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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on April 3, 2017 at 3:32am

My personal observation is that plains of the same gauge as a wound, at the same note, feel quite a lot stiffer. I also find that heavy plains under lot of tension sound quite dead, and don't seem to sustain as well as the equivalent wound string. Maybe that's just my perception, but there's no arguing with the physics of the actual tensions exerted.  From the  d'Addario tension charts (I use d'Addarios a lot, but not exclusively) the figures are 32.8 lbs for a wound .026 , and 38.7 lbs  for a plain .026. These figures are for a 25 1/2 inch scale, nickel wounds.

This is nearly 20% more tension for a plain string, so you can expect to feel that difference quite clearly..which may be a good or bad thing, depending on what you are looking for.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on April 3, 2017 at 8:18am

Thanks ChickenBone, Wayfinder.

I was thinking of the plain string mainly for slide playing.

I was able to go over to www.StringTensionPro.com and play around with strings. I started with the A'ddario Phospor Bronze acoustic light set which has a 0.024" wound G string. At a scale of 25.5 it is listed to have 30.06 lbs of tension. Using their on line app, I was able to swap out the wound 0.024 for a High Carbon Steel 0.024 plain string. The tension calculation for this was 33.04 lbs. that's about a 10% increase in tension going from the wound to the plain. I don't think that gets into the "scary" tight range, so I may give it a test to see how it sounds and how it affects slide noise.

I'll pass along the findings when I get some strings.

Thanks for the help.

BTW, that StringTensionPro web site is amazing for doing "What if" kind of things.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on April 3, 2017 at 9:40am

http://www.daddario.com/upload/tension_chart_13934.pdf

I found this. You might find what your looking for in all that.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on April 3, 2017 at 10:06am

Thanks, Paul.

I had found that chart, but it is a bear to read. Maybe my screen just can handle it.

I think the String Tension Pro web site is close to what I need.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on April 3, 2017 at 10:47am

Information overload. It was a bit much. LOL

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on April 4, 2017 at 12:22am

I know have a reason for forgetting dates that are important to my wife. It's all because of the computer age.

How do you do your fish scale measurements? is it just a matter of tuning the string on your guitar then measuring tension with, say, one inch of string deflection?

Anyway, I found that the StringTensionPro.com side provides the information that I needed. The three lb difference between a wound 24 and a plain 24 is quite acceptable.

Now I need strings so I can see how it sounds and feels.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on April 4, 2017 at 3:01am

Archery scale makes perfect sense.

I've tried a ton of different string brands and (although it is subjective) I've found D'Addario strings to sound good and last a long time. I recently sprung for a set of their EXP coated strings. They are supposed to last four time as long as regular un-coated. They certainly sound good. We'll see about longevity.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 4, 2017 at 3:51am

I currently use either D'Addario EXPs, or Elixirs, on my commercial gits almost exclusivly. They do last. For months. That's playing them, hard, 3-4 times per week. Then again, I only change 'em when I snap my G string...

So to speak.

Yes, they're more expensive. I wouldn't recommend them for a 3- or 4-string CBG, just because of that. Which doesn't mean I haven't tried them. My Swampy has EXPs on it. I also wouldn't recommend the coated strings for slide use; you'll wear the coating off very quickly.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on April 4, 2017 at 6:24am

Thanks for the review. I hadn't considered the effect of slide play on a coated string.

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