FrederickPatterson - Posted - 09/27/2023:  10:45:59

After letting my Lazy River Weissenborn sit tuned to D mostly gathering dust for the past few years I just discovered that Michael Messer (Newtone) sells strings that were developed for tuning hollow neck instruments to standard G dobro tuning. I’m just not diligent enough to work with multiple slide tunings so I can’t wait until my order comes in!

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 09/27/2023:  14:18:20

I guess you're saying by throwing in the towel that you're permanently done with Open D. 

The actual manufacturer's site isn't the easiest to negotiate but I came up with a link, are these the strings?

newtonestrings.com/shop/aloha/...6fd43adaa

Or did you get them from a U.S. distributors? 

wlgiii - Posted - 09/27/2023:  15:03:48

I too am wondering if Michael Messer now has a US distributor. When I emailed him a short while back to ask about his guitars, they only made it as close as Canada.

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 09/27/2023:  16:00:45

I was under the impression that Michael Messer has designed string sets for Newtone and has his name on some of the packs,  I didn't think he was a part owner of the company - but perhaps he is? 

FrederickPatterson - Posted - 09/27/2023:  16:37:34

12th Fret is in Canada but they ship to the US. I paid a $10.50 flat rate shipping cost for 3 sets.

FrederickPatterson - Posted - 09/27/2023:  16:52:31

I'm just going to concentrate on G for now & get more use out of the Lazy River. I can always tune my lap steel to D if I take a motion to go back down that road....

quote: 

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Originally posted by MarkinSonoma

I guess you're saying by throwing in the towel that you're permanently done with Open D. 

The actual manufacturer's site isn't the easiest to negotiate but I came up with a link, are these the strings?

newtonestrings.com/shop/aloha/...6fd43adaa

Or did you get them from a U.S. distributors? 

---

FrederickPatterson - Posted - 09/27/2023:  16:54:17

12fret.com/

FrederickPatterson - Posted - 09/28/2023:  07:03:51

Newtone

 

JC Dobro - Posted - 09/28/2023:  07:27:20

Sorry Open D didn’t “take” for you. To me, part of the thrill of a Weissie is unleashing the full and deep growl in Open D or Open C (down a step).

But yeah, you gotta’ do what’s best for you, especially if you have limited practice time. Enjoy!

wlgiii - Posted - 09/28/2023:  10:47:08

You can always tune your G high strings down to D to try again, and tune back if it's still not working.

PS- My interaction & purchase from 12th Fret a few years ago was very positive; thumbs up to them.

badger - Posted - 09/28/2023:  13:16:35

.013 -.017 - .026 seem light for GBDGBD. Just my $.02.

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 09/28/2023:  14:05:36

quote:

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Originally posted by badger

.013 -.017 - .026 seem light for GBDGBD. Just my $.02.

---

The photo posted above by Frederick is of a reso set. The weissie strings, from what I could find is known as Aloha.

Two different sets available under that moniker, here are the gauges:

.015 .017 .026w .036 .046 .056 - or -



.015 .017 .026w .036 .046 .054

So it's actually .015 for the first string, more appropriate of course than a .013 when tuned to D. And as far as the 2nd string, .017 is pretty common in the typical non-weissie, reso set. And remember that for many years the typical reso set contained a .026w 3rd string until there was a "revolt" among players clamoring for sets with a .028w 3rd string, and D'Addario (among others) finally upped the gauge.

On the Newtone site it is (apparently) Messer who cautions that tuning an actual  lightly built original Weissenborn to GBDGBD with this set to  could be on the risky side. The core of the strings in the set is lighter than normal so in Messer's opinion GBDGBD would be safe on a modern guitar like a Lazy River. If it isn't, and Frederick finds out the hard way then I trust he will let us know. 

Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 09/28/2023 14:17:49

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 09/28/2023:  14:16:32

I was under the impression that the strings Frederick ordered as I mentioned earlier is the Aloha set - but I didn't see those on the 12th Fret site.

Here is a link - again - to the Newtone site in the UK with the Aloha page. It wouldn't let me download the photo of the front of the package to be able to post it here.

newtonestrings.com/shop/aloha/...6fd43adaa

badger - Posted - 09/28/2023:  15:32:46

My comments were based on the OP's link and his picture of the proposed set.

FrederickPatterson - Posted - 09/28/2023:  18:05:11

Thanks for all the info but it looks like I’m back to square one….

Didn't look close enough to notice that there was a difference.

Edited by - FrederickPatterson on 09/28/2023 18:14:59

FrederickPatterson - Posted - 09/29/2023:  06:16:51

I ordered some Alohas directly from Newtone and canceled the other order. Thanks again Mark for setting me straight.

CaseyHunter - Posted - 10/03/2023:  07:08:48

I used to use the Newtone Aloha's on the weissenborn. If I remember right you could get them from Strings and Beyond and possibly on Amazon. The Newtones felt like playing rubber bands, given how stretchy they were. The tone was fine, but the bar pressure took a lot of practice to get the intonation. It also took a while for them to settle in, after changing them.



I only tried tuning up to GBDGBD with the Newtones once on the weissenborn. I realized pretty quickly it was not going to work for me, the tension felt to high and the tone was extremely anemic (weak,lack of sustain, and focused on the trebles).



In the end I went back to the Open Low G DGDGBD and Open F (dobro G tuned down a step) FACFAC. Those covered the bases I needed when it came to wanting to play the same licks that I can on the dobro. Honestly though, once I figured out that I could play most melodys/licks I new from the dobro (gbdgbd) on open D (DADF#AD.  Just had to drop down a string and use the DF#A as my triad similar to the GBD.   

Enjoy the journey. 

FrederickPatterson - Posted - 10/11/2023:  10:01:21

I received my strings direct from Newtone yesterday. It only took 11 days! First impression is very favorable. I’ll be playing my Weissenborn style guitar a lot more until I’m willing to devote more time to alternative tunings.

Biggfoot44 - Posted - 10/31/2023:  13:35:47

Interesting !

Let me repeat this back , to make sure I'm comprehending :

( something , something ) in the internal construction of the New Tone Aloha strings produces meaningfully less string tension than conventional strings of same gage and tuning .

This difference in net total string tension is enough to * sometimes * tune particular instruments to a higher pitch tuning than usual wise or feasible .

Got it right ?

FrederickPatterson - Posted - 11/01/2023:  06:03:34

From Newtone’s web site:

These handmade strings are designed for use on wood-bodied Hawaiian guitars with a hollow neck. They are made using a lighter core, enabling them to tune pitch at a lower tension then regular strings.

It is still advisable to use caution when using high bass tuning such as GBDGBD on old hawaiian guitars.

newtonestrings.com/shop/aloha/...6fd43adaa

FrederickPatterson - Posted - 09/03/2024:  07:02:49

The experiment wasn’t a total fail, but since I have 2 squareneck resos & a lap steel tuned to G I have tuned it back to open D using the same set of strings.

wlgiii - Posted - 09/03/2024:  08:54:39

D (or E, which I use) is a fun tuning.

And, just a sample group of 1 here, but I used to have trouble with different tunings. I struggled while working through it, but then something clicked.

l2t - Posted - 09/05/2024:  04:51:50

You could try stringjoy. The tension calculator could be used to select gauges and then they sell custom sets -- tension.stringjoy.com/

One technique would be to put in the string length, stock string gauges, and stock pitches on your instrument. Record the tension of each string. Then change the pitches to what you want. Then adjust the gauges to get approximately the same tension as stock. They order a set like that. Select nickel steel for electric.

Dobrojan - Posted - 09/05/2024:  13:05:04

You can buy single strings to make a set if you know the gauges needed as Ken said above.