Rotosound Top Tape Monel Flatwound?

[SirGawain]

I can confirm that RotoSound RS200 Top Tape strings are, indeed, made the same way as every other generic flat wound out there. That said, they're jolly affordable here. I haven't tried them since the change from Monel to stainless steel, because the existing old set still sounds great.

I contacted the company directly to get the facts. Jason How, the chairman of RotoSound, responded to my query via his GM, John R Doughty, thus:

"Our RS200 now employ ferritic stainless ribbon. They were made of Monel 400 for many years but due to so many players having nickel allergies we have since changed to Chrome/Iron stainless, with no nickel.

Your confusing is the result of timing on our part between website updates and the age of the packaging. Cardboard boxes go back 5 years when we went over to foil packs. Our apologies for the confusion."

It seems that their sympathy for players with nickel allergies doesn't extend to the entire rest of their range, except for the "British Steels". I suspect the decision was greatly influenced by Monel costing as much as ten-times the price of similar nickel alloys.

[simonbrads]

If you are looking for a more authentic 1950s feel and tone, these are for you. Especially good with p90s.

[HighSpeedSpoon]

I can confirm that RotoSound RS200 Top Tape strings are, indeed, made the same way as every other generic flat wound out there. That said, they're jolly affordable here. I haven't tried them since the change from Monel to stainless steel, because the existing old set still sounds great.

I contacted the company directly to get the facts. Jason How, the chairman of RotoSound, responded to my query via his GM, John R Doughty, thus:

"Our RS200 now employ ferritic stainless ribbon. They were made of Monel 400 for many years but due to so many players having nickel allergies we have since changed to Chrome/Iron stainless, with no nickel.

Your confusing is the result of timing on our part between website updates and the age of the packaging. Cardboard boxes go back 5 years when we went over to foil packs. Our apologies for the confusion."

It seems that their sympathy for players with nickel allergies doesn't extend to the entire rest of their range, except for the "British Steels". I suspect the decision was greatly influenced by Monel costing as much as ten-times the price of similar nickel alloys.

Since it is almost 22 months since SirGawain's post, I thought this update might be in order. The information below is copied and pasted from RotoSound's TopTape web page. Unfortunately, attempting to access the page directly generates a "Wordpress error" in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, but you can get there by hitting "reload page" after receiving the error. Note that no mention is made of stainless, and "Monel" is used three times - twice in the text and once on the packaging. Wikipedia defines "Monel" as an alloy made of "nickel (from 52 to 67%) and copper, with small amounts of iron, manganese, carbon, and silicon". The Mirriam-Webster dictionary's entry for "Monel Metal trademark" defines monel as 67% nickel, 28% copper, and 5% other elements. These definitions are in line with my understanding of "monel".

Had I seen this thread, I might not have bought the RotoSounds a few days ago. I am looking at alternatives because the TI Bensons - which I like for one particular guitar - hit $42.95 USD when I looked a few days ago. As it stands, the RotoSounds cost about $9.00 USD a set, so although I'm a little vexed, I am inclined to ignore the inconsistencies between SirGawain's post and RotoSound's product page, and just see how the RotoSounds play. I've got some other monels in the pipeline too, and I only need one winner.

TOP TAPE


Monel Flatwound

Still the favourite for players of jazz, fusion, slide and studio work alike.
The smooth feel from monel tape offers noiseless fingering yet still allows for an element of upper harmonics to cut through without the twang of a roundwound.

[Hammertone]

Yeah....they are idjits....
A friend and I hoovered out all the Top Tapes from the Canadian distributor a few years back, when the strings still had Monel wire on them. I can't speak for the new "we're lazy, we're liars" version, but the old version sounds and feels a bit different from other flats.
Certainly worth trying for $9.00 set IMO.

[Daddy Dom]

I love these and I'm not a predominantly jazz player (yet). I've used them on a few guitars a number of years now.

According to Rotosound's current webpage there's a lot of talk about monel, so perhaps they've changed the recipe again.
DD

Top Tape Flatwound Electric Guitar | 12-52 • Rotosound Music Strings