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Newtone Strings

 
 
       Three years ago we were fortunate to discover this small British string making firm. Newtone sent us a few samples and we were in love! We are convinced that they are the finest strings made! Malcolm Newton is the owner and head craftsman at Newtone strings. He is an ex-coal miner, ex-lineman, and spent many years as a wire rope and heavy cable maker. He recently left the industry and found his metier when he began to make strings in the late 80's.

       Newtone strings are a truly hand-made string, built one at a time to Malcolm Newton's exacting standards. Newtone strings are consistently true and balanced and use only top quality Phosphor Bronze and pure Nickel windings on tin plated round steel cores. The high quality round core construction results in a full round tone with noticeably lower tension than other strings. Most of our professional session recording customers have switched to Master Class Phosphor Bronze acoustic strings.
 

        Mass produced guitar strings use a hexagonal core. This hex core improves the bond between the bronze or nickel winding and the center core of the string so it will ring true. Unfortunately, tiny cavities inside the string between the wrap and the core allow moisture and dirt to accumulate which soon deadens the string. Hex-core strings also have a stiffer feel and slightly higher tension compared to round-core construction.

The "Plain" Truth
       In my experience as a guitar player and a luthier/co-owner of the Twelfth Fret, I've found that all plain strings are the same no matter what brand I tried. Though some differences show up in the wound strings, the plain E, B and G strings are all the same. But Newtone plain strings are different! The plains are smoother and intonate more accurately. The extra heavy top grade tin plating gives a nicer feel and longer life.

Grant MacNeill (pres. Twelfth Fret Inc.)
 

 

 

 
Masterclass Strings

       Newton strings are a truely hand-made string using only pure Phosphor Bronze windings on tin plated round steel cores. Newtone Masterclass strings are consistently true and balanced. The high quality, round core construction results in a full, round tone with noticeably lower tension than other strings. Most of our professional studio session player customers have switched to Master Class Phosphor Bronze Acoustic strings. They are available from Extra Light through to Medium gauges. We have fine tuned the light gauge range by offering two .012 gauges, Light and Custom, for pickers who want a fuller bass response without making the jump up to Medium gauge

E B G D A E
Extra Light .010 .012 .018w .026 .036 .046
Light .011 .015 .022w .030 .040 .050
Med Lite .012 .016 .024w .032 .042 .052
Custom .012 .016 .024w .034 .044 .054
Bluegrass .012 .016 .025w .036 .046 .056
Medium .013 .017 .026w .036 .046 .056
12 String 10/10 14/14 24w/08 30w/12 40w/18p 48w/28w
 

 
 
 
Heritage Series

   These strings are a completely new range which are designed to have a reduced and virtually equal tension on each string. They are made on Round cores with unique core-to-wrap ratios, so the gauges which match up with some of our standard sets are not the same at all!

   There are several advantages of using these strings. Vintage guitars, light braced guitars and people who have problems fretting due to arthritis or tendonitis can use these strings without worrying about twisting or uneven pulling on the bridge. Low tensions also mean ease of fretting. 


 
E B G D A E
NHS-010 (94 pounds) .010 .013 .017w .023 .032 .043
NHS-011 (114 pounds) .011 .015 .019w .026 .036 .047
NHS-012 (131 pounds) .012 .016 .020w .028 .38 .051

 


 
 

 
Newtone National Strings

       Newtone National strings are a truly hand-made string made from pure Phosphor Bronze Wound or Pure Nickel Wound on tin plated round steel cores. Available in Medium and Heavy Gauges, the Newtone National Strings are gauged to be full and balanced for open G and D tunings. We have found these strings work particularly well on National Reso-phonic, Dobro style guitars and Weissenborn Style Hawaiian Guitar.

E B G D A E
Light .015 .017 .026w .036 .046 .056
Medium .016 .018 .027w .039 .049 .059
Standard Med .013 .017 .026w .036 .046 .056
 

 

 
Newtone Square Neck Resonator Strings

    These strings have been made specifically for Resonator guitars.  Adapted to suit the tunings used by slide players you will find they have a well balanced tone and tension across the set.


 
Light .016 .019 .028 .035 .045 .056
Medium .017 .019 .028 .036 .046 .056
Heavy .018 .020 .030 .036 .046 .056

 
 

 
 
Newtone Archtop Strings

       Pure Nickel, Compound wound
 

Light .011 .015 .022w .030 .040 .050
Med-Light .012 .016 .024w .032 .042 .052
Medium .013 .017 .026w .036 .046 .056

 
 

 
 
Django Jazz Strings 

Django Jazz Strings are individually handmade from the finest materials available, and wound to give the authentic tone and feel of the acoustic gypsy jazz guitar.

       Compatible with all pickup systems, these strings are not restricted solely to acoustic use. A smooth warm tone can be expected on all guitars.

       "Strings, like guitars, are things of personal preference. All I can say is that these strings are the finest I've found - free of all intonation problems, supple, brightly responsive, long-lasting and made in perfectly matched gauges. They will improve the tone of any steel-strung acoustic guitar and, consequently, your playing."
Ian Cruichshank (Author, "The Guitar Style of Django Reinhardt")
 
 

low tension .011 .015 .020w .028 .036 .046
medium .011 .015 .022w .028 .040 .050

 
 

 
 
Newtone Mandolin Strings
phosphor bronze loop-end
Medium .010 .013 .024w .037
Heavy .011 .014 .026w .039
Custom Heavy .011 .016 .026w .041

 

Newtone Mandola Strings
phosphor bronze loop-end

.013 .024 .034 .048

 

Newtone Octave Mandolin Strings Phospher Bronze
 

.012/.012 .022/.022 .034/.034 .042/.042

 

Newtone Irish Celtic-Bouzouki Strings

       These round-core Phosphor Bronze strings are hand-made in the style of Newtone's Masterclass strings. Normally available in loop-end, Newtone Irish Celtic-Bouzouki Strings can also be special ordered in pure nickel wound and/or ball-end construction for no extra charge. Gauged to conform to common Irish Celtic-Bouzouki tunings but we also have many professional Greek Bouzouki players who prefer these strings.
 

regular .011/.011 .015/.015 .024W/.011 .030W/.015
Custom Heavy (w/extra octave bass strings) .012/.012 .018w/.018w .028/.028/.015 .042/.042/.018w
 

 

 
Burns of London electric guitar Strings 

     Pure nickel-wound strings hand-made in the tradition of the legendary Burns Bison (Vista-Sonic) Guitar Strings as used by Jim Burns on his famous Burns of London Bison Guitars. These incredible strings were available to most of the greatest British Rock and Blues players in the late 1960's. 

       Newtone Burns of London strings are a truly hand-made string using only pure nickel windings on tin plated round steel cores. Newtone Burns strings are consistently true and balanced for modern conventional Rock, Blues and Jazz guitar styles. The high quality, round core construction results in a full, round tone with noticeably less string tension than other strings.

       They are available from Extra Light though to Medium gauges. We have fine tuned the medium-light gauge range by offering two .011 gauges, Medium-Light and Custom by offering a 3rd G string in .019 plain or .022 nickel-wound.
 

E B G D A E
extra light .009 .011 .016 .024w .032 .042
custom-light .009 .011 .016 .026.- .036 .046
light .010 .013 .017 .026w .036 .046
LT-HB .010 .013 .017 .032 .042 .052
custom .011 .015 .019 .030 .039 .049
medium .011 .015 .022w .030 .039 .049
med light .012 .016 .024w .032 .042 .052
 

 
 
 
Newtone Irish Tuning Tenor Banjo Strings

       Gauged to suit the unique alternate tunings used by Irish banjo players for Celtic and traditional fiddle tunes. Theses round-core Phosphor Bronze strings are hand-made in the style of Newtone's Masterclass strings.  Available in loop-end for no extra charge.
 

.012 .018w .028 .038
 

 
 
 
Newtone Tenor Banjo Strings

       Ideal for traditional Jazz, Dixieland and old time British Music Hall styles of Tenor banjo. These round-core Phosphor Bronze strings are hand-made in the style of Newtone's Masterclass strings. Normally available in loop-end, Newtone Tenor Banjo strings can also be special ordered in pure nickel wound and/or ball-end construction for no extra charge.
 

Medium .010 .016 .024w .032
Heavy .011 .017 .026w .036
 

 
 
 
Newtone Plectrum Banjo Strings

      Ideal for traditional Jazz, Dixieland and old time British Music Hall styles of Plectrum banjo. Gauged to suit the higher tension long scale neck of the Plectrum banjo. These round-core Phosphor Bronze strings are hand-made in the style of Newtone's Masterclass strings. Normally available in loop-end, Newtone's Plectrum Banjo strings can also be special ordered in pure nickel wound and/or ball-end construction for no extra charge.
 

Medium .010 .012 .016 .024w
Heavy .011 .013 .017 .026w
 

 
 
 
Newton 5-String Banjo Strings

       These round-core pure Nickel-wound strings are hand-made in the style of Newtone's Masterclass strings. Normally available in loop-end, Newtone 5-String Banjo strings can also be special ordered in Phosphor Bronze wound and/or ball-end construction for no extra charge.

       Newtone Banjo strings are made to conform to the gauges most commonly used by Bluegrass and Nashville session players. Many banjo players prefer the warmer tone of the pure nickel-wound strings but the greatest tonal advantage is due to the superior quality of Newtone's exceptional plain strings.
 

E.S. Custom .010 .012 .014 .022w .010
Custom Medium .011 .013 .016 .024w .010
 

 
 

 
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