Owen wrote: > In a recent post, my colleague Claudio di Veroli mentions a
private discussion we had recently about some iron choices. ... But I know I
would only have mentioned Vogel "Westphalian" as something to look into. ...

Voss iron ... came with a horrid gucky white mass ... If this were removed
by swiping through sandpaper for a last-minute polish during the stringing
process, it would be ok ... but would within fairly short order show
tendencies towards aggressive rusting. ... My most recent Voss- strung
instrument ("Zell" before last) seems to please its owner greatly, so I
don't think we're having issues with the wire sounding dull. 

Thanks Owen! My Voss Iron (2011) from Lutz came with no guck with a dark but
clean matt-shining surface, requiring no polish at all. And it worked to a
charm for more than 3 years. Then within a few months (I live in very wet
weather all year around!) the surface started to show rust and the sound
became horribly dull. Once removed, the material felt wrong, had lost all
resistance, worse than pig iron. Incidentally, I keep unused Voss iron well
stored, and the difference is unbelievable between this and the very same
material exposed to air after just four years.

I remember to have read about these issues sometimes. I never read any
complaint about Vogel iron. So far it sounds OK, and the surface is shinier
than Voss iron. Let us just hope it lasts!

CDV


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