Can strings die over time?

[Kwesi]

It sounds pretty obvious but I want to know if strings naturally "die out" over even without them being played. I just picked up a new bass and the previous owner said that the strings that are on it (DR low riders) were put on maybe three years ago after a few hours of playing it was tucked into his closest and it had been there until he sold it to me. I know the best way to judge would be by the tone and by that alone these sound dead. But, they look pristine, as if they hadn't been touched. Can they really be dead if they haven't been played on for more than a few hours... 3 years ago?

[MysticMichael]

Of course. Strings begin to age from the moment they're manufactured - regardless of whether they've been played or not.

Obviously exposure to air & moisture, exposure to dirt & oils, and installing them on a bass guitar and tuning them to pitch, will all greatly hasten that aging process. But three years of being stretched across a fretboard, in and of itself, is more than enough to kill a set of strings - even if they haven't been touched throughout that entire time...

MM

[Arranger]

Rust Never Sleeps.

[Meatrus]

Stainless Steel strings dont rust, so if they were the SS low riders I'm not surprised they look brand new.

I would guess that there life without being played would depend on if they had been on the bass or not, in your case they obviously have, but I think it may be different if they werent tuned to tension.

I have had 2 year old strings in packs before and they have been fine, but they would have been kept in better conditions than a closet probably, and not tuned up.

[lug]

I once sat a Prevey T40 for about 5 or 6 years with new strings, they still sounded new when I picked it back up.

[JHorstmann]

Unless you package your bass in an air-tight plastic bag, your strings will die. The reason why strings don't die in the package is because of the package itself.

[Philbiker]

IMO strings aren't "dead" until they will no longer hold pitch. After three years IMO they're just getting broken in.

[Meatrus]

Originally Posted by JHorstmann

Unless you package your bass in an air-tight plastic bag, your strings will die. The reason why strings don't die in the package is because of the package itself.

Yeagh because string envelopes are completely air tight . Very few strings come in air tight packs. I dont think its the air that kills them, as they dont rust, its the tension.

[Music Power]

It's definitely the tension. Strings are constantly stretching while on the bass, and eventually they stop, and that's when we think they sound dead. Some people like that sound, though, but most of us probably prefer newer sounding strings for the harmonic content it brings. Either way, I would just change them out.

[3dec3]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

It sounds pretty obvious but I want to know if strings naturally "die out" over even without them being played. I just picked up a new bass and the previous owner said that the strings that are on it (DR low riders) were put on maybe three years ago after a few hours of playing it was tucked into his closest and it had been there until he sold it to me. I know the best way to judge would be by the tone and by that alone these sound dead. But, they look pristine, as if they hadn't been touched. Can they really be dead if they haven't been played on for more than a few hours... 3 years ago?

Putting on new strings is always a treat to the ear.

[Moe Monsarrat]

In answer to your question "Do strings die?" ....yes they do. Thank God. The flats I use sound better after they've Gone To Heaven.

[queevil]

I believe they can die without ever being played. I once went to a music shop and bought a set of roundwound Rotosounds that had been on the shelf for a while, they had dust on them. I opened them up and they looked pristine but they were dead.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by Philbiker

IMO strings aren't "dead" until they will no longer hold pitch. After three years IMO they're just getting broken in.

Soulmate.

[SoonerMatt]

They can and will, but I've lived most of my life in Houston so YMMV.

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Soulmate.

Lol. To me strings are dead when I think they sounded like crud.

Anyway, it turns out these strings were dead because I slapped some Ken Smith Burners (love 'em) on it and BAM! Tone machine! So i guess strings can die out over time even if they're not being played.

[Mastermold]

Flats never die.

[varunkapahi]

yep moisture kills them

[KEVINTHES]

when they break and cant be tuned then yes they're dead...otherwise they should be used forever!

[CamiloDíaz]

naaah, flats never die!