Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

[blueman335]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

How hard a string is to bend depends only on it's tension and flexibility, not wound vs unwound, and besides hardly anyone ever subs a wound of the same gauge as their plain G.
Try replacing a plain 17 with a 17w tuned the same and then see if the wound is harder to bend.

A wound G is thicker than a plain one and requires more tension to be brought up to the same pitch. That makes them harder to bend. Plain G's seem to dominate electric string sets even with the intonation issues; I'm sure bending is a factor in that.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

The wound strings bend much easier with their thinner core.

A good amount of years ago I had tuning stability issues with an axe and I slapped on a fresh set with wound G before a gig of 15 songs. The G stayed in tune well but I can clearly recall the pain of the fretting ring and middle fingers the following morning. Maybe I was using too heavy strings, I can't remember.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

The wound strings bend much easier with their thinner core.

I should clarify that I am not talking about the player bending the string here. I am talking about the string swinging back and forth and not having a sharp, defined "knick" at the nut and saddle. It is a bit rounded out by the stiffness of the string, and that changes the frequency of the low overtones more than the high overtones.

 

[Chad]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

All else equal, a wound string requires less force to bend, but you have to travel further vertically on the fretboard to reach a given pitch. The difference is enough that you can clearly see the extra distance with your eyes. That makes them a pain to bend. I don't like having to push that far. It makes wide bends ridiculous.

Plain strings are more subject to inharmonicity as the the gauge goes up. I like up to about .018". Much past that and it can indeed start sounding like the string is out of tune with itself.

 

[dave74]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

A wound G is thicker than a plain one and requires more tension to be brought up to the same pitch. That makes them harder to bend. Plain G's seem to dominate electric string sets even with the intonation issues; I'm sure bending is a factor in that.

A wound 3rd string isn't thicker than a plain 3rd unless it's gauge # is thicker. People just assume they're harder to bend because they're usually replacing a plain 17 with something like a 24w.
Replace you're plain 17 with a wound 17 and then tell me it's thicker and harder to bend.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

A wound G is thicker than a plain one and requires more tension to be brought up to the same pitch. That makes them harder to bend. Plain G's seem to dominate electric string sets even with the intonation issues; I'm sure bending is a factor in that.

A wound .017 string is thicker than a plain .017 string in the same regard that a 1 pound sack of bricks is heavier than a 1 pound sack of feathers.

In other words: No.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

They don't sell sets like that though, do they? My point of reference is the D'Ad 12s.

12-54: 20 plain
12-52: 24 wound

 

[dave74]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

They don't sell sets like that though, do they? My point of reference is the D'Ad 12s.

12-54: 20 plain
12-52: 24 wound

About every brand and string-outlet sells singles now, so fortunately we're no longer stuck with whatever they give us.
Just make sure to stock-up or buy bulk if offered when you order so that the shipping-fee and/or extra cost of singles is mostly offset.
Customizing is only a big price-hike when you only buy a few sets at a time.

My self-customized go-to sets are;
10, 13, 18w, 28, 38, 50 at Eb
10.5, 14, 20w, 30, 40, 52 at D-standard
11, 15, 22w, 32, 44, 56 at C#-standard
12, 16, 24w, 34, 46, 58 at C-standard

If I was wanting my 3rd to feel "ultra-light" I'd drop the gauge # by another number or two on each of these sets.

 

[Artie]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

Good info guys. I guess my bottom line is to install these on the axe of my choice, and see how it feels, and sounds. I'll do it in the morning.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

I think it is history and tradition. If you like older music, it makes sense to try to use the same gear with the same strings the people used back then. Today, with modern amps, pickups, better setups on guitars, etc, I use what is comfortable, no matter what history says.

 

[Darg1911]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

Just because I was bored ...

Granted, it's a 17 gauge plain versus and 18 gauge wound but it makes the point I think. Forgive the photos and whatever else as I'm holding the bend while watching the tuner to keep it accurate as possible and then taking a photo with a cell phone with my free hand. And I feel like a moron for doing it :bigok:

Plain 17 gauge 3rd string. Full step bend (d-e).



Wound 18 gauge 3rd string. Full step bend (d-e).

 

[Chad]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

Darg1911: yep, that shows exactly what I was describing in post #24. Thanks for doing that!

 

[Artie]

Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.

Just because I was bored ...

I hope you get bored more often. A picture's worth a thousand words. Thanks.