Which way were YOUR strings wound?

[foal30]

You know physics. Strings vibrate the opposite way there. That’s why they have to be wound counterclockwise. Can’t argue with physics.

I had to learn to play standing on my head when we toured the Northern Hemisphere

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I play with a pick (I have to; my plucking fingers don't work anymore), and I've notice that certain strings have more "grind" to them than others. Not brands or material... but the direction of the final wrap of wire.

Here's a closeup of my B, E, and A string. The B is wound in the opposite direction, and I can hear the difference with my pick. Why do they do this? Am I the only one who notices?

I’ve never noticed anything that drastically different before. I have seen B-strings where the outer winding looks slightly diagonal compared to the rest of the strings in the set, but I haven’t noticed that it made the B-string sound different from the rest of the set.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Too tight!

 

[JohnnyChatter]

I’ve never noticed which way my strings are strung and now I’m afraid to look at my basses… Why can’t you play with a pick anymore? Just asking out of curiosity.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

I play with a pick (I have to; my plucking fingers don't work anymore), and I've notice that certain strings have more "grind" to them than others. Not brands or material... but the direction of the final wrap of wire.

Here's a closeup of my B, E, and A string. The B is wound in the opposite direction, and I can hear the difference with my pick. Why do they do this? Am I the only one who notices?

Interesting observation but negligible in its impact as the wave OSCILLATES the length of the string the entire cycle.
The vector is always alternating.

 

[BismarckHerring]

Interesting observation but negligible in its impact as the wave OSCILLATES the length of the string the entire cycle.
The vector is always alternating.

True, but it can make a difference in the attack phase because the direction of winding impacts how the pick makes contact with the string. See my earlier post.

An audio example would help, though.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

True, but it can make a difference in the attack phase because the direction of winding impacts how the pick makes contact with the string. See my earlier post.

An audio example would help, though.

That may be true if only using downstrokes…What about the upstroke?

 

[Killing Floor]

I feel a little goofy admitting this but I just looked at a 5 really close. They were all wound the same direction. TI Jazz Rounds.

 

[Spectre Gunner]

Why not simply change to a set of strings that are all wound the same way? There, problem solved.

 

[fretlessman71]

I’ve never noticed which way my strings are strung and now I’m afraid to look at my basses… Why can’t you play with a pick anymore? Just asking out of curiosity.

Did you mean why I can't play with my fingers? MS has affected the right side of my body and my fingers move too slowly to be useful.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

My theory is that since you’re using a pick it is “grating” across the ridges of the b string differently than the rest. You could pluck E,A,D,G north to south and B south to north to see if that fixes the percussive difference.

That’s only if your don’t double pick.

 

[Rabidhamster]

Write a song that makes use of the unusual difference so you’ll be able to miss it when it’s gone.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

Write a song that makes use of the unusual difference so you’ll be able to miss it when it’s gone.

And put the accent on the ‘and’.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I'm hoping that someone with ask S.I.T. and they'll say it's deliberate, exactly to produce this effect on the outer strings

 

[Rabidhamster]

I couldn’t remember seeing that before but still had to go check - not present on this set of stainless DAddarios

 

[fretlessman71]

Here's a pic of a bass string showing windings:
View attachment 5078085

In this case the first and second windings go the same way around the core, but the outer winding goes the opposite direction. Different manufacturers do it differently - some alternate widing direction for each layer. And the number of layers varies from brand to brand, model to model. And it may be that the maker of your strings needed to add another layer of wrap for the B string and did it reverse to the others. Very common.

I think this is the answer to the mystery. My G and B have an odd number of wraps, and my D, A, and E have an even number. Some companies are as anal as me, and know that if a string requires an odd number of wraps, the beginning the first wrap going the opposite way creates a final wrap going in the same direction as strings with even numbers of wraps. I expect D'Addario to be a company that knows this and acts accordingly, with as many strings as they make.

I also think that I have a better understanding of what DR does when they talk about the "Tite-Fit" method; all wraps go in the same direction so that each wrap fits into the groove created by the previous wrap. Tighter string, more mass, smaller gauge

 

[Ricky Rioli]

My G and B have an odd number of wraps, and my D, A, and E have an even number.

Don't E strings have an odd number of wraps?

 

[fretlessman71]

Don't E strings have an odd number of wraps?

I like 'em skinny, like .095. So maybe mine don't?

 

[ThudThudThud]

That B is for lefthanders

Don't whip up the outrage in the lefties. They're already upset about how few basses are available to them, now they'll want their own strings.

 

[GIBrat51]

I play with a pick (I have to; my plucking fingers don't work anymore), and I've notice that certain strings have more "grind" to them than others. Not brands or material... but the direction of the final wrap of wire.

Here's a closeup of my B, E, and A string. The B is wound in the opposite direction, and I can hear the difference with my pick. Why do they do this? Am I the only one who notices?

Aanndd, here's yet another reason why this lefty strings all his basses with flats...