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Phosphor bronze vs 80/20 brass wound strings


double0blues

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I use John Pearse 80/20 new mediums on my NIck Lucas & Roy Smeck, and love the sound: kind of hollow mids. They sound vintage more than modern to my ears, and the odd occasion I've put PBs on I haven't enjoyed them. I get about 6 weeks out of a set too.

 

Before I tried the pearses I used Martin SPs, which I thought were good, but they're no match. As it has been said many times before, a different set of strings is the cheapest guitar mod out there, and the easiest way to get a new sound.

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I was looking at John Pearse 80/20s on line and they're calling them "Bronze Wound" instead of "Brass Wound" - but I thought 80/20 referred to the alloy composition...

 

brass is 80% copper and 20% zinc

bronze is 88% copper and 12% tin

 

Anyone understand what's going on with this?

 

 

I just checked on "phosphor bronze" and that is made up of:

 

Zinc – 9.9%

Tin – 2.2%

Iron – 1.9%

Phosphorus – 0.03%

Copper – 85.97%

 

Still haven't found an "80/20 bronze???"...

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I was looking at John Pearse 80/20s on line and they're calling them "Bronze Wound" instead of "Brass Wound" - but I thought 80/20 referred to the alloy composition...

 

brass is 80% copper and 20% zinc

bronze is 88% copper and 12% tin

 

Anyone understand what's going on with this?

 

 

I just checked on "phosphor bronze" and that is made up of:

 

Zinc – 9.9%

Tin – 2.2%

Iron – 1.9%

Phosphorus – 0.03%

Copper – 85.97%

 

Still haven't found an "80/20 bronze???"...

 

We used various bronze alloys in the marine industry for many years, and it is fair to say that bronze vs. brass is a blurry line. "True" bronzes are zinc-free, as zinc is a freely-corroding material that is not commonly used in a marine environment. Tin is the material most commonly alloyed with copper to form bronzes, but other materials include nickel, aluminum, silicon (not silicone, mind you) and phosphorus, as well as other trace metals.

 

80/20 bronze, if the "20" is zinc, is technically what we would call a "high brass", in that it has a higher copper content than most brasses, which run 60-75% copper. You won't find a specific 80/20 "bronze" alloy in any standard metallurgical charts. It may be something that was specifically developed for strings, although that seems a little too specialized for a specific alloy to be developed.

 

Phosphor bronze is usually specified as 85-95% copper, 5-10% tin, and very small amounts of phosphorus. Outside of guitar strings, its common application is in the manufacture of non-ferrous springs. Makes sense if you think about it.

 

Considering the metallurgy, phosphor bronze strings should be a more reddish "coppery" color, and 80/20 strings should have a slightly more yellow, "brassy" look.

 

And, in case you are wondering, bell bronze is an alloy of 78% copper and 22% tin. That's the closest "standard" bronze alloy I can find with just about an 80/20 alloy ratio.

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We used various bronze alloys in the marine industry for many years, and it is fair to say that bronze vs. brass is a blurry line. "True" bronzes are zinc-free, as zinc is a freely-corroding material that is not commonly used in a marine environment. Tin is the material most commonly alloyed with copper to form bronzes, but other materials include nickel, aluminum, silicon (not silicone, mind you) and phosphorus, as well as other trace metals.

 

80/20 bronze, if the "20" is zinc, is technically what we would call a "high brass", in that it has a higher copper content than most brasses, which run 60-75% copper. You won't find a specific 80/20 "bronze" alloy in any standard metallurgical charts. It may be something that was specifically developed for strings, although that seems a little too specialized for a specific alloy to be developed.

 

Phosphor bronze is usually specified as 85-95% copper, 5-10% tin, and very small amounts of phosphorus. Outside of guitar strings, its common application is in the manufacture of non-ferrous springs. Makes sense if you think about it.

 

Considering the metallurgy, phosphor bronze strings should be a more reddish "coppery" color, and 80/20 strings should have a slightly more yellow, "brassy" look.

 

And, in case you are wondering, bell bronze is an alloy of 78% copper and 22% tin. That's the closest "standard" bronze alloy I can find with just about an 80/20 alloy ratio.

 

 

Thanks for the breakdown, j45nick, I can't imagine that they would make up a special alloy just for John Pearse strings either!

 

I've found other string manufacturers listing their 80/20s as brass wound so I'd really like to know why John Pearse is calling their 80/20s bronze wound - maybe I'll try to call them on Monday - has me very curious now...

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I've found other string manufacturers listing their 80/20s as brass wound so I'd really like to know why John Pearse is calling their 80/20s bronze wound - maybe I'll try to call them on Monday - has me very curious now...

 

 

It may be a case of "you say potahto, and I say potayto": one man's brass is another man's bronze.

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And, in case you are wondering, bell bronze is an alloy of 78% copper and 22% tin. That's the closest "standard" bronze alloy I can find with just about an 80/20 alloy ratio.

 

I just went to John Pearse's website and on there they list them as "80/20 BELL BRONZE"...

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I just went to John Pearse's website and on there they list them as "80/20 BELL BRONZE"...

I'm not sure if that clears things up, or makes it more complicated. That would suggest that some 80/20 might be brass, and other might be bell bronze. Now it's getting more interesting!

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