Old strings sound new without treatment

[EAdanikDG]

I recently re-strung my bass with dead Fender strings. they were stored for about 8-10 months in a D'Addario box (without the plastic) coiled up. I left them out of the box for about 1 week as I was going to treat them with denatured alcohol. Anyway, when I put them on they sounded zingy, like new strings. How could this have happened?

[ZolkoW]

there's MAGIC in the D'addario box!!

[bassist4dalord]

Happens to me, too. Not sure why. Maybe it's the strings stretching and stuff? I dunno

[Chrisk-K]

Maybe they were not dead?

[TheSuzie]

Maybe the Funk Mites came and ate all the funk out of your strings.

People have noticed that letting down double bass strings sometimes seems to open up sound of the instrument after it is brought back up to tune. Folks speculate about bridges and soundposts shifting etc but maybe something happens to the strings sometimes.

[ZolkoW]

I experienced this (with bassguitar strings) many times - I think the string returns from the stretched state to almost the "resting" state. maybe the deadness of the string is not only caused by the dirt, and corrosion, but the stretching counts too. and/or maybe the wrappings realign while you string it down and up, which could affect the sound.

Originally Posted by TheSuzie

Maybe the Funk Mites came and ate all the funk out of your strings.

People have noticed that letting down double bass strings sometimes seems to open up sound of the instrument after it is brought back up to tune. Folks speculate about bridges and soundposts shifting etc but maybe something happens to the strings sometimes.

[NickMonti]

Itt: Magic boxes, Funk mites, and the mystery of the vibrant strings.

Sounds like a childrens story.

[Jay2U]

I do have a similar experience with Fender 9050 flats. It looks like the strings tend harden as a result of the mechanical force applied to them. Instead of waiting for a long time, they can also be heat-treated. There are several ways to do so. They should become seriously hot for just a short while. A few seconds at 400 deg. C will do. This releases buitl up stress.