Technical data
| Line | Wiener Melange |
| Supplied as | Set |
| Item number | ST-GS100-SET44 |
Description
Made in Vienna with over 100 years of string-making experience.
Scope of delivery
- Available as a complete set
Sound and physics
The construction of the string (string length, tension, cross section, material properties) keeps its overtones close to the harmonic series; the higher partials lie only fractionally above the exact multiples of the fundamental. In wound strings this is achieved by the composite design of a thin, flexible core with one or more windings of metal ribbon or wire, which puts a lot of mass on the string with little bending stiffness.
A string tuned to the same pitch on the same string length carries proportionally more mass per metre (linear mass density) when it is under higher tension.
Under the bow the travelling kink of the Helmholtz motion (the string sticks to the bow hair and slips back) stays sharp on the flexible string, and the bridge receives a sawtooth force that contains every overtone of the fundamental.
The E string is usually steel today, because gut would be loaded to the limit of its breaking strength in this position. Steel stretches far less than gut when tuned, which is why a steel E is tuned most finely with a fine tuner in the tailpiece. The low G string sounds rounder and fuller than the higher strings; composers therefore ask for whole passages on it (sul G).
With the Thomastik synthetic sets we carry, the longitudinal pull lies between 21.2 kg (Dominant 135) and 23.5 kg (Rondo); angled over the bridge (string angle about 157°), about 8.5 to 9.5 kg of it press the bridge onto the top. Towards the G string the strings sit higher above the fingerboard, because their amplitude grows towards the low strings; the bridge is cut asymmetrically to match.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the lower strings wound?
The winding adds mass to the string without making it stiff. On the same string length a low note at similar tension needs a much higher linear mass density, and the metal of the winding supplies it.
How much does tension change when I tune higher?
From 440 Hz to 442 Hz, as many orchestras tune today, tension rises by about 0.9 per cent, and to 445 Hz by about 2.3 per cent.
Does a fine tuner for loop ends also take ball end strings?
No, our fine tuners are made for loop end strings. For a ball end string you choose a tailpiece or fine tuner that takes a ball, or a string with a removable ball.
