Bow string material and quietness

[mangonboat]

As Chuck pointed out, pitch and noise level are different . Another issue is structural resonance. A bow is basically a one-stringed harp, piano or guitar and the structure that suspends the string is a HUGE factor in the nature, tone and volume of the sound that comes out. A Helms Deep, by design, has relatively little riser mass compared to the limb mass. Both move and vibrate in response to increased stress, so that bow will produce a wide variation of sound levels and pitches depending on the brace height and the string diameter and density, just like the choice of string material and tuning make a huge difference on the sound produced by a guitar. Bow Hush, etc, are simply dampeners..they don't change the physics that generate the noise.

[slowbowjoe]

I noticed the pitch or tone of the stock D10 on the Falcon I had.
Cat whiskers were more quiet than wool scallops. Tried a beautifully made Rhino, which sounded more harsh to me. Went back to the D10 but with two small sets of whiskers on each limb, which worked best for me and the bow. Next, was going to try an 8 or 10 strand SBD -the 10 strand made a noticeable difference on the Selway/Centaur I was shooting before the Falcon.

[snowplow]

Do you think it could be the degree of stretch? Thinking of a guitar, the tighter the string the higher the pitch. Are all super low stretch strings high pitched? That would make sense to me, but probably is too easy.

[LBR]

Do you think it could be the degree of stretch?  

Could be, at least part of it.

   

Are all super low stretch strings high pitched?

No.  Materials with Vectran are lower in pitch, to me at least.  They also have less stretch and creep.

The most popular of the 100% Dyneema materials are:

Dynaflight '97 - SK75 Dyneema

Dynaflight '10/Force 10 - SK78 Dyneema

8190 Universal - SK90 Dyneema

All can be made into a great string.  I've had people tell me their recurve with a Dynaflight '97 string was quieter than their longbow, so material is only part of the equation.  

Then you get into blended materials.

450+ - SK75 Dyneema with 30% Vectran

452X - SK75 Dyneema with 33% Vectran

BCY-X - SK90 Dyneema with 17% Vectran

The Vectran stabilizes the material, especially in hot weather.  Along with that, it seems to work like a built-in dampener.  With the higher grade of Dyneema, BCY-X only needs about 1/2 the percentage of Vectran to stabilize it, which also seems to be the magic number as far as dampening qualities.

BCY-X has become my favorite.  Quiet, stable, durable, and great performance.  Stability is a biggie for me, especially here in MS during the summer.

I can only speak for BCY products here.  For one, I am a big BCY fan and they are all I use (other than a small amount of Angel Majesty, and BCY is the U.S. distributor for them).  Second, Brownell doesn't publish what they use in their materials so I can't give an opinion based on the material composition itself.  Wish they would, because you can tell a lot just from the material.

[snowplow]

Do you think it could be the degree of stretch? Thinking of a guitar, the tighter the string the higher the pitch. Are all super low stretch strings high pitched? That would make sense to me, but probably is too easy.

[MnFn]

"Tink"??  Maybe with the change in the string the  spine of your arrow is off enough that your arrow is hitting the wood of your shelf or riser?

I had that happen with a Shrew CH once.  Just guessing, tho.

[slowbowjoe]

Bringing this one back up, as I'm in the same boat as Snowplow with a new to me Thunderstick Mag.

Snowplow, what have you settled on for your Helm's Deep? My T Mag has a sort of a "tink" to it also; a skinny string of some sore, and Beaver Balls silencers. Tried a range of brace height, and a wide variety of arrow spines. All shoot very, very well, but the sounds has me wondering if arrow slap could be a part, though there's no kick whatsoever, and no (!) handshock.

So, back to the question, what's proving to be the softest tone on these quick little bows?

[Green]

Chad.....I'm surprised you didn't mention Trophy.  I find that a 10 strand Trophy string is quieter on both ASL's and selfbows than a 12 strand BCY X.  Both of these are pretty skinny (loops padded up to 22 strands), but Trophy (basically 452X with GORE added)seems to be a quieter material.  It also seems to be every bit as durable and resistant to stretch in hot weather as X.  Chuck Deshler turned me onto this material and I can see why he likes it so much.

[LBR]

I haven't used Trophy.  It is 452X with a hair thin strand of GORE added.

I have tinkered with 452X.  BCY-X is an improved version--a higher grade of Dyneema with less Vectran.  It will be very stable, but due about twice as much Vectran it won't be as durable as X.

I don't push the limits with low strand count strings.  I may try one for myself now and then, but I'd never sell one that goes that far below the factory recommendation.  18-20 strands of X does anything I want, and does it very well.

[L82HUNT]

Chad.  You try the new 8190f yet?

[LBR]

I haven't.  I have a few spools, but haven't taken the time to tinker. It's the same material as 8190 Universal (SK90 Dyneema), just without the GORE.  I'm sure it will be a very good material, but I want to shoot it some anyway.  I'm so happy with BCY-X I haven't been very motivated to try anything else.