That same building houses both the mill and D’Addario’s drumhead factory, where 8,000 drumheads a day are produced. For example, we saw a string in which seven spools of very fine steel strands were being woven. D'Addario Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings_{.010-.050_Light Gauge}85/15 FULL BRIGHT TONE_Stainless Steel Material by D'Addario. This poses a serious threat to our brand equity and our loyal customers. Ever wonder how the strings of your favorite instruments are made? The history of the D’Addario family business starts in the Abruzzo region of Italy around the 1860s, said Mr. D’Addario. Three photos on left: steel strings; strings being coiled to be packaged; and strings prepared for bulk shipments. Here is how Fan explains it: Very interesting, Laurie. Made in the USA by D’Addario. The D'Addario family tradition began in the tiny town of Salle, Italy in 1680 where they made assorted instrument strings for over two hundred years before relocating to New York in 1905. This is the original acoustic string alloy selected by John D'Addario Sr. and John D'Angelico in the 1930's and is a popular choice for recording due to its crisp, deep and projecting tone. This explains why traditional strings were made with animal gut -- it has high damping qualities. String-making in the D'Addario family has been traced to Abruzzi in Italy in the 1600s, when a Donato D'Addario listed his occupation as "cordaro," or string-maker, in his child's baptismal document, according to a book about the company's beginnings. Double Bass String: Set of Strings, E String, A String, D String, G String, B5 String (Low), C String (High) Double Bass Tuning: Orchestra (G-D-A-E) Manufacturer: D'Addario. D’Addario Acoustic Guitar and Bass Strings. Good ukulele strings, and a bit more expensive ones, are also made by extruding the nylon polymer, but are then ground precisely in order … Of course, the physics can't teach you muscle control, but it can tell you a lot about sounding point and bow speed. His favorites — the NYXL 11-46 — “really do last longer and sound better than the standard XL strings,” he said. D’Addario is one of the largest manufacturers of music strings in the world; they are a family owned business based in Farmingdale, Long Island in New York. For some local musicians, being one of the 820 or so employees at the Farmingdale headquarters is a boon to their craft. PL015 is a .015 gauge plain steel string for acoustic or electric guitar. If you do the wrong things, bad things happen," Fan said. To learn more about the D’Addario plant, read Lean manufacturing at D’Addario string plant. XL Strings. Nick Spadafora, a production assistant from Hauppauge who works on the company’s films, is also the guitarist in the Long Island rock band To Sail Beyond the Sun. Join the discussion. "Once you put the string on the instrument, it starts accelerating the corrosion of the string," whether you are playing it or not. In the case of D'Addario strings, the "silking" color denotes the string note on top and the brand of the string on the bottom. The history of the D’Addario family business starts in the Abruzzo region of Italy around the 1860s, said Mr. D’Addario. This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments. In the 1960s, John D’Addario Sr. developed the first nickel-plated steel alloy, engineering round-wound electric guitar strings that contributed to the rock ’n’ roll sound for the next four decades, Mr. D’Addario said. I've been in manufacturing for decades and would love to see how my two passions in life meet in the middle. D’addario made the bold decision to bring the drawing process in house which allowed them to pay infinite attention to detail and evolve the string to what it is now. Watch this video to learn about the manufacturing processes at D’Addario. Yes, the e string does stand out like a different instrument. Bowed strings are more complicated, involving more windings and more time. “Whatever was in the grass or the air or the atmosphere made for great-sounding gut strings,” he said. I've always said that, but here an expert gives it weight! And that is true whether or not a music store caters to string musicians. I'd love to tour their factory some day. Strings for plucked instruments, such as the guitar, banjo and mandolin, are made differently from strings for bowed instruments, such as violin, viola, cello and bass. In 1918, he opened a shop in his garage in Astoria, where he made his own gut strings. The winding also gives the string more elasticity. “My awareness of them is fairly limited. Despite his access, Mr. Spadafora still marvels at the inner workings of the factory. Jim D’Addario, the company’s chief executive, with the musician Pat Metheny. Lyris Hung, Bowed Strings Product Manager for D'Addario, took me on a tour of the factory floor, where up to 7,000 strings a day are made for bowed instruments such as for violins, violas, cellos and basses, under the brands Zyex, Helicore, Prelude, NS Electric, Pro Arté and Kaplan. Thanks for the writeup! I am also very interested in knowing how rosin is made and how many rosin factories there are in America or are these usually small home shops? -- but it takes far longer, even years, to become a master string maker. Though it is known for guitar strings, D’Addario has recently expanded into producing drumheads, drumsticks, reeds and mouthpieces. By utilizing the proprietary Composite basses and precisely intonated trebles of our legendary Pro-Arte strings, D’Addario XT delivers dynamic response and long-lasting performance. “You feel like, ‘These guys are actually listening to me.’ ”. It's a rather complex process, involving quite a few people! I feel that they are less different in timber from the synthetic a than the solid steel e. Certainly they are worth trying. Very interesting. Neither idea had much staying power, so the company relocated from Queens to Long Island, opening its first factory in Lynbrook in 1973. That's where something called "damping" comes in. D’Addario XT strings offer extended lifespan while maintaining the tone and feel of your favorite uncoated string. Part of that breaking-in process is a natural damping of the string as it breaks down. Plain Steel strings can be used on Electric or Acoustic Guitars. Fan Tao is one of the brilliant minds from the scientific community that have made significant improvements available to the violin family of instruments. Of course you want to hear what these D'Addario EJ27N Student Nylon Classical Guitar strings are capable of, so check out this video! A guitar string would have low damping, so it can ring and ring. “Knowing exactly what goes into making the strings, the science of it all, including the research and testing, is pretty amazing to me,” he said. But to Mr. D’Addario, the business still feels intimate. They are excellent for smaller body acoustic guitars and preferred by many folk players. Have you ever put new strings on your violin, and found them to be a little too bright until they are "broken in"? It's such a specialized field that D'Addario even makes its own manufacturing equipment in-house, with an entirely different room and department devoted to the design, creation, maintenance and retrofitting of machines for making strings. This is the main floor of production for steel wrapped strings, mostly used for electric guitar and bass applications. Jim D’Addario, the chief executive of the company, nurtures close ties with musicians, who often visit the nondescript premises to tour or shoot videos. String-making in the D'Addario family has been traced to Abruzzi in Italy in the 1600s, when a Donato D'Addario listed his occupation as "cordaro," or string-maker, in his child's baptismal document, according to a book about the company's beginnings. Size: 3/4. “It’s a really complicated job.”. Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn, Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine. String cores use only three basic materials: steel, synthetic (polymers) and natural gut. In order to wrap properly around a string, some wires have to be flattened. That's why they are much less expensive to buy. 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