double0blues Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Any thoughts on phosphor bronze wound vs 80/20 brass wound strings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryp58 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 80/20's are "brighter" with shimmering highs, Phospher Bronze are "warmer" with more enhanced mids. IMHO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayfingers Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasAK Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 80/20's are "brighter" with shimmering highs, Phospher Bronze are "warmer" with more enhanced mids. IMHO![font="Times New Roman"][size="3"][/size][/font] That has been my experience too. chasAK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double0blues Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 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???"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Yep, that pretty much sums it up for me also. I would also describe 80/20's as somewhat 'clinical'. 80/20's are "brighter" with shimmering highs, Phospher Bronze are "warmer" with more enhanced mids. IMHO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double0blues Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double0blues Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 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"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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