, one of the world's leading manufacturers of premium-quality all-solid-wood acoustic instruments, announces a new string partnership with D’Addario, a renowned name in string manufacturing.){kind=link}
Furch Guitars (Furch), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of premium-quality all-solid-wood acoustic instruments, announces a new string partnership with D’Addario, a renowned name in string manufacturing. All Furch steel-string acoustic guitars manufactured from April 2024 onward are equipped with D’Addario’s premium XS coated Bronze and Phosphor Bronze strings, marking a new chapter in the company’s commitment to delivering the highest quality of sound and playability to its customers.
This collaboration brings together two industry leaders, both renowned for their tradition of craftsmanship, precision, and technological innovation. Furch Guitars and D’Addario share a mutual dedication to research and engineering, making this partnership a natural alignment of their values and goals.
“We are excited about the new chapter of Furch that starts with D’Addario,” said Petr Furch, CEO of Furch Guitars. “The string is a key part through which we interact with a guitar. By pressing down on it at the fretboard, we scale the string’s length to achieve the desired frequency, while setting the string into motion with the other hand.
Only when these two actions occur can the energy of the string be transferred to the soundboard, producing the distinctive sound of an acoustic guitar. This is something that we, as players, constantly repeat during play. Therefore, strings are integral to the performance of an instrument, and that is why we have spent considerable time finding the best possible solution for Furch guitars in terms of tonal quality, tuning stability, longevity, and, of course, feel. D’Addario’s XS strings align perfectly with our philosophy of delivering the highest quality instruments that allow everyone to fully express their potential for musical creativity and performance.”
Rigorous Performance Testing
Furch’s decision to transition to D’Addario XS strings is grounded in extensive internal research and testing. The company conducted a series of experiments comparing the XS strings to traditional coated strings, focusing on a wide range of properties affecting the overall strings’ performance.
Pavel Hoffman, Furch’s research and development engineer, explained the thorough testing process: “We simulated real-world conditions to evaluate the performance of D’Addario XS strings across multiple dimensions, and the outstanding results of our rigorous testing speak for themselves.”
Furch designed a test to simulate and measure the chemical degradation of guitar strings due to sweat exposure over time. “After an initial 5-minute exposure, we monitored the corrosion of the string every hour for 24 hours. The results showed 45% less chemical degradation compared to traditional coated strings.”
In the domain of mechanical degradation, D’Addario’s XS strings demonstrated exceptional resilience as well. “Consistency of performance over time is what we strive for in our instruments, and so we focused on parameters, such as tuning stability, inharmonicity, fundamental tone performance, sharpness, or brightness,” Hoffman continued.
Utilizing a precision robotic arm, Furch subjected sets of XS Phosphor Bronze strings to a total of 240,000 strums spread out into multiple cycles, during which the pick covered the distance of a whopping 10 kilometers (over 6 miles). The findings demonstrated on average 30% less detuning than traditional coated strings after 10,000 strums, and up to 45% less detuning after 20,000 strums with D’Addario XS.
The exceptional acoustical properties of XS coated Phosphor Bronze strings were further confirmed by the testing of parameters such as inharmonicity – the degree to which the frequencies of overtones depart from whole multiples of the fundamental, fundamental tone performance, tone sharpness, and clarity. While inharmonicity was decreased by over 11%, the decrease in performance of the fundamental frequency after 20,000 strums was on average 38% lower for D’Addario’s XS strings, and the decreases in sharpness and clarity were 18% and 11% lower respectively, compared to traditional coated strings.
The advanced coating technology of D’Addario’s XS strings consists of an ultra-thin protective film on wound strings and a unique polymer treatment on plain steel strings, ensuring all six strings are shielded from performance-impacting contaminants and providing a smooth feel with consistent performance. The proprietary Fusion Twist technology and NY Steel core wire provide unparalleled tuning stability and break strength, complementing Furch’s approach to guitar design.
Petr Furch added, “Our commitment to excellence drives us to constantly improve our instruments. As engineers and innovators, we extract the most out of the sonic potential of each guitar thanks to the engineering achievements of our research. This includes our individual soundboard voicing process, the CNR System® neck construction or UV-based resonance-enhancing finishes. Teaming up with a pioneering company like D’Addario allows us to ensure that the strings that come with each new Furch guitar match our high standards in every aspect.”
About Furch Guitars
Suzanne Vega, Per Gessle, Glen Hansard, and Calum Graham. For additional information, visit www.furchguitars.com.
About D’Addario
D’Addario, a leader in string manufacturing, is renowned for its tradition of innovation and excellence. The XS line represents the pinnacle of their string technology, offering musicians superior performance and durability. For more information, visit www.daddario.com.