FEATURE > STRINGS
“The concept came from an article in
Popular Mechanics decades ago about how
drill-bit, tool, and die manufacturers were
cryogenically freezing their products to
maintain their sharp edges, thus increasing
the lifespan,” says public relations represen-
tative Josh Vittek. “A sidebar to that article
mentioned a violinist doing the same to her
strings to extend the life and performance.
From there, the idea was born.”
Frozen strings are just one of the myr-
iad considerations that manufacturers use
to improve and differentiate their prod-
ucts. Indeed, the massive variety of options
can be daunting, especially to beginners.
With all the different gauges, materials,
marketing tactics, packaging consider-
ations, and swag offers, the “string wall” at
your local retailer—that mecca of spooled
wire and prophylactic-like packaging
behind the counter—can be intimidating
and overwhelming enough as to be more
akin to a wailing wall.
“It’s like the toothpaste aisle,” says John
Biggs, a tech journalist and hobbyist guitar player. “Intellectually, I know there’re
BEHIND THE BULLET
Most steel strings are constructed with a brass ball end attached to the string using winds of its core wire.
In the early ’70s, unhappy with how ball-end strings would
shift inside a Stratocaster trem block—and thus cause tuning
problems when players worked their wang bars—engineers
at Fender developed the Super Bullet string. These have a
cylindrical piece of brass clamped directly onto the string
(left). As shown in the trem cross-section, the “bullet” sits snuggly in the string channel, reducing movement and improving transfer of string vibration to the bridge.
different ingredients and formulas in the
tubes. One’s for whitening, one’s for cav-
ity control … but on an emotional level,
I stand there and wonder if there is really
any difference at all.”
No doubt similar reasoning guides many
guitarists to just stick with whatever brand
of strings accompanied their guitar, what-
ever their favorite player uses, or whatever
happens to be on sale. For many, that initial
strumming in the guitar store establishes a
sort of template in the musician’s mind for
what the instrument should sound like.
Tim McNair, general manager of
Martin’s string division, relates the story of
a collector who purchased a new Martin
and then contacted the factory about getting additional strings. “I sent him our
Clapton’s Choice strings,” says McNair.
“He calls me up a couple of days later
after he got the strings and he says, ‘You
broke my guitar. This is not the guitar I
bought.’ I explained that, no, those are
not the strings that came on the guitar in
the dealership. So I sent him [a set of] the
4100s we had on that guitar at the time,
114 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2012
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