Title says it all. Unless Jimi played them, their desirability to me drops to about zero.
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I don't get buying used strings!
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
Obviously you're not a flatwound user. No worries, move on...
New flatwounds get to a good sound in a week or two and don't have years of goo on them. Eww.
I buy used strings out of the classifieds all the time. I can’t afford to experiment at full retail price, so a lightly used set saves me time and money when I want to see if I like a set or not. YMMV.
There is nothing wrong with the idea some people buy "pre-washed, pre-shrunk" jeans.
If some people choose to buy used strings for whatever reason, why not?
If you don't get the idea, no worries, move on...
(By the way, in the interest of full disclosure, I personally wound never buy used strings for myself. In fact, I don't even buy used basses.
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For no particularly good reason, once they’re taken off they stay off AFAIC. It’s just a thing with me.
I don’t load up used strings. Not even my own.
And as far as flats go, once I put them on, they stay on until they break, go totally dead, or the intonation goes off. (Like most flat players I never look forward to flatwound string changes.)
I don’t load up used strings. Not even my own.
And as far as flats go, once I put them on, they stay on until they break, go totally dead, or the intonation goes off. (Like most flat players I never look forward to flatwound string changes.)
IME they tend to break if you change any angles, as in put them on a different bass. So I never remove strings and remount them. I used to boil strings every week to rejuvenate them, but it's really hard on the lacquer finishes and requires a really tall pot so I stopped.
Agree that used strings are useless, witness points and all.
(By the way, in the interest of full disclosure, I personally wound never buy used strings for myself. In fact, I don't even buy used basses.
Just to add to what I was saying earlier...
I have sold a few sets of flats (3-9 mths old) in the past that didn't quite work out for my basses that other people wanted to try without having to spend the money to buy a brand new set. They saved money by buying a used set, and I saved money by recovering part of my original cost. Win-win.
As for rounds, once I put them on, I keep them on till they're used up so no re-selling them.
The "used string" thing strikes me as odd, too.
Hygienically speaking, it seems like a step away, at best, from buying used toothbrush. But as far the sound goes, michael_t repetitively put it best; I'm not a flat wound user, nor do I covet the sound of dead strings, so they're not for me.
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I could put the grossness aside for Jimi saliva.
All part of my evil plan to clone Jimi Hendrix.
Like used shoes, no thanks.
I routinely see used guitar picks for sale on the local Leboncoin. They usually cost more than they would new. It's bizarre. Also instruments are routinely listed at higher than new, delivered, prices. French people have some interesting musical practices, "revise par luthier" means a luthier did a setup and changed the strings. It raises the price.
I tried deliberately overpricing an item bc I thought, hey maybe, you know... and somebody emailed me right away saying it was more than it cost new. The world is strange.
I should probably list my old strings...
Maybe if I could get a set of dirt cheap TI's that someone bought and hated and they're for the same bass. Unlikely. I should just get a set of TI's and try them, not sure why I haven't yet. I'll drop $200 on a pedal without a thought.
There's lightly used and then there's used all the way up. I've bought a ton and I've never broken one. I don't get the "I don't get ____ " threads and I'd like to start a thread about it but that'd be too hypocritical.
