Re: Old guitar strings

[brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>]

At 15:37 11/4/97 EST, Thomas Wayburn wrote:
> ... The ICs for a piano are displacement zero,
> velocity nonzero; for a guitar, the opposite.   This difference may bear
> on the original question.
>
> Regards 

I find this observation acute: it leads to a somewhat plausible reason 
which depends on an engineering property called creep.

 Many materials will yield under a sustained force of less than the 
customary benchmark which causes 0.1% strain, but remain undeformed 
by a momentary force of the same magnitude.

 Plastics are more subject to this effect than steel it is true.
In addition, side displacement of a taut string is an easy way to 
overstress it.

Sincerely,

brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK