String tension and sound characteristics

[Mille regardz]

Hi everyone,

 

I was wondering, although there are of course a lot of different factors playing a role, are there any general things that can be said about the relation between string tension and sound characteristics on e.g. a cello? For example, if I would have a regular tension a string and I would replace it with a high tension a string, will the sound (generally) become 'warmer' or less warm, etc.?

 

I understand that a statement like that will never hold for all instuments and all cases, and also that string tension is of course not the only method to change sound characteristics, but I can imagine that to a certain extent a prediction can be made on the effect of increasing or lowering string tension on the sound.

 

Thanks!

Joris

[Andrew Victor]

In general, the sound will be "warmer" (i.e., more mellow) with lower string tension. But more important, perhaps, the characteristics of the specific instrument need to be matched by the proper string tensions (and other physical factors) to bring out all that is possible.

Andy

[Omobono]

While a lot of strings appear to be advertised as coming in different gauges(light, medium, heavy),

in reality smaller retail outlets seem to stock mainly "medium" gauge for practical reasons, I suppose.

I have thought about but never actually bought three sets to see how thy might best match

mainly for financial reasons I guess.