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Cryogenic Strings

#2
Interesting article. I'm not sure that Cryo Strings are the answer to the question. In fact, I'm not even sure of the question!
With the plethora of string brands, types, gauges, and such, this might be a solution to a problem that really doesn't exist, except in the manufacturer's mind.
Extra cost for extra playability, or less cost with more frequent changes.... I don't know.

Personally speaking, at this stage in my life, and gigging as we do, I'm pretty happy with the strings I've been using.

Just my 2¢, and not meant to speak for anyone else. To each his own.
 
#3
TechDeath said:
I came across this article

http://www.professorstring.com/archives/frozen_guitar_strings.php

Never heard of anyone using these.
Anyone tried em?
Click to expand...

Sure, Dean Markley Blue Steels have been around for almost 20 years now. I trade off between these and DR Hi-Beams. The Blue Steel strings sound great and do last longer than the DR strings, but I prefer the sound an feel of the DR's. During my summer outdoors gigging season ( I live in Wisconsin and that's the only gigging between June and October), I switch to D'Addario stainless steels, because they are much cheaper to have to replace every other gig. I have also used their Blue Steels on my Gibson Explorer guitars and like them quite a bit, but again while they stay brighter longer and last a little longer, the increase in tone and life span don't equate well with a busy outdoor gig schedule but more towards our indoor fall/winter season. The humidity just wrecks good strings in the warm months something fierce!
 
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#5
At first whiff it smells of snake oil... Aren't most bass strings made from music wire grade steels? If so, they shouldn't be sufficiently alloyed to even retain a significant amount of austenite after quench from austenitization temp (the metallurgical crux of cryo treatment is to remove this from heat treated steels in cases where it's not beneficial)...

I may be mistaken, but I was under the impression that most bass string material was always drawn and stress relieved, not quenched/tempered? Any string manufacturers want to chime in?
 
#6
I have been using markley blue steels for 15 years now, great strings , do not seem to deaden up as quickly and I have never broken one , i have broken D strings on D'Dario and boomers before
 
#8
mmbongo said:
Man back in the 90's, EVERYBODY used Blue Steels!
Click to expand...

Yup, they were the string of choice back when I was still playing metal. Great tone & long life. Had to be careful though as they could rip the callouses right off your finger tips.

IMO/IME If you like a bright top end with a lot of bite, they are worth a try. They sound narley with a pick as well.
 
#9
browncoat42 said:
At first whiff it smells of snake oil... Aren't most bass strings made from music wire grade steels? If so, they shouldn't be sufficiently alloyed to even retain a significant amount of austenite after quench from austenitization temp (the metallurgical crux of cryo treatment is to remove this from heat treated steels in cases where it's not beneficial)...

I may be mistaken, but I was under the impression that most bass string material was always drawn and stress relieved, not quenched/tempered? Any string manufacturers want to chime in?
Click to expand...

The story goes that freezing the string changes it at the molecular level, and causes the metal to respond with the longer life and brighter tone. I do get that from the Blue Steels, but I feel the DR Hi-Beams give me a different but equally bright tone. If having a brighter more piano string tone isn't your thing, possibly these aren't for everyone. I like them, but I'd still rather play the DR strings. But when they first hit the streets many moons ago, they took the average round wound guy to a different place than just grabbing the old trusty set of RS66.

I don't think it's snake oil at all. But I still like to judge each innovation in our industry (even though this innovation is 20 years old) for its own merit. They are more expensive than a set of RS66's, but well worth the $22-25 I spend on the four string sets.
 
#10
Keithwah said:
The story goes that freezing the string changes it at the molecular level, and causes the metal to respond with the longer life and brighter tone. I do get that from the Blue Steels, but I feel the DR Hi-Beams give me a different but equally bright tone. If having a brighter more piano string tone isn't your thing, possibly these aren't for everyone. I like them, but I'd still rather play the DR strings. But when they first hit the streets many moons ago, they took the average round wound guy to a different place than just grabbing the old trusty set of RS66.

I don't think it's snake oil at all. But I still like to judge each innovation in our industry (even though this innovation is 20 years old) for its own merit. They are more expensive than a set of RS66's, but well worth the $22-25 I spend on the four string sets.
Click to expand...

Roger that, I get that they sound great and hit on a lot of what is important sound-wise to bassists. I'm curious to give them a spin myself, as they sound like they'd be up my alley.

The issue I take with them that cryo treatment would do near as makes no difference nothing to the microstructure of the steel used to make these strings if I understand their processing correctly. From what I've read since posting, the cryo treatment is being done on strings post draw and stress relieve. Retained austenite as a microstructure isn't terribly happy @ room temp (metastable) and happily transforms if strain (draw) or high temps (stress relieve) are applied. So the thing they claim to accomplish via cryo treatment has already been accomplished in the processing leading up to it. It's a nearly non-value add operation (unless you count the fact that you can now use the cool - read marketable - word cryo on your packaging).

Again - I'm not knocking the strings, sounds like they have a lot of happy customers. I'm questioning the validity of the claims RE: effectiveness of cryo treating in noticably changing the microstructure of the steel in such a way as to yield a performance difference (as a metallurgist by trade if you couldn't already tell). I'm by no means claiming to be a subject matter expert in music wire/spring steels - I was hoping someone who was would chime in and enlighten me. Professional curiosity and a touch of cynicism :)
 
#11
I don't know if the claims are true, but I don't really care. All I know is that I really like DM Blue Steels, however the sound, feel, and longevity is achieved is largely irrelevant. Whatever they are doing to the strings seems to work, IMO.
 
#12
If memory serves me correctly, the whole idea of using cryogenics in the string industry started due to the success of cryogenics in other industries. Auto parts, tools, brass musical instruments, etc. had already had taken advantage of this technology claiming longer lasting products. Supposedly, the first musical string use of cryogenic processing was with piano strings and the person that did it claimed that the strings stayed in better tune than the untreated strings. Here's a little snippet of this history:

Cryogenics, the science of treating materials by exposing them to extremely
low temperatures, is not new. The process was first applied as a
metallurgical treatment by a machine tool company in Michigan. The theory at
that time was that by cryogenically treating tool steel, the stresses
inherent in the metal would be relieved. This would reduce wear and extend
the life of machine tools. The process was found to increase the life of the
tool by two to five times.

In 1985, a company in Massachusetts that specialized in cryogenics treated a
set of piano strings for a friend of their Vice-President as a kind of
experiment. Since the piano was played every day, it provided an excellent
opportunity for testing the process.

The cryogenically-treated strings were installed in the piano and the
technicians in the company moved on to other projects, completely forgetting
about the Vice-President's friend. After about 2-1/2 years the owner of the
piano contacted the company and informed them that the piano had not required
tuning during the entire period, while normally it would require tuning every
six months! This was the beginning of cryogenically-treated musical strings.

With all this said, I've had plenty of experience with stainless steel Dean Markley Blue Steel. They were all I used from about 1992 until 1996 on my Fender Precision (Boner) Plus. I can't comment on if they were *cryogenically improved* being that at that time, the only other stainless rounds I had used were Rotosound Swing Bass. I liked the Blue Steels for what I was doing at the time though I will say that they seem as abrasive as Rotosound Swing Bass and ate the frets pretty bad. The DR stainless varieties and even the D'Addario ProSteels that I've dabbled with here and there seem less abrasive that the Blue Steels or Rotosound Swing Bass and I've never had problems with non cryogenic strings holding tunings, being less stable, etc. Here's and interesting link of a company that does a lot with cryogenic treatment:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 

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