that all human beings have identical skin, hair, and eye color. That simply is not possible, so to posit it is illogical.

    Other factors include the diameter of the core, the diameter of the windings, whether the winding is doubled or a single wrap, and many more. Which factor makes what contribution to the sound is something I don't know, and I suspect that the contributions vary in importance from string to string. All I know to do is try lots of strings and see which you prefer on which guitar. To me, different guitars sound better (or worse) with different strings, and I don't know how to predict what I will end up with on any specific guitar. This is a very deep rabbit hole, if you really want to go down it.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    If you suppose that all alloys have the same magnetic properties, you may as well suppose that all guitars are identical, or that all human beings have identical skin, hair, and eye color. That simply is not possible, so to posit it is illogical.
    I know that, but still it is a common academic exercise to assume this kind of thing. Another way of asking the question is "take 2 alloys that have the same magnetic properties, will they sound the same through a pickup"

    Which alloy gives the best sound on which guitar is also not the problem at hand. I know which I prefer, but not why (and even that isn't the actual question I'm asking here).