The tail pipe fell off my Camaro on the way home from a gig one night and I wired it back up with a string from my Pack A Seat. But apparently there are other, more sinister, uses for strings. Who woulda thunk?
TOWNSVILLE’S Stuart Prison has been in lockdown in a search for three steel guitar strings officials fear may be made into garrottes.
Authorities had been made aware the guitar strings were missing several days ago but only locked down the prison for the first time yesterday, prison guards told The Courier-Mail.
“Officials suddenly realised that steel wire in the hands of dangerous men can become a deadly and silent weapon,” one source said.
“Assassins used to make their garrottes out of two handles and a loop of steel wire.
“It is easy to work out why hardened criminals should not be running around inside jail with that sort of weapon.”
It is understood the strings were taken from a guitar used in taxpayer-funded music lessons for inmates at the high-security north Queensland jail.
Source
This is the second story I remember hearing of guitar string incidents in prison! Man If I was in prison it would be hard to live without my guitar but then again … I’ll never be in prison! (beautiful website by the way!)
The versatile and STRONG steel guitar string…no doubt more than sufficient strength for the sinister uses in jail (shudder)..Also great for removing a fretboard with the help of a heat gun. Also very strong..I mean they take a lot of punishment. I use the # .011 in my test rig. It gets mounted and tuned up just past the usual pitch. Then it gets raised and lowered numerous times as I try out the changer workings. Then the string gets taken off, the changer finger has an adjustment made, string gets re-installed and goes thru this same punishment numerous times before finally giving up. I simply can’t understand the people who complain that their strings break prematurely. I have the utmost respect for the lowly steel guitar string..yessir…