Is it not the case that the majority of strings are now made in the same few plants, since sales volumes per brand do not support individual factories?
Bad batches are more likely than bad brands in that case. |
I believe the term manufacture strings is a misunderstanding.
I dont think any of the companies own steel mills just to make strings.
What they do is buy bulk wire by the ton like this -
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/296904508/Stainless_steel_tie_wire.htmlFrom the major steel manufacturers. Those same steel manufacturers make all kinds of steel products as well as Electrical wire, sheet steel, wire rope, etc.
They get a bulk wire order, melt the steel and manufacturer the wire itself based on the formula the customer requires.
From there some of the string manufacturers have machines to put wraps on the core wires for the heavier gauges.
They also put the ball ends on and cut them to size.
It may go another step when a seller like Elixer gets the wire. They apply their own epoxy coating to the bulk wire.
package it and sell it under their own name. They may not have even wrap the strings, just coated them and added their profit cost.
Others like Optima, gold coat the wire. They likely buy the thin wire for the wrapping and do the electro plating and winding themselves.
The ones I know do their own string wrapping are companies like,
Black Diamond, Labella, GHS, DR, D'Addario, D'Angelico, Ernie Ball,
Fender, Gibson, Roto Sound, Dean Markley Thomas Infeld and a few others.
Some of these have been in business a long time and have thir own string winding
machines.
What changes with them, is they buy from different vendors to keep the cost down and
profits up. Some of them have made horrible choices. I'll never buy Fender or Gibson strings
till they strat using better steel. Mixico just doesnt know jack about milling good wire.
Have you ever heard a Mexican or italian film where the guitars werent in good tune (think Spagetti westerns)
I'm just kidding to some extent, but not really. Last time I strung up with Fender strings the wire was so bad,
It did sound like the guitar in the Good, bad & Ugly.
Companies that only offer a few gauges are almost always branded strings.
They buy the strings pre made and stick their own labels on them.
Wham Bam Thank you mam. They have no spinning lathes to wrap the wire
they just make a bulk wire investment and sell whatever wire they can get
someone else to wrap for them.
Newtone, Snarling Dogs, Dunlop, Darco, Smith, John Pierce,
benedeto, Cleartone, Pyramid are likely all branded strings.
What it comes down to is the quality of the bulk wire and the experience of those who make that wire.
Countries like The US, Germany, Sweeden, Japan and a few others have been making steel for a long time.
Much of it involved wartime steel and auto manufacturing. The best steels made the best weapons.
Japan invented steel I believe and had some of the best steel swords centuries before other countries that were still using
brass and iron. Fender strings made in Japan were much better than strings made in Mexico.
Swiss Knives and German Steel is some dam good steel too. Gibson has/had allot of their hardware and bridges made in germany.
So, stale strings are more likely a bad batch of bulk wire or the enviornment/moisture contamination and corrosion then it is shelf life.
Poor quality Ore is poor quality Ore. If the country of manufacture has low grade iron, its going to produce low grade steel.
Proper temperature, the amount of coke added to the steel, Die maintenence, cooling proceedures, quality of the other alloys they add to the steel
all add up to the quality of the steel.
There may be some electrolytic influences that can happen long term too. Moisture, salts, and different metal
types is the basis of a battery. Shipping strings in a container on a ship can expose them to salt air, the difference in metal types
does the rest. They eat themselves up just being exposed to the elements.
Originally Posted by Mike Eldred, Fender Custom Shop
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