For years I've used and recommended Pirastro Aricore Cello C & G for
bourdons in D & d. They are a fine sound and treated carefully, last
for ever. You must take care to lift them off the bridge and lower
them into the required slot. Sliding them sideways is not good.

A solution to the problem would be to paint the string in the bridge
area with thin superglue . that won't harm the playing quality but
will stop the winding twisting when you slide it. A further option is
to use Savarez alliance strings. These are silver wire wound on a
solid perlon core. Even if the outer wire breaks, the core will not
and indeed you can strip the wire from the bridge area ( sealing the
cut ends with superglue ) and play on with impunity. The drone will
actually pick up faster if you do this.

The final solution is to get remote disconnectors fitted but that's
another story.

Snapping at the tuning peg is often caused by the winding not being
stripped where it goes through the peg. The stress caused will damage
the core.

On May 11, 12:43 am, [email protected] wrote:
> I seem to be a wound drone string's worst enemy.
>
> In the course of owning my previous gurdy (a Gotschy Phoenix DG) for 5
> years, I must have replaced the d petit bourdon drone 4 or 5 times, and now 
> (in
>  the hands of the new owner, a friend) it needs another one. Sometimes they
>  unwind at the tuning peg before they snap, other times it's at the string
> rest  where the deterioration starts. Also the G (GC grand bourdon) drone on
> my  new Brook 3-chanter is starting to unwind between the string rest and
> the crank  end, and I've only had it about 5 months.
>
> Meanwhile my wife's DG Boudet has had the same petit bourdon drone for 10
> years.
>
> What am I doing to these poor drone strings? Or, more to the point, are
> there sturdier drone strings that I should be using? I've been buying the
> silver-wrapped cello strings, but I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of sound
> quality for some durability.
>
> Suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
> Mitch Gordon

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