Newtone Strings

www.strings.ie is very pleased to be a dealer of Newtone Strings and we have a small quantity of these very special strings in-stock. The strings are literally made to order so we don't always have them but we wanted to share with you the story behind these exceptional handmade strings.

Malcolm Newton began working life as a coal miner, from there he moved to an electricity company and worked as a cable jointer and a linesman for a number of years. He then took a job with a firm manufacturing wire rope, and it was there that he gained his knowledge and experience of wire drawing, plating processes and the many and various applications of wire.

Then came the 1980's, Britain's unemployment figures began to rise as many manufacturing industries began to decline. "In 1982 I was made redundant from the wire rope firm. I was about forty years old and was forced to take a long look at what I was going to do with my life and career." says Malcolm. After a number temporary jobs Malcolm eventually began experimented and building a reputation as an Instrument String maker and Newtone strings was born.

Malcolm's Strings have become something of an industry secret and you'll find his strings used by the likes of Ralph McTell, Gordon Giltrap, Hank Marvin, The Levellers, The Oyster Band to name a few.

The major reason in terms of why Newtone strings may feel or play differently to those from other companies lies with their use of round core wire in all our Phosphor Bronze strings and some of our Nickel and Stainless Steel strings too.

Piano strings often utilise a round core wire and these strings must be made to last many years and maybe round cores had something to do with their longevity. Most guitar strings are made on a hexagonal core, because it is easier to mass manufacture strings and achieve fairly consistent products. Newtone have consulted many, many players who use their strings to find out what they like about them, and the most common response about our round cored ranges of strings are as follows:

- Our round cored strings have a slightly lower tension to pitch than hexagonal cored strings, meaning less strain on the guitar neck and soundboard.

- A longer life due to there being no angular surfaces under the wrapping wire where dirt can accumulate, deadening the string and increasing it's susceptibility to corrosion.

- Being at a slightly lower tension allows a heavier gauge set to be used without compromising the 'feel' of the guitar to much and providing the benefit of a fuller tone.

"Although I didn't know it at the time of developing the 'Master class' range, all wound strings used to be made using round cores, but the consistency was so poor that when hexagonal wire was introduced these strings took over and round cored strings became a thing of the past."

"Now that I've managed to achieve a consistent product, players can enjoy the benefits of round cores without wondering whether the set of strings they buy will be any good or not. We always try to ensure that the materials we use are the finest available. Our phosphor bronze is of the Cu92 Sn8 composition, a 92% copper to 8% tin ratio as used extensively in the manufacture of cymbals. The steel we use for our plain strings and cores is high tensile tin plated, the tin being sufficient to resist corrosion under normal circumstances." - M. Newton