At 07:08 24/05/02 -0600, pianotech-digest wrote: From: "Tony Caught" <caute@optusnet.com.au> >(corrected question) >My knowledge of winding bass strings is very limited but for some reason I >have thought that the core wire (when the copper wire is wound) should be at >60% of the tension of the string when fitted and tuned to pitch. >True or false. What is the correct tension. As, I've written in my previous message, I use 80 lbf for all strings, which is between 30% and 50%. If I believed it made any difference, I would go for 50% so that the contraction of the string on removal from the machine would equal the extension on fitting, but I know from experience that it doesn't. >Today's strings seem to hang straight but I seem to remember that a new >wound string should in fact be under tension from the winding and should >hang with a curve in it. If the core wire is originally perfectly straight, the tension of the copper will produce a _slight_ 'wiggle' rather than a curve in the wire when it is hung up. A curve in one plane would suggest that a) the wire was not completely straightened (no big deal) and b) that the winding is on the loose side. JD
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