What Material is Best for Wrapping Bass Strings?

 

"The relative densities of the wrapping material employed in the manufacture of bass strings have been the subject of considerable study. Brass, which was the earliest object of experiment, has long been superseded by either copper or iron. As to the relative advantages possessed by these two materials, it can be said at once that the chief and almost the only advantage presented by the latter lies in its relative cheapness. Acoustically, however, copper forms by all means the most suitable material for the winding of bass strings, and this for the following reasons : The specific gravity of copper is 8.78, while that of iron is but 7.78. Again, the former metal while inferior in tenacity to the latter, possesses, on the other hand, the great advantage of higher ductility, so that its elastic qualities are very marked. It is thus evident that copper is a more suitable material for the generation of musical sound than is iron and the qualities which we have just noted as pertaining to it are precisely those most useful in the production of harmonic progressions of partial tones. It is, therefore, clear that as between copper and iron all the advantages lie with the former."—Theory and Practice of Pianoforte Building by Samuel Wolfenden.