On Jan 4, 2011, at 4:42 PM, Fred Sturm wrote: > But, as a very long-winded thread a while back demonstrated/ > illuminated, the notion that thinner wire is less likely to break > for a given length and pitch is not very accurate. If there are > differences, they are small and unpredictable. Just to amplify the above: As I understand it, after lengthy conversation on this list with the good Herr Nossaman, once you have a string length and target pitch, as long as you use the same material (low-carbon steel wire, for instance), from the point of view of string breakage it doesn't matter what gauge you use. Increase the diameter, and the tension will go up, but the strength of the wire goes up pretty nearly exactly proportionally. Decrease the diameter, and the tension goes down, but the strength goes down pretty nearly exactly proportionally. Bottom line, if an instrument is breaking strings, don't look for the answer in a magic stringing scale. The scale certainly matters, as it affects the overall tension and the tone quality. But to change string breakage, you need to either change pitch (lower from 440 to 415, for instance) or change material (stronger type of brass or steel, or shift from brass to steel). Changing material will also change tone, along with changing string breakage. For these reasons, if you have an instrument that is likely to have a rational scale (made by a reputable maker, not a kit that may have been put together a bit carelessly), you should look elsewhere for the cause of string breakage: corrosion, angles from the nut to the tuning pin, wires crossing on tuning pin wraps, and the like. Regards, Fred Sturm fssturm at unm.edu http://www.createculture.org/profile/FredSturm
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