Curled up string packaging damages the strings?

[Mr. Metal Smith]

A danish website (www.stringsite.com) argue that having strings curled up and packaged into small packages causes strings to be weaker/causes damage to the strings because metal tends to 'settle in' when bent. They also argue that because stores sometimes have strings packages in stock for over 1 year this adds to the effect. Therefore they sell strings that are not bent (in long tubes or something).

Does this argument hold any water?
- if yes, does it apply to guitar and/or bass strings?
- and if yes, is there an 'expiration date' on a set of bass strings?

I hope some of you could provide some insight to this

[Tony G]

Interesting. I've always wondered about this. It seems to make sense, but cost effective packaging yields the current style of coiling to fit in small boxes.

[knuckle_head]

In an ideal world strings would never be coiled.

This is more harmful to electric bass strings than to guitar strings because they are made under higher tension (because they are played at higher tension) and when a string is coiled it can cause the wraps to loosen slightly when they are uncoiled.

The softer the metal in the strings the more susceptible they would be to the rammifications of being coiled.

FWIW - the larger the string packaging the less damage is done...

[SteveC]

Ideally, strings would come in tubes like some do for violin and viola. Packaging would be less than ideal. It would be difficult to get your logo and stuff on a skinny tube. You couldn't display tham as easily as current packaging.

As with most everything, I'm sure it comes down to money and marketing.

[Phalex]

There's gotta be a ratio for this. Atoz should be along shortly with his slide rule. I should think that as long as the coil is X times the diameter of the string that coiling will have a neglegable,or no effect whatsoever on the integrity of the string. Is there a nerd in the house??

[mjolnir]

Intriguing...

But honestly, how many people worry about coil tightness when restringing their basses?

[The BurgerMeister]

Originally Posted by SteveC

As with most everything, I'm sure it comes down to money and marketing.

+1.

[Jimbob Jones]

I agree. Metal has memory, it will spring back to a shape if you bend it a little. Bend it too far and it kinks or snaps.

When you unwrap a brand new bass string, it springs straight. If you lay it out on the floor, it's as near to straight as makes no difference: it doesn't bend in any direction. I think that in the theoretical world, strings that are made, stored and sold straight would be better than the standard coiled, but in the real world, it makes no difference at all.

[knuckle_head]

Originally Posted by Jimbob Jones

I agree. Metal has memory, it will spring back to a shape if you bend it a little. Bend it too far and it kinks or snaps.

When you unwrap a brand new bass string, it springs straight. If you lay it out on the floor, it's as near to straight as makes no difference: it doesn't bend in any direction. I think that in the theoretical world, strings that are made, stored and sold straight would be better than the standard coiled, but in the real world, it makes no difference at all.

Memory is what will cause the problem if coiled long enough. Depends on how fresh and of what material - Nickels would be more susceptible than Steels

[knuckle_head]

Originally Posted by Phalex

Is there a nerd in the house??

Yes.

[JoshD]

All I can say about this is that I replace my strings when they sound really dead, before they get a chance to break.

[J.D.B.]

What happens to the end that gets wrapped around the tuning machine peg? Speaking of nerds.............
Josh

[knuckle_head]

Originally Posted by JoshD

All I can say about this is that I replace my strings when they sound really dead, before they get a chance to break.

If said strings were coiled for a prolonged period of time there is a really good chance they'd sound dead right out of the package. It would certainly shorten their sonic life.

Originally Posted by J.D.B.

What happens to the end that gets wrapped around the tuning machine peg? Speaking of nerds.............
Josh

Beyond the nut is outside the speaking area of the string and wouldn't compromise your sound. Only issue out there is if you cut your string out that far and the wraps unwind. It's always a good idea to put a 90 degree bend in the string before cutting just in case.

[JimmyM]

I see you all have never heard of Nashville Straights. In the 70's, a company called Nashville Straights packaged strings in very long cardboard tubes and their whole selling point was that the straightness is much easier on them and made them sound better than coiling them. They lasted a couple years, and while they didn't sell hugely, they did find a niche market among the elite who didn't mind paying for the snob appeal of saying their strings were never coiled.

But then logic prevailed...people began to wonder which was harder on strings...coiling them in a package, or putting them under tremendous pressure stretching on an instrument? People figured that if the strings couldn't stand coiling, they probably couldn't stand being on a guitar or bass.

And that's why you don't see Nashville Straights anymore. That, and the hugely unwieldy packaging that made it impossible to carry spares.

[JimmyM]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nashville-Straig....c52.m20.l1116

I remember this ad well. It was all over guitar magazines at the time.

[markdavid]

This claim that having the strings coiled in the package damages them sounds like a load of codswallop to me , I imagine that the effect this has on the strings to be so minute as to be negligible , it sounds like a marketing trick to me. Also as somebody before me has mentioned if your strings can withstand being stretched on your bass then they should be able to withstand being slightly coiled in a package

[theshadow2001]

They're obviously playing on the fact that most musicians lap up complete BS on a consistent basis

[erochelle77]

The wire that they make their "never coiled" strings from, comes in coils.


Just something to think about.

[knuckle_head]

Originally Posted by markdavid

This claim that having the strings coiled in the package damages them sounds like a load of codswallop to me , I imagine that the effect this has on the strings to be so minute as to be negligible , it sounds like a marketing trick to me. Also as somebody before me has mentioned if your strings can withstand being stretched on your bass then they should be able to withstand being slightly coiled in a package

I'd suggest that the affect is minute provided you purchase and use the strings you buy within a year or so you are probably right.

Linear stretch is one thing as it keeps the wraps on the string in consistent tension around the circumference of the string. If coiled you have one side of the string being compress and the opposite side being stretched. Net affect (if left too long in a coiled state) when you put the strings under tension on your bass is this causes inconsistent tension along the string's length. It will, as a result, not vibrate as a unit as intended. The string will not sound as good as it could and it shortens the playable life of the string.

Originally Posted by erochelle77

The wire that they make their "never coiled" strings from, comes in coils.

Just something to think about.

True, but as raw coiled wire it is not under tension.

A string is made with just slightly less than playing tension on it, and the winds are tensioned similarly. It is the inconsistent and diametrically opposed differential in tension once coiled (over time) after the string is made that does the damage.

[JimmyM]

Maybe so, but in real world situations, I doubt it makes any appreciable difference whatsoever.