Thomastik-Times

1970 In the string making A string is born A visit to Günter Pichler An ode to the joy of development Mr. Pichler, how did you come to develop strings? I remember like it was yesterday. Erich Diewald called me one Tuesday afternoon and asked if I would like to help develop a new kind of music string. At that time, Erich had already been working as a string developer at Thomastik-Infeld for a long time and of course I didn’t hesitate for a second. What did you want to achieve with the new string? Erich and I love a challenge, we were very ambitious. Together we wanted to find an alternative to the gut string, which was widespread but unstable in terms of its sound. So began a really intensive collaboration. Test, test, test! Erich sent me strings every week for months. Every week. We really felt as if we had the world on 4 strings (laughs). September 18, 1970 will long be remembered in the world of music. On that day, it lost an artist who was known as the greatest rock guitarist of his generation and who took playing the electric guitar to a whole new level throughout his life. Where previously almost every guitar band employed two guitarists, Hendrix was always the only guitarist, playing melody and chord accompaniment single- handedly. With his very first hit, “Hey Joe”, he conquered the international music world and the hearts of millions of fans. His performances are legendary: at the Monterey festival in 1967, Hendrix Have you found all the mistakes in the musical crime scene below? Yes? Then it’s time for the next hobby. And that’s exactly what we have for you. A TV novelty awaits the crime- loving audience: On Sunday, November 29, 1970, Das Erste will broadcast the NDR-produced film “Taxi nach Leipzig”, directed by Peter Schulze-Rohr, as a prelude to the new series “Tatort”. Fans of the genre can look forward to it because the plot based on the script by Friedhelm Werremeier sounds promising: the GDR’s attorney general is preoccupied with a horrific discovery. A boy is found dead at a motorway service station. The murder case is forwarded to the law enforcement authorities by telex until the file finally lands on the desk of Inspector Paul Trimmel, played by Walter Richter, in Hamburg. Can the first episode establish the series as a regular TV treat? Switch on and see! douses his guitar with gasoline after the ninth song “Wild Thing” and sets it on fire. The audience is both perplexed and thrilled. The controversial Woodstock performance follows in 1969: Hendrix plays the US national anthem “Star Spangled Banner” in a completely non-patriotic version: he expresses his anger at the political scene and stages the thunder of the guns with his guitar. With his ingeniously creative mix of rock, blues, sould and jazz and with his exceptional talent, Hendrix created a completely new sound that willl hopefully continue to have an effect long after his death. Was the long test phase necessary for the end result? Absolutely. Only by constantly comparing the strings could many discrepancies be minimized and the sound quality, response and haptics be improved. You only really get to know a string and the differences between the materials through this process! And what is the name of this new string? Dominant! A revolutionary string, the first of its kind – it’s powerful and sets the tone. It owes its name to Margaretha Infeld, who is just as convinced of it as Erich and me. Music strings are nothing more than simple sound cords. Or are they? Making a high-quality music string is a science all of its own and Thomastik-Infeld is a master of this discipline. Strings are high-tech products – a complex combination of physics, mathematics, material science, corrosion science, precision machining, and tool design. “But where do you start?” the string forge is often asked. First, the designed string tension is determined. Thomastik- Infeld aims to make the string tension as low as possible, but as high as necessary to avoid under- or overloading the instrument. The core of a string must also withstand the desired string tension. The detailed definition of the properties that the string should have then follows. These can include, for example, sound character, variety of colors, modulation options, sound stability, bow response, and left hand feeling. This now results in the search for the right materials and their combination. “First the core material is chosen. According to the desired sound and handling properties, we decide on the type and number of intermediate layers and a surface material,” a Thomastik-Infeld string engineer tells us. Now the material for the lower layers of winding is selected. “We decide between round wire and flat strips, and determine how many strips and wires are wound in parallel, i.e. simultaneously. This naturally produces limitations and challenges. The higher the density and the diameter of the core, the less can be applied to the outside, so that the mass per unit length corresponds exactly to the specifications. Both the thickness and the degree of strength and rigidity of the material used have to be taken into account. Different materials have different properties, and these affect the properties of the strings.” Thomastik-Infeld works with its own high-precision rollers, which are developed and built in-house. These produce bands with an accuracy of up to 0.5 micrometers (0.0005 millimeters). “Just like in sport, these figures make the difference and elevate us to number one.” For very high sounding strings, like the violin E-string and violin and viola A-strings, the mass of the core determines the predominant part of the total mass. This means you can only apply a very slight amount of winding mass. This is the reason why certain strings don’t exist, such as silver wound A-strings for violin and viola or silver wound violin E-strings. All in all, string development is a long process that can take up to two years. The production of a single string ultimately takes between 1.5 and 10 minutes. The end of string design? “No. We’re always looking for new possibilities, materials and production techniques,” says Thomastik-Infeld. Farewell to Jimi Hendrix Crime Scene Today, we are visiting Günter Pichler. He is concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic and closely associated with the Vienna-based string company Thomastik-Infeld. His work was instrumental in the development of the new Dominant string. SPOT-THE-DIFFERENCE PUZZLE The photo on the right-hand side differs from the one on the left by seven errors. “I get sick being right all the time” , says Butch Cassidy in the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. Please don’t you do the same when you find out that you were definitely right about the film being awarded by the Academy this year. The Revisionist Western, starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katharine Ross is loosely based on the real-life adventures of Butch and Sundance as they struggled to survive in a changing West. It’s known for its exuberance and humor, and can now claim “3 Times Academy Award Winner“ on its resumé! William Goldman’s script, Conrad Hall’s cinematography and Burt Bacharach’s original score are each rewarded with one of the coveted OSCARs. And the Oscar goes to George Roy Hill’s Western Film triumphs Thomastik-Times / Page 3 Comic Con Art has many different faces, some of them even look like the Amazing Spider Man or the Incredible Hulk. Are you a comic enthusiast looking for others with a similar passion? This is your chance, because the very first Comic Convention is just around the corner – taking place in San Diego. Rumor has it that comic book artist Jack Kirby and science fiction authors Ray Bradbury and A.E. van Vogt will join the 3-day event as well!