String & Neck questions

[Oogadee Boogadee]

My set up for reference: KV3, blocked floyd, D'Addario Light Top / Heavy Bottoms (10-56?).

Is there a type/brand of strings out there that have a great pitch change : degree of bend ratio? I love the smooth glossy texture of new strings, but I like how it seems old strings change pitch so easily with bends. Does the molecular structure of the strings change over playing? Basically, do strings get brittle or hard over time b/c of constant bending and vibrating and what not rearranging how their molecules line up?

Basically, I'm looking for a string that, when new, doesn't require me to bend it 2 miles just to raise the pitch 2 steps.

Is it a retarded to desire a neck that doesn't really flex easily? The bowing degree would still be adjustable by the trusrod, the but neck would be stiff enough to not give when I do string bends. I'm not looking for an easy way to play; this is more a question of curiousity... I think it would be great to bend a sustained note, while having notes on other strings not change pitch b/c of a "giving" neck, similar to the floating floyd effect.

Thanks!

[mccullpl]

Re: String & Neck questions

are you sure you have enough tension on the floyd springs? i've never had a fixed bridge guitar that noticeably changed the pitch of a sting if another one was bent....

[metafaza]

Re: String & Neck questions

Ok, when you put on new strings you have to stretch them. If you do that properly, they'll behave just like old strings, but will sound like new. Also, don't keep strings for too long on the guitar, so they won't get to that old-string-sound phase.
I can't imagine, with a blocked Floyd (unless you mean locked at the nut), how while bending one string the pitch of other strings changes. Guitar's neck would never give in enough for that to happen.

[Overlord]

Re: String & Neck questions

I believe that mccullpl nailed your problem. I am going to make a couple of assumptions. 1. Your Floyd is blocked so that it won't pull sharp. 2. You like to change the pitch quite a bit when bending strings.
This is what I believe is happening. When you bend your strings, you are added additional force to the string tension. This pulls the Floyd away from the block causing the other strings to go flat. Try tightening your Floyd Springs, I would recommend 1/4 turn at a time until you are happy with the results. Over doing it could cause other problems down the road. I hope this helps! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Oogadee Boogadee]

Re: String & Neck questions

Thanks for the advice guys.

My floyd won't move. I have it blocked with hardwood I filed down to size, lodged between the metal block and the body, so that the bridge wont tilt flat. The springs are still on, but very loose. My string tension is what keeps teh block in place. Just in case, on the otherside of the floyd metal spring block, I have a bunch of shams in there to ensure that the thing won't go sharp either.

It's not a big deal... It's only a concern when I'm playing open strings to make some kind of chord combo, and during their sustain, i strike and bend a note up to meet a tone within the chord I'm playing. Some of the opens strings go slightly flat. And I mean slightly... like I"m splitting hairs here - probably not even worth worring about.

This doesn't happen on my Peavy strat-clone, which has a beefier neck.

String stretching... all i do is a few 2 step bends on each string. is that enough?

Thanks!

[toejam]

Re: String & Neck questions

Stretch them more... keep bending (even pull the strings up off the board) and then tune back up to pitch as many times as possible until it doesn't go out of tune any longer, then lock down the nut. Your neck should not be flexing at all when doing bends, and no other strings should be moving out of pitch either. I'd say maybe tighten the spring claw a little more, too.