D’Addario’s Synthetic String Assembly Technology

ABM staff worked to create a new musical string assembly composition and process where no supplier was willing to do the work and the current adhesive supplier was discontinuing their products. The success was so overwhelming that the strings produced were some of the fastest damping in the world. In fact, now the damping could be dialed in with more control than ever before. Furthermore, production rates were so high that production workers maxed out on their production bonuses within weeks of starting the new process. ABM assisted with leading the formulation development, process analysis, design and implementation as well as coordinating product manufacture and supply.

In the early 1970s, the first synthetic violin strings, with a perlon-core, were introduced. The claim was that now you could have a string that sounded like a gut-core string but didn’t have the disadvantages of pitch instability and slow response. These strings use a core of perlon (a type of nylon) wrapped with silver or aluminum. Within a day or two of installing the strings, they stretch out and stabilize. The core isn’t affected by changes in temperature and humidity nearly as much as gut, so these strings stay in tune much better. They also have a quicker response. Since the introduction of synthetic strings, many manufacturers have introduced many new synthetic-core strings using not only perlon, but also high-tech composites such as Kevlar, with each string exhibiting its own particular sound quality.

D’Addario violin strings are available in a wide variety of cores and tensions to suit the discriminating tastes and needs of both the professional player and the student. From the gut core Kaplan Golden Spiral to the dark and powerful sounding Zyex, or from the multi-stranded steel core of Helicore to the solid steel core of Prelude, D’Addario provides string solutions to satisfy the many needs of today’s players.

For more information on their products, look at D’Addario’s corporate web site.