Eight year old factory strings?

[scottfeldstein]

Oh a whim I scooped up a budget Yamaha (TRBX174EW) the other day off Reverb. It was listed as "used" but shows absolutely no signs of wear, not a scratch or a ding on it. And the serial number indicates it left the factory in September of 2014, eight years ago! Even the strings look like factory install to me. Perfect winds. Not the kind of string installation done by someone who would typically buy a $200 bass. I'm thinking this axe hung on the music store wall for years until they decided it was time to flip it online at a used price.

Which leads me to wonder... if these are eight year old strings...is that why it sounds like a bunch of bungie cords? I was doing some setup on it last night, looking for some low action bark, but couldn't really find it. Is that the result of eight year old strings?

Perhaps I'll find out this evening when I put on a fresh set of Slinky 45-105s on it.

 

[tindrum]

I would imagine a few things come into play here….firstly I’m pretty certain those strings were pretty basic, budget strings to begin with and they probably were never particularly inspiring. Secondly I would imagine there has to be some level of at least minor oxidation going on after eight years. I live in a very humid area and I’ve had basses and guitars that went pretty decent stretches without getting much playing time after being installed go dead just basically sitting still. I’m confident the new set you put on will be a big improvement.

 

[scottfeldstein]

I would imagine a few things come into play here….firstly I’m pretty certain those strings were pretty basic, budget strings to begin with and they probably were never particularly inspiring. Secondly I would imagine there has to be some level of at least minor oxidation going on after eight years. I live in a very humid area and I’ve had basses and guitars that went pretty decent stretches without getting much playing time after being installed go dead just basically sitting still. I’m confident the new set you put on will be a big improvement.

Well, this came from a Sam Ash in San Antonio, Texas. I don't know if it's humid there or not. But still, eight years is eight years. I'll be sure to post the results later on.

 

[scottfeldstein]

Well, I did it. I cut off whatever strings were on it. 45-105 but unknown brand. Whatever Yamaha was using eight years ago for low end models. I cut them off, oiled the thirsty rosewood, polished up the entire thing, polished the frets with fret erasers, and strapped on a set of Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky 45-105.

It doesn't bring the rasp the way my Ibanez BTB does. But I have that bass set up for very low action and very little neck relief. I don't think the Yamaha will go that far. But the strings did bring back quite a bit of life to the tone. I had to EQ my amp totally differently with the fresh set on.

 

[rockinrayduke]

Well, this came from a Sam Ash in San Antonio, Texas. I don't know if it's humid there or not. But still, eight years is eight years. I'll be sure to post the results later on.

Lived there for 10 years. It’s horrible humid in S Texas.

 

[mahsidivad]

FWIW I just setup and re-strung my 2 basses with DR high beams that must have been 8-10 years old. Sounds fresh.