30s LAP STEELS: NICKEL OR BRASS STRINGS ?

[Manfred Nabinger]

Some months ago I had the chance to play a Rickenbacker fry pan made in the mid-thirties. Great sound! The owner, a guitar collector, had strung the guitar with bronze (=brass) strings. "There were no nickel wound steel strings in the mid thirties", he told me. "And even if it was called nickel, it was 50 per cent copper".
I asked two German manufacturers of guitar strings, and they both told me: "Yes, there were no nickel wound steel strings (in Europe) before the electric guitar boomed in the early fifties".
Does this mean the electric lap steel guitar was constructed using "acoustic" (bronze or copper wound) strings? Or does anyone know of US-made nickel strings for acoustic guitar in the late twenties or early forties?
I have some sets of old Rickenbacker Electro and Gibson Mona nickel-steelstrings for Hawaiian Guitar, which I had found in the case of my prewar Bakelite Rickenbacker, but these might date from the early fifties. Does anybody have a package of these legendary Black Diamond strings from the early thirties which contains nickel wound strings?

[Mitch Druckman]

This is a very interesting question if someone is looking for authentic vintage tone. The development of nickel strings must have had a huge effect on guitar tone when they came out. Of course there was no need for them before the electric guitar.

[George Manno]

Perfection Musical Instrument Strings out of Brunswick Indiana made flat wound steel guitar strings and round wound silver guitar strings under the ELectro and Gibson brand name in the early '30s. I have seen flat wound silver strings that they produced for Epiphone. They also produced a brass string with a copper core for Gibson and Tonk Brothers.


GM

[Eddie Cunningham]

When I bought my first "Electromuse" Hawaiian lap steel in 1945 they used to sell "Electromuse" pure iron wound strings!! Being wrapped with pure iron they were highly magnetic and were POWERFUL !! But they rusted up pretty quick and eventually I went to Gibson Monel wound strings. I would say that all strings are pretty good now and I don't have any preference . I think the old Ricks. and Gibsons from the 30s had pickups with powerful magnets and even then any string with a steel core sounded O.K. !! Eddie "C"

[Mike Neer]

I have several old, old sets of Black Diamond strings. They were made in New Brunswick, NJ, just several miles south of me. I once put a set of them on a Spanish neck Tricone in an effort to sound like Oscar Aleman. I bought out a music store's collection about $20 years ago for $50. I also have a few sets of Gibson Mona strings, but the Black Diamonds are much cooler (and very thick).