So how long can you store unused strings?

[Eight_Stringer]

May be there will be a market for them like NOS tubes

Right you are! Have all my tubes bought in the 70's with me to this day, backups for the tube amps i have. Only lost 2 tubes in 30 years, hence the supply of Philips and Mullard 12AU7 12AX7 and 6CA7 ( EL34 ) ready and waiting... Bought a few Peavey amps recently with their 80's tubes still fitted. Testiment to proper designs of my amps and the Peaveys, in regard to long service life of the tubes ( colder biasing ). Ditto strings, most here on older basses are around 30 years old, sound fine to me plus or minus allowing for less "brightness". Thank you for the responce hdracer, regards.

 

[packhowitzer]

UPDATE:
So last night I put a set of strings on my highway 1 pbass. These strings were probably in the neighborhood of 8 or 9 years old. Maybe older. They were EB regular slinkys in the old packaging style (unsealed paper envelopes in an unsealed plastic pouch). As far as sound goes- I guess they are ok. They certainly sound newer than the 2year old strings that were on there. As far as looks go, they actually had some noticeable dulling compared to brand new strings. To me the sound is more important than the look (especially for something like strings), so I guess it's ok. Now to see how long they'll last.
When I was gigging out 4 or 5 nights a week (ah the good old days...) I changed my strings once a month. Now it's about once every 9 mos or so. The strings on this bass were older because i really liked them and didn't want to change them till i had to for sound reasons. So i'll keep these strings on this pbass for a while. It is a back up technically, but i do play it often at home (maybe 4 hours a week). So i'll report back and let y'all know how these new-but-still-old strings hold up.
Please keep your opinion/experiences coming if you have anything to add!

 

[Ronbassman]

You can never go wrong with D'Addario strings. They always come sealed in plastic.

 

[mistergroove]

Please there are somebody who knows HOW TO FIX Labella black nylon tape 7710 string???

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

whast wrong with it?

 

[petrus61]

Please there are somebody who knows HOW TO FIX Labella black nylon tape 7710 string???

I feel like I read somewhere that Nylon Tapewounds can sometimes have grounding/contact issues at the bridge. I know that I used to have an older style Fender set on a P bass with a BadassII and the G string was extremely lifeless sounding while played open or fretted...may have just been a dead string.

 

[scotch]

]I feel like I read somewhere that Nylon Tapewounds can sometimes have grounding/contact issues at the bridge.[/B] I know that I used to have an older style Fender set on a P bass with a BadassII and the G string was extremely lifeless sounding while played open or fretted...may have just been a dead string.

That they can! The black tape insulates your body from the bridge ground, so your pickups can pick up noise that would normally be shunted.

 

[ThruHisPower]

I used to gig 5 hrs a night, 4 nights a week in some pretty gnarly, smoky, sweaty conditions. I changed strings once per month. I bought in bulk to help defray some of the cost. That was years ago and now I change my strings maybe 3 times a year on my most used basses and 1 time a year on the lesser ones. I usually use nickel rounds.

So my question is, I've got some strings left over from the old days that have always been stored in their original packaging without exposure to any extremes. BUT they are getting on in age. One of my twelve packs of Ernie Ball Slinkys has got to be getting on towards 8 or 9 years old. Should I hurry up and use them for the sake of using them? Will they be okay to use as necessity dictates? Will their useful lifespan be shorter?

I've got maybe 25 sets of strings to get through that range from that old box at 9 years up to a few sets that are maybe 4 years young. The newer ones were usually freebies or whatever as clearly I don't need to go out and buy strings.

So whach'all think?

I bought a used Fender P-bass that was used very little (still looked like new), but even though it was in the case, the strings had corrosion on them. I proceeded to due a complete setup to Fender specs. I put on a set of Fender strings that were new but never used. They were many years old and came in paper envelopes with a vinyl package. I couldn't get the instrument intonated at all. I called a local luthier and explained what I had done. He said throw the strings away, and I did. I boiled the old strings (now they were at least 6+ years old) and reinstalled them and bingo, intonation success! I was flabbergasted. I only play the bass once a week at practice, and it does what it needs to do for me. I left them on for "a few" more years and finally changed them. Of course they were not tonally perfect at every fret, but like so many other bandmates I've read about, they didn't pay that much attention to my contribution. All they seem to care about is if there is some bottom end that doesn't screw up the songs. I know - Poor, poor pitiful me! (good song by the way

 

[packhowitzer]

I bought a used Fender P-bass that was used very little (still looked like new), but even though it was in the case, the strings had corrosion on them. I proceeded to due a complete setup to Fender specs. I put on a set of Fender strings that were new but never used. They were many years old and came in paper envelopes with a vinyl package. I couldn't get the instrument intonated at all. I called a local luthier and explained what I had done. He said throw the strings away, and I did. I boiled the old strings (now they were at least 6+ years old) and reinstalled them and bingo, intonation success! I was flabbergasted. I only play the bass once a week at practice, and it does what it needs to do for me. I left them on for "a few" more years and finally changed them. Of course they were not tonally perfect at every fret, but like so many other bandmates I've read about, they didn't pay that much attention to my contribution. All they seem to care about is if there is some bottom end that doesn't screw up the songs. I know - Poor, poor pitiful me! (good song by the way

thanks for sharing your story! and thanks for the compliment on the song. I have pretty much decided to go with new strings on my basses with roundwounds and of course my bass with the flats on it - i'll let the strings age like a fine wine.

 

[whatever4]

I was excited to find some old Fender Superbass strings with the black wrapped ends (before they started looking like D'Addarios) strings at a small neighborhood music store. The guy let me have them for half price because they were old. These weren't packaged in air tight foil, only in paper envelopes inside a big plastic envelope (not airtight). They sounded fine for about a week and then died quickly and sounded like bailing wire.

 

[GIBrat51]

I think it depends where you are, and how you store them. I'd be willing to bet that jmattbassplaya's strings would have been perfectly OK here in my house; in the Mohave Desert, where the temperature is stable, and humidity is just a theoretical concept. I've always followed the Traveling Wilbury's advice; I keep them "In A Cool Dry Place", and they seem to do just fine - just like my ammo...