Picato Musician Strings

Picato Musician Strings is a British musical-instrument string brand whose history is associated with General Music Strings Limited and, from the early 1980s, Strings And Things Limited. The business traces its origins to the Stein family, who established General Music Strings in the 1940s. By the 1970s, the company had become a prolific British producer of strings for a broad range of instruments, including acoustic, classical, electric and bass guitars, as well as banjos, mandolins, ukuleles and violins. The Picato name is particularly associated with guitar and bass strings used by professional and touring musicians. A notable episode in the brand's history followed an accident involving Tony Iommi, in which he lost the tips of two fingers. Picato developed an extra-low-gauge guitar string set for him, specified as ranging from .008 to .032 inches. The adaptation illustrates the brand's emphasis on tailoring string specifications to individual playing requirements, especially where a musician's technique or physical circumstances called for reduced tension and lighter gauges. During the 1970s, Picato strings were reportedly used by a number of prominent rock guitarists and bassists, including Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Tony McPhee and Eric Clapton. The brand's broader roster of associated or official users has also included Steve Cradock and Ocean Colour Scene, Bob Daisley, The Vamps, Nazareth, The Dogs D'Amour, Mark Yates of Terrorvision and Alan Thomson. These associations place Picato within the British rock, pop and session-musician equipment tradition rather than positioning it solely as a mass-market accessory label. In the early 1980s, Strings And Things Limited acquired the business of General Music Strings Limited, described as the original founders of the Picato operation. The acquisition connected the Picato name with a company known for distributing and representing musical-instrument products. Available reference material does not provide a complete account of later ownership changes, manufacturing locations, product-by-product development, or the brand's current commercial status. Picato's documented product heritage nevertheless spans multiple stringed-instrument categories and includes both standard offerings and musician-specific designs.

Picato Musician Strings developed from the British string-manufacturing business General Music Strings Limited. The predecessor company was established in the 1940s by members of the Stein family. Its early history is not fully documented in the available material, but by the 1970s the business had become a substantial producer of strings for several instrument families. Its range covered acoustic, classical, electric and bass guitars, together with banjos, mandolins, ukuleles and violins. This breadth gave the business a presence across both popular-music and traditional string-instrument markets. The Picato name gained particular visibility through associations with rock musicians. During the 1970s, the brand's strings were used by guitarists and bassists including Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Tony McPhee and Eric Clapton. The company also undertook an unusual product adaptation for Tony Iommi after an accident caused him to lose the tips of two fingers. Picato designed an extra-low-gauge set, reported as ranging from .008 to .032 inches, to make playing more manageable for him. The episode is an important part of the brand's recorded history because it links Picato not only with standard string production but also with musician-specific design. In the early 1980s, Strings And Things Limited acquired the business of General Music Strings Limited, identified in the available account as the original founders of the Picato operation. This transaction marked a change in the corporate stewardship of the brand while preserving its connection to the British musical-instrument supply sector. The available sources do not establish the precise date of the original Picato trademark, the location of its factories, or the detailed terms of the acquisition. Picato's documented user associations continued to include performers and groups from rock, pop and related genres. The listed users include Steve Cradock and Ocean Colour Scene, Bob Daisley, The Vamps, Nazareth, The Dogs D'Amour, Mark Yates of Terrorvision and Alan Thomson. These associations suggest that the brand's identity has been shaped substantially by artist use and professional performance, alongside its multi-instrument product range. The surviving reference material provides only limited information about Picato's later product development, distribution, current ownership structure beyond Strings And Things Limited, and present operating status. Accordingly, its history can be described with confidence through its General Music Strings origins, its expansion into a broad British string range, its low-gauge development for Tony Iommi, and the early-1980s acquisition by Strings And Things Limited, but further modern corporate details remain unverified.

• 1980

  Strings And Things acquires the business

  [1]Picato Musician Stringsen.wikipedia.org

  Strings And Things Limited acquired the business of General Music Strings Limited in the early 1980s, taking over the operation associated with the Picato name.

• 1970

  Expansion across instrument categories

  [1]Picato Musician Stringsen.wikipedia.org

  By the 1970s, the British business was producing strings for acoustic, classical, electric and bass guitars, as well as banjos, mandolins, ukuleles and violins.

• 1970

  Low-gauge set developed for Tony Iommi

  [1]Picato Musician Stringsen.wikipedia.org

  Following Tony Iommi's loss of the tips of two fingers in an accident, Picato designed an extra-low-gauge guitar string set specified at approximately .008 to .032 inches.

• 1940

  General Music Strings is established

  [1]Picato Musician Stringsen.wikipedia.org

  The Stein family established General Music Strings Limited, the business from which the Picato string operation later developed. The available source identifies the decade but not a more precise founding year.

A British string brand positioned around broad instrument coverage, professional musician use and responsive string specifications, including lighter-gauge solutions tailored to individual performers.

• Guitar strings

  Acoustic guitar strings

  Picato's documented range included strings for acoustic guitars. The available source does not specify particular materials, gauges, constructions or current product codes, but acoustic guitar strings formed part of the brand's wider multi-instrument offering.

• Guitar strings

  Classical guitar strings

  The brand produced strings for classical guitars as part of its established British range. No verified information is available on the precise historical construction, tension options or continuing availability of these products.

• Guitar strings

  Electric guitar strings

  Electric guitar strings were among Picato's principal documented products. The brand became associated with rock guitarists and with customized lighter-gauge solutions, including the set developed for Tony Iommi.

• Bass strings

  Bass guitar strings

  Picato also manufactured bass guitar strings. The source records use by bassists such as Roger Glover and Bob Daisley, but does not provide detailed specifications or a verified current catalogue.

• Instrument strings

  Strings for banjo, mandolin, ukulele and violin

  The historical range extended beyond guitars and bass to strings for banjos, mandolins, ukuleles and violins, reflecting the breadth of the General Music Strings operation.

• Artist-specific guitar strings

  Tony Iommi extra-low-gauge set

  Picato designed an extra-low-gauge guitar string set for Tony Iommi after an accident affected two fingertips. The reported gauge range was .008 to .032 inches, intended to reduce the physical demands of playing.

• 1980

  Acquisition of the General Music Strings businessM&A

  Background

  General Music Strings Limited was the original business associated with the Picato operation and had developed a broad British string-manufacturing range.

  Action taken

  Strings And Things Limited acquired the business in the early 1980s.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition changed the corporate stewardship of the operation and connected Picato with Strings And Things Limited.

  Source

• 1970

  Development of a custom low-gauge set for Tony IommiProduct launch

  Background

  Tony Iommi lost the tips of two fingers in an accident, creating a need for a string configuration that would make guitar playing less physically demanding.

  Action taken

  Picato designed an extra-low-gauge set reported to range from .008 to .032 inches.

  Aftermath

  The project became one of the best-known documented examples of Picato adapting its string design to an individual professional musician.

  Source

1. 1Picato Musician Stringsen.wikipedia.org