Hemp strings?

[Tommy el Gato]

The thought crossed my mind because hemp is often a substitute for nylon in industrial use and nylon is often a gut substitute with stringed instruments (granted, there are distinct differences, but that's not the point). So I was wondering what kind of explorations have happened with regard to hemp strings.

I read somewhere that hemp twine is too coarse for use on stringed instruments, but it seems to me that should be a simple problem to fix just by coating or laminating the string or even just using hemp twine as a core with a chromesteel wrapping (or something like that).

Thoughts?

[tstone]

Let the "high" notes jokes begin.

[spoonido]

Gad! You beat me to it!

[moles]

Hahaha - the bluegrassers I play with would love that...

[Marcus Johnson]

Jokes aside....that's an interesting question. Surely someone must have string up an instrument with hemp fibers at some point.

[punkozuna]

All it takes is a trip to the hardware store to get started.

[AcidFripp]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Jokes aside....that's an interesting question. Surely someone must have string up an instrument with hemp fibers at some point.

Oh, sure, of course. But the fact that they're not widely used now means that they're not as effective as metal.

But then again, I am only talking speculatively.
Why don't you try it?

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by Tommy el Gato

I read somewhere that hemp twine is too coarse for use on stringed instruments, but it seems to me that should be a simple problem to fix just by coating or laminating the string or even just using hemp twine as a core with a chromesteel wrapping (or something like that).

Thoughts?

I don't know much about hemp's properties, but sheep gut is coarsely textured too, until it's processed. It's twisted (yeah, I know "twist one"... I can hear it coming ) into a multistrand rope, and then buffed and polished, and varnished in some cases. The finish on my gut strings is very smooth. So I wonder if the same thing could be accomplished with hemp.

The rest of ya'll... get yer hemp jokes outta the way now. I thought of them all before you did. I'm a frickin' jazz bassist, for chrissakes...

[BeowulfKingsley]

Well, yeah, Jazz Bassists and all...

[donn]

Originally Posted by punkozuna

All it takes is a trip to the hardware store to get started.

When I got my bass, the G string was a length of "curtain cord" - braided nylon or polyester or something around an unbraided core if I remember right. I would guess that's more suitable than hemp - more elastic, more uniform. longer fibers etc. (The other strings were gut - "Red-O-Rays" possibly - but it was so long ago that I don't really remember how well it worked, so for those thinking about a gut E/A/D with curtain cord G, you'll just have to try it yourselves.)

[spoonido]

With hemp strings, it would be you wacking the weed.

[AcidFripp]

The fact that this thread hasn't completely devolved into hemp jokes says something about our sommunity.

[A. Munk]

I remember an interview with pops foster where he talked about using laundry line or whatever he could get.

[iiipopes]

Actually, the commercially grown hemp has practically zero THC. So there's nothing there to joke about. Hemp might have the requisite tensile strength, but getting it in suitable diameters with a smooth finish might be a problem.

[MR PC]

Well, washtub bass comes to mind.......thinking along those lines, the best sounding tubs usually use wound metal, often borrowed from the aircraft or automotive industry (clutch cable) or a DB string......though the old time tubs you hear on pre WWII recordings surely used hemp rope, since that was what was widely available at the time. I've seen it used on WWII surplus equipment cases as tightly woven strapping material, and it's still holding up well today. If anyone comes up with a formula for hemp based strings that works, it will be very popular.........

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by Tommy el Gato

The thought crossed my mind because hemp is often a substitute for nylon in industrial use and nylon is often a gut substitute with stringed instruments (granted, there are distinct differences, but that's not the point). So I was wondering what kind of explorations have happened with regard to hemp strings.

I read somewhere that hemp twine is too coarse for use on stringed instruments, but it seems to me that should be a simple problem to fix just by coating or laminating the string or even just using hemp twine as a core with a chromesteel wrapping (or something like that).

Thoughts?

Thanks for this - the thread title made me laugh out loud!

[kurt]

You know that someone, somewhere, eventually would try to smoke them........

[Michael Eisenman]

You could take a little puff every time you flick your Bic to burn off a stray hair.

[MR PC]

I wonder what kind of industrial chemicals you'd be inhaling that way......

[Michael Eisenman]

Well, here's another market for organic hemp.