Wound 6th string? Pro vs. Con (E9th)

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 3 Oct 2002 6:45 pm

Bobby Lee said to start a new thread on this subject here, not on a previous posting.
Sooooo--> The pro and cons are?
The wound string may sound slightly better, pull more evenly with the third string,Con: goes dead much faster,increases pedal action and travel (a lot).
What do some of you use and how do you feel about wound vs. unwound. I'm assuming the guages to be either .020 or .022 with either string. Yes, Lloyd uses wound, old Sho-Buds and the P-P Emmons guitars, along with the perminent (solid finger guitars) seem to handel the wound strings well, not so with several newer "all Pull" guitars it seems.
Your opinions and experiences are welcomed and may influence future string manufactures to help give you the product you need.
Bobbe [This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 03 October 2002 at 07:47 PM.][This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 03 October 2002 at 07:51 PM.]

Tony Dingus · Post by **Tony Dingus** » 3 Oct 2002 6:58 pm

Hello Bobbe, I use SIT strings with A GHS Boomer 22W and I can lower it a whole tone.
The Boomer seems to have a little less travel
than other wound strings that I've used and
this is on a "89 JCH". Alot a guys say that the 5th & 6th string sound better together if they are both plain, so that's why I tried the boomer 22w. Bottom line is what each one likes.
Tony

Frank Estes · Post by **Frank Estes** » 3 Oct 2002 7:05 pm

Hey, Bobbe you had us get rid of 3 knees on the E-9 and now you want us to do away with the 6th string!

Gene H. Brown · Post by **Gene H. Brown** » 3 Oct 2002 7:56 pm

Hi Bobbe,
I've been playing for about 40 years now and I feel the same way as you do about sho-buds, I love em, wood neck and all. I have always used 22 wound for the sixth. I have had a couple of Emmons guitars, both PP's and a ZB custom and a Sierra and they did not handle the 22 wound, so I used a 22 plain on those guitars. But my preference will always be a sho-bud, wooden necks and 22 wound for the sixth.

Gene H. Brown

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If You Keep Pickin That Thing, It'll Never Heal!

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 3 Oct 2002 8:09 pm

I use a 022 or 024 wound on my Fessy and a 022P on my push-pull. I don't find that the wound string goes dead much faster. The plain string is much more susceptible to temperature effects and has a bunch of overtones that make it more difficult to tune. If you look at the wound on a strobe tuner, the fundamental is much stronger and I think that contributes to it sounding better. As I mentioned in the other thread, I raise and lower the 6th a full tone and the Fessy handles both without a problem.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro

Bob Lawrence · Post by **Bob Lawrence** » 3 Oct 2002 8:34 pm

I wonder how the MSA Millennium would sound with a wound 6th on E9th. Has anyone tried it?

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Jim Palenscar · Post by **Jim Palenscar** » 3 Oct 2002 9:27 pm

On the advice of Jerry Fessenden I changed from a 22p- 22w and found that my "cabinet drop" (which I was having a tough time with at the time)- was cut in half.

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 3 Oct 2002 11:50 pm

These are all great inputs on the wound 6th string.....as I use a wound 6th on my Fulawka(it's a new guitar)and the travel is Not longer..it's what ever you want it to be.
It rings as long as the rest of the strings...then when they all go dead...I change them. There is not the tuning problems with the wound as there is with the plain. It sounds even better than the plain; cause the non-overtones make it sound/blend better in tune with the other strings next to it. It will lower 2 whole tones on the Fulawka if I wanted that change but choose 1 whole tone; but it will not lower a whole tone on some guitars because of the changer design. Speaking of changer design.....as Jim pointed out....if you use a wound 6th; you will cut down on the drop of the 5th string next to it; as you raise only the "b" pedal...simply because you don't have to put alot of stress on a wound string to raise it as you do for a plain string...so therefore you are not pulling down on the changer axle as hard on the "B" pedal raising a wound string...so now the strings next to it won't go as much flat.....
I see NO cons about a wound 6th string...and I see NO pros about a plain 6th string....and so I'm done babbling.
Ricky

Bob Farlow · Post by **Bob Farlow** » 4 Oct 2002 2:39 am

I have used a wound .022 on my MSA for many years, and I am well pleased with it. I use the GHS BR22, which is what they call a "brite". It is a stainless steel, but all my other wound strings are semi-flat nickel. I lower the sixth string only a half-tone with a left vertical knee lever. I can see where there would be a problem with lowering more than a half-tone.

Joe Smith · Post by **Joe Smith** » 4 Oct 2002 5:07 am

On my Mullen I am using a.020p on my 6th.
I raise the 6th 1 & 1/2 tones and lower it 1 tone. I don't know if I can pull a wound string 1 & 1/2 tones.

I am currently using Cobra Coil strings.

I also find the 6th string to be a little hard to tune becouse of the overtones.

Earl Foote · Post by **Earl Foote** » 4 Oct 2002 5:35 am

I've got the plain sixth string on my push-pull and all pull Emmons. The all pull has the whole tone lower on the RKL and gets there with no problems.

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 4 Oct 2002 6:00 am

I switched to D9th for about 4 months and I
used a wound 024 in the 6th position. It just
seemed too "taut" and I could not adjust to the "feel" of it. I kept putting new strings on there but it was still lifeless.
Last week I came back to E9th and have my 022
plain back. I tried a 022 wound but it reminded me when I was a "kid" and we used to make bows and arrows and we would use a peice of string on the bow. Have you been there?
With the o22 plain now I can play again. There is a brightness/effortless sustain to the plain string that I like and it lasts longer too.
I do not lower that string and I never think about cabinet drop.
It has got to be a personal thing because Lloyd Green just can't be wrong.

Whip Lashaway · Post by **Whip Lashaway** » 4 Oct 2002 6:09 am

Hey Bobbe, I've been using an even tension string setup on my guitars for years. I don't experience the troubles that have been listed. My gauges are 1-F#-.010 2-C#-.013 3-G#-.009 4-E-.011 5-B-.015 6-G#-.018 7-F#-.022W 8-E-.024 9-B-.032 10-G#-.040 11-E-.050 12-B-.070 . I hear some say that the Sierra's have a more mellow tone, but with this setup I get a real good tone. I don't have cabinet drop trouble, it stays in tune, pedals and levers work easy. What do you think?

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Whip Lashaway
Sierra E9/B6 12 string
Sierra E9/B6 14 string
[This message was edited by Whip Lashaway on 04 October 2002 at 07:10 AM.]

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 4 Oct 2002 6:47 am

I drop the 6th a whole tone and a wound string wouldn't work on my LeGrande. I would like to have a wound string but had to settle for a 22 gauge plain.

Erv

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 4 Oct 2002 7:29 am

Erv, if you're only raising the 6th 1/2 tone...you might try a .024w. Sometimes, that's enough to make a difference!

Joe Smith · Post by **Joe Smith** » 4 Oct 2002 8:17 am

OK, I just changed the .020P and replaced it with a .24W. It does sound better to my ear.
I had to move some rods around to get it to work, but it works just fine on my Mullen. I'm still able to get the 1 & 1/2 tone raise with the LKV with no problem.

KENNY KRUPNICK · Post by **KENNY KRUPNICK** » 4 Oct 2002 8:40 am

I use a .020 plain on my Zum,and Sierra. I use a .022 wound on my MSA with wood necks.The .022 with wood neck seems to have a bit more bite where a .020 plain on metal necks is appropriate in my opinion.

Ed Mooney · Post by **Ed Mooney** » 4 Oct 2002 8:46 am

It will be obvious to y'all that I'm a new steel player, but why would you want to lower your G# - F# on the 6th string when its on the 7th string. Is it just for a whole step drop to a unison lick? What are some of the other uses? Ed

Sierra U12

Gary Carriger · Post by **Gary Carriger** » 4 Oct 2002 8:51 am

I play a 27 yr old MSA tuned to D#9th. I use a 24 wound for the 6th. Easier to tune and sounds better to me. Don't notice any greater decline in the strings life, either.

My downsides are finding strings for the tuning - sets are just not available as well as some of the guages I use are hard to find.

Gary

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 4 Oct 2002 8:55 am

....I had no idea whether my 5th string was wound or not...thank goodness it isn't!.... So am I a good player or not? www.genejones.com

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 4 Oct 2002 9:04 am

I like a plain 6th string on my D-12 'cause it gives me six plain and six wound strings on both necks for symmetry.

(I have two chromatics on top of my C6.)

I recently strung my guitar with two sets of the same gauge E9/B6 strings. Just had to add a .034 for the 9th string D and remove the .068 on the E9 side.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 4 Oct 2002 10:26 am

Donny:
Yes, I only do a half to raise on the 6th. I did everything I could but I couldn't make a wound string work. I was getting pretty close but the throw was so long, I finally gave up. Also, that lowering spring was getting stretched out so far that it made my knee lever hard to push.
Erv[This message was edited by Erv Niehaus on 04 October 2002 at 11:33 AM.]

Reece Anderson · Post by **Reece Anderson** » 4 Oct 2002 10:30 am

Based on my experience with a wound 6th string on the Bb6th, (which is the interval relative to that of an E9th 6th string) and including the E9th/B6th Universal and the new Millennium, I find the wound string to be easier to tune, it stabilizes on pitch quicker when either watching the tuner or tuning by ear, it sounds better (fuller and more balanced between plain and wound strings), the guitar plays in better tune, and the longevity of the string is essentially the same.

When taking these advantages (and others previously mentioned) into account, the slightly longer travel is insignificant when compared to the advantages of the wound string.....at least for me.

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 4 Oct 2002 10:36 am

Moved to 'Pedal Steel' section of Forum.