Argentines not round core??

flip-guitar

I have just removed the wrap wire from an Argentine string and the core seems to be hex not round. I had a luthier and an engineer have a look with a magnifying glass and they both confirmed hex core.

People have talked about the pre-New Concept Argentines sounding and feeling much better, although maybe not lasting as long. Is it possible this is the point they changed from round to hex? If so does anyone know when the new concept strings were introduced?

Interestingly the Savarez website makes no mention of round or hex cores.

Looking forward to opinions on this as the round cores seem to be a big selling point for Argentines.

gypsypicker

Argentine strings are comprised of a round steel core with silver plated copper windings. Most strings today are made with hex cores which provide greater stability but are also stiffer and not as bright as the round core Argentine strings.

Straight from the store page.

LeGitane

Straight from the store page

No, I think what the OP meant was...
Oh, what's the point...
:roll: :roll: :roll:

gypsypicker

LeGitane wrote:

Straight from the store page

No, I think what the OP meant was...
Oh, what's the point...
:roll: :roll: :roll:

The point is clarity

Jazzaferri

I just checked an E string from a set of 11's. There are ssome flats but it is soooo hard to tell under 10x monoscope.

Gonna take it up to one of the school labs this week and put it under a 100 x stereoscope...then i can answer for sure. At first it looked like it but upon removing windings further down it is not so clear, there look to be round parts too....

Bob Holo

Interesting thread... I can't help thinking that it might be hex just at the ends to keep the strings more consistently wound. A few years ago they seemed to be having problems keeping the strings fully wound... dead strings in a lot of new packs... but I can't remember the last time I had a dead Argie and I use a lot more of them than the average bear. Hexing the end might mitigate the unraveling issue while maintaining the playability of a round-core string over the actual playing length. It would be a very clever solution - hats off to them if that's what it turns out to be.

gypsypicker

I know that they flatten the ends of DR round core strings to stop them from unwinding but turning them into a hex sounds expensive and tricky ?

Al Watsky

I pulled apart an A string from a set of 11's today.
They seem to be either tinning the end wrap or putting a drop of cyano on the last inch. When you pull the wrap off its coming away with a residue . I don't have a microscope in my shop, but its a treatment of some sort not hex. The rest of the string is untreated though there are slight indentations which are due , (or so it would seem), to the fact that the strings are pressure wound ,which is common for round core strings.
The copper wrap is soft. So different from a steel string.

Jazzaferri

ACK...that means I have to unwind more of the string ....... what a bore...oh well. Next week gotta go up to the main campus and will drop in to one of the labs and see what can be seen. My microscope disappeared years ago...whether it got legs or is buried in clutter je e sais pas....

100x will tell all

Newtone don't seem to do anything...except tell you not to cut the string until its locked and at tension

Al Watsky

Jazzaferri wrote:

ACK...that means I have to unwind more of the string ....... what a bore...oh well. Next week gotta go up to the main campus and will drop in to one of the labs and see what can be seen. My microscope disappeared years ago...whether it got legs or is buried in clutter je e sais pas....

100x will tell all

Newtone don't seem to do anything...except tell you not to cut the string until its locked and at tension

I'll leave that to you.
I don't plan on needing to reverse engineer the Savarez string.
I'm not in the string business.

Bob Holo

Jazzaferri wrote:

ACK...that means I have to unwind more of the string ....... what a bore...o

hahahahahaha......

You rock, man. Let us know what you find.

-Bob