Shape of a string

[Flyboyandy]

If a string were any other shape than round, would it work?

 

[2thAche]

IMO it would be difficult to have a string with a shape stay straight. They'd want to twist unless you had lockers at both ends. TBH would be interesting to hear if it made a difference with tone though... square vs oval. Triangular would probably suck on your fingers.

 

[iiipopes]

Some decades ago a company marketed elliptical guitar strings. I don't recall the name. Supposed to be easier on the fingers. Nice experiment. Gone in a flash, probably for the reasons stated above: you can't get a string to wind and lay flat, since it will want to twist. And let's just let the nut complications go. There is a company called Apex which has what they call elliptical guitar strings, but it is the windings that are elliptical and wound edgewise around a conventional core. Of course, that retains the circular overall cross section of the string.

 

[michael_t]

String type mystery