Differences between nanoweb and polyweb

We all like music and many of us are interested to play some instrument or the other. Music is a vital part of our everyday lives; it relaxes us after a hectic day, it makes us forget all our frustrations and worries and it also makes us feel comfortable. It takes away that feeling of loneliness. Some people like to play their own music and therefore resort to learning instruments. Some may do the same but for another reason; for their passion for music and becoming a professional musician in the future. Whatever the reason, some common instruments that people learn to play include the keyboard, guitar, drums etc. As has been noticed in recent times, young adults, especially boys, like to play guitars more than any other instrument. The reason for that could be just the trend or possibly the easiness with which a person can play a guitar, sing and do a few dance steps at the same time. It gives your personality that ‘X’ factor according to what some say. For these young boys who we mentioned, playing a guitar is more of a hobby or a passion, but for some professionals, it is their career and they are concerned about more than just adding to their personality by playing a guitar.

One of their greatest concerns regarding playing a guitar is that the output sound should be perfect, without any undesired sounds, and at the same time they should feel comfortable while playing it. This is due to the fact that they usually have to play for long periods, sometimes even a few hours. To ensure that the sound is perfect and playing the guitar is a smooth job, the guitarist needs to ensure that the strings of the guitar are of the highest quality and that brings us to our topic of discussion; nanoweb and polyweb strings.

In the strings’ industry Elixir strings are one of the best string producing companies that provide high quality strings of two main types; namely nanoweb and polyweb strings. Which one is more suited to you is a question not everyone can answer as people are not always aware of the differences between the two. Let us highlight some important ones.

The two different strings have distinctive flavours of protective coating. Both of them have patent protection and extend the tone life, but vary in tone and the feel that they give. Nanoweb strings, for example have a thinner coating. It is so thin that you barely know that it is actually there! This accounts for the brighter tone that it gives compared to polyweb strings. The nanoweb string coating gives your sound a traditional feel and makes it bright and lively. On the other hand polyweb coatings are thicker and the sound produced is less bright comparatively. Due to its thickness it also has greater weight. The greater weight means that there is greater vibration force needed to yield the same sound. The coating on the strings are in effect viewed as sound or vibrations’ insulation. The thicker the coating, the lesser the vibration induced with the same motion of the guitarist. Therefore, nanoweb coatings, which are thinner and hence of a lesser weight, are easy to apply motion to and create the desired vibration and hence the desired sound. Polywebs are more suited to hard, rock and pop music.

It must be noted that thinner strings such as nanoweb are not always the best option. Some guitarists, especially those who play rock, pop or party style music have a rather fast, hard and acoustic style which can cause thinner strings to snap easily. For them, polyweb coated strings are the better options. Also, due to the greater hardness, polywebs last longer on average than nanowebs.

Summary of differences expressed in points

1. The two vary in tone and the feel that they give

2. Nanoweb strings have a thinner coating than polyweb coating

3. Therefore, nanowebs are lighter than polywebs

4. The sound produced by nanowebs is brighter than polywebs

5. Nanoweb string coating gives your sound a more traditional feel than polyweb; which is better and more suited to pop and rock music

6. Polywebs better for pop/hard/rock music guitarists

7. Thicker polywebs account for greater durability and last longer than nanowebs

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