Do strings go stale?

[Stewie]

Last year I strung my P Bass with some D'addario flats that I bought around 1990. They sound great!

On the other hand, I tend to leave flats on a bass for ten years or more, 'til they are dead, dead, dead.

 

[Spectre Gunner]

And Tupperware won't survive a direct hit from a grenade launcher, either, in case that ever comes into play.

Agreed. Cheap plastic containers are good for storing food in the refrigerator but they suck for long term storage. They don't need a direct hit from a grenade as they will eventually become brittle and destroy themselves with age. Especially the lids. However, flat wound bass strings will outlast the plastic container they're stored in and may even survive a grenade attack.

 

[J-Bassomatic]

I had a set of Uranium Flats one time but I never used them for years and they had decayed into Lead so they were unusable.

 

[maxschrek]

Every set of Rotosounds I've ever bought we're stale.

 

[JGbassman]

And Tupperware won't survive a direct hit from a grenade launcher, either, in case that ever comes into play.

I can personally guarantee an ammo can won't either....

 

[Chicory Blue]

Check the sell-by date if you aren't sure, but if they aren't moldy you can probably still eat them.

--^@

 

[Gringo Basso]

I'll get murderized on this forum, but I was always a String Boiler! That's probably taboo here, but I'd get years out of my Rotosounds and never had one of my "recycled" string break. Whether that works on something that's just been sitting, I dunno.

 

[JimmyM]

I'll get murderized on this forum, but I was always a String Boiler! That's probably taboo here, but I'd get years out of my Rotosounds and never had one of my "recycled" string break. Whether that works on something that's just been sitting, I dunno.

String boiling does work, but I've had better luck for life by using a denatured alcohol soak for 5 or 6 days. Takes longer, yes, but works well and doesn't heat up your strings, which will weaken them eventually. Still, can't argue with your success doing it, and it is quicker.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

They might be ok depending on where they were kept. I like the Ernie Ball Slinkys because of the sealed packaging

 

[ONYX]

I store new sets of strings in the deep freezer. It's the only only environment in my house that has constant temperature and humidity. I just recently took out a set of EB bass strings that I had forgotten about, dated 2001. They sound as brand new as a set I bought last month.

 

[farace]

I've been known to buy NOS sets of D'Addario XL Reds on eBay. Didn't notice them sounding much different from how I remembered them sounding in the '80s, but then again, I'm getting to the age that my memory is probably suspect.

 

[ONYX]

I've been known to buy NOS sets of D'Addario XL Reds on eBay. Didn't notice them sounding much different from how I remembered them sounding in the '80s, but then again, I'm getting to the age that my memory is probably suspect.

Weren't those the copper strings that would turn your fingertips green?

 

[farace]

Weren't those the copper strings that would turn your fingertips green?

That's them, though my body chemistry must have changed, because it doesn't do it as badly as when I was in my twenties.

 

[JimEOT]

Tupperware is cheaper, so are zip lock bags, but in no way are they anywhere close to as cool