Electric or acoustic strings not made of nickel?

[Mincer]

I have a prospective student with a bad nickel allergy, who always wanted to learn guitar. Any chemists out there know if there are strings (electric or acoustic) without nickel in them? I have heard of steel strings, and coated ones, but some steel is made with nickel, and coating eventually comes off. I would just like to discuss some options with her, if there are any.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Electric or acoustic strings not made of nickel?

Only thing I can think of are Nylon strings

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Electric or acoustic strings not made of nickel?

All Stainless steel is alloyed with chrome and nickel (essentially all plain strings and wrap cores not specifically labeled as "plain steel", GHS Boomers plain strings), regardless of manufacturere and wrap material), and of course nickel plated and "pure nickel) have even more nickel in the wrap.

So if it`s steel and doesn`t rust, it has chrome and nickel in it, and not just trace amounts, generally between 10 and 25% each.

That said, I would expect a certain amount of nickel to be alloyed into even those that do rust, because it`s not cheap construction steel we`re talking about and nickel enhances the magnetic properties.

Many wound nylon strings also have a nickel wrap.....

I probably just made the search even harder, sorry.

Essentially coated strings are the only real option, but expensive, I personally haven`t found any that sound good to my ears, and they would have to be replaced before the coating wears off to preserve the benefit. Nylon is really the safest route here by far, unfortunately, and even they you`ll need to take a good loot at what the packaging /website says..

BTW, "normal" frets are also a Brass-nickel alloy.

Hmmm...... this looks to be an interesting niche for somebody with the right product...

PS: My pre-diploma in chemistry was a lot less helpful than my experience as a welder... chemists don`t often delve into the depths of metallurgy, most don`t even know that stainless steel contains large amounts of nickel and chrome

 

[Mincer]

Re: Electric or acoustic strings not made of nickel?

Zerb, this helps a lot...funny, I sent this question to both Ernie Ball and D'Addario, and they couldn't tell me that their stainless strings had nickel or not- I wonder if it is used as an alloy if she would be less allergic, I don't know. I was also worried about the wound nylon strings...I may have her try the coated ones and start there, but it is interesting to me, none the less.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Electric or acoustic strings not made of nickel?

Well im sure if if someone could come up with a solution to making a guitar string for people allergic to nickel they might be able to make a profit from it if they sound as good or better then regular strings.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Electric or acoustic strings not made of nickel?

Zerb, this helps a lot...funny, I sent this question to both Ernie Ball and D'Addario, and they couldn't tell me that their stainless strings had nickel or not-

ROFL? So any ******bag with 2 weeks of welding theory knows more about stainless steel than people that work with it for a living every day? That is by far the LAST thing I would have expected. Especially since you have to order Stainless by alloy, the basic code being X Cr(x)Ni(x), with the Initial X meaning high alloy steel (whiuch all stainless is by default) and teh (x)s representing the content in %. Take a wild guess what elements Cr and Ni stand for. :chairfall

I wonder if it is used as an alloy if she would be less allergic, I don't know. I was also worried about the wound nylon strings...I may have her try the coated ones and start there, but it is interesting to me, none the less.

That is quite possible, surgical steel for example also contains nickel and you don`t see people regularly going into nickel shock while under the knife....

 

[Mincer]

Re: Electric or acoustic strings not made of nickel?

OK, Ernie Ball clarified to me that their stainless sets are made with no nickel at all. Their plain acoustic strings have no nickel either. I think I will start there.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Electric or acoustic strings not made of nickel?

^^On further reflection, there is a discrepancy between stainless steel and stainless steel, in the sense of european vs US... In Europe, the ferritic Steels such as an X6CR17 or a X105CrMo17 are classified as "high alloy steel", whereas in the US SAE norm they fall under the Stainless steel classification.

I was alerady wondering how a martensitic steel could be magnetic in the first place (true stainless steel isnt), and Wikipedia tipped me to the disconnect

 

[Mincer]

Re: Electric or acoustic strings not made of nickel?

Ahh, my chemistry classes are 22 years old, and the different definitions in different regions made it harder to unravel. I guess I am lucky I don't have that problem then, huh? It does have me thinking about different metals used in guitar making, though. I suppose someone with enough skill and money can use any alloy they want, if it is strong enough.