Storing used strings..

[TheArchitect]

1- Do you hang onto used strings that are not spent? I have not typically but for the purposes of testing strings I am going to for at least the sort term

2- Do you coil them? Hang them? Do you clean them? How do you clean them?

I just took off a set of nickel Roto's to try out some flats. At $50 pop in some cases I don't want to toss strings that have been on a week just to try the next set. I may want to come back to them. I may also want to try them on both the Jazz and Precision.


So how do you handle used strings? Or do you bother?

 

[ahbass2500]

I do not bother with them. At one point I would save them (wiped down with GHS fast fret and coiled), but I never used the saved strings. Stopped saving them after I had to toss a few years worth of sets.

 

[pepj]

I save them all. I re-use them for at least 5 re strings.
I coil them up in sets.

Once I get little life from putting (restringing) them, ie 2 weeks or so, I retire them for good.

 

[BGroovy]

I coil them up back in packaging. I put masking tap on the package and write which bass they came off of. I have a big plastic container with at least 30 sets of strings.

 

[nickpc]

Twist tie wire looped through the ball ends, then tied off on the hanger bar in the closet in my music room. Index card (or post-it note) also on the twist tie wire so I know what they are.

The hanging ends that went around the tuning posts do like to get tangled a bit, but not too badly.

(And yes, I've looked through them like clothes on a rack, imaging which bass they might want to go on. "These light rounds might be good on the T-20!")

 

[michael_t]

1- Do you hang onto used strings that are not spent? I have not typically but for the purposes of testing strings I am going to for at least the sort term

2- Do you coil them? Hang them? Do you clean them? How do you clean them?

The only strings I save are the ones I use on my Ibanez SR650E. The quick-release bridge makes it easier to swap strings back and forth without messing up the coiled ends off of the tuner posts.

I store new strings in a medium-size Ziploc bags and clean them with an alcohol wipe before installation. When I save strings, I clean them again with an alcohol wipe and store them in a large Ziploc bag.

 

[Lo-E]

Coil them, put them in a used string package, put them with my other strings, forget I have them, find them years later and wonder why I kept them.

 

[RattleSnack]

I save used string so that I have one set of (most) different string models I tried. Once I (inevitably) flip one of my bass guitars, I can find ideal set among used... No need to buy new set just to find out it doesn't sound right for this new bass guitar.
Also, at least one of those used sets is always in my gig bag, as a spare. Never need that spare, ever, though.

 

[TheArchitect]

I do not bother with them. At one point I would save them (wiped down with GHS fast fret and coiled), but I never used the saved strings. Stopped saving them after I had to toss a few years worth of sets.

I normally don't change strings often and usually only once they are at the end of their useful life. Rounds don't last that long. This is kind of a special situation

 

[TheArchitect]

The only strings I save are the ones I use on my Ibanez SR650E. The quick-release bridge makes it easier to swap strings back and forth without messing up the coiled ends off of the tuner posts.

I store new strings in a medium-size Ziploc bags and clean them with an alcohol wipe before installation. When I save strings, I clean them again with an alcohol wipe and store them in a large Ziploc bag.

View attachment 7245104

I used to think saving old strings from Fenders would be a mess from getting the coiled wire through the bridge. It really wasn't bad at all. Bass strings are much easier than guitar strings

 

[kevk]

For strings I’ve briefly used/experimented with…
• coil and place in (1 qt size) ziplock freezer bags…
• cut out/include any packaging info…
• list bass(s) demo’d, with brief note (ie: too dark)…

Making it easy…all my basses are same mfg’r and scale length; use either Hipshot A or B bridge, with same tuning post diameter/locations…

 

[monsterthompson]

Coil them, put them in a used string package, put them with my other strings, forget I have them, find them years later and wonder why I kept them.

Guilty as charged.

 

[monsterthompson]

I’m going through a bit of this now. I’ve been on a quest for strings and trying a few different brands and models. I hate to use strings for a small fraction of their useful life only to find another set I like better. At $30-$60 a set for 5 strings the price can add up. It’s hard not to feel like there’s a chance to go back and get more use out of a set. I’ve been curious how long stored strings are good for. I think the reality is that storing used ones isn’t the right move for me, but it’s interesting to see how others handle this.

 

[Sam Dingle]

Naw I toss em

 

[Smooth_bass88]

old, dead, used strings get put into a larger container and ultimately recycled

 

[MCS4]

I don't save strings I am removing because they are worn out, but I do save strings that I take off for some other reason, such as if I am switching to a different set of strings for purposes of a different tuning, sound, etc. while the existing strings still have some decent life left. I typically coil the old strings in the packaging from the new set of strings that I am replacing them with and will write in a note regarding which strings are in the package. I don't make any particular effort to clean them and have not seen any negative repercussions. After many years of playing I have a couple of small bags full of new and used strings of various types in a closet that I can go to grab strings when needed.

 

[Riff Ranger]

I’ve been curious how long stored strings are good for.

Thread 'I put 26-year-old roundwounds on a bass today'

Aug 29, 2021

It pays to like every NBD you see, and occasionally say something nice.

I noticed the other day that the B-string saddle on @tb-player’s gorgeous new Sadowsky (hope you love it forever!) sat closer to the neck than the E-string saddle, which seemed unusual to me. I presume any Sadowsky instrument probably arrives with proper intonation, so I asked about it as I congratulated our colleague on the acquisition. @Fuzzbass gently informed me that this commonly happens with tapered strings (thanks again).

Meanwhile, I have an instrument—not a Sadowsky—that @Turnaround and...

• Riff Ranger
• carvin strings intonation tapered strings
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Strings [BG]

• 

 

[klejst]

Years ago I would save one of each string used for if in a pinch and need something for a temp basis...now I generally just recycle my used strings when I change them with new, never save them anymore.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

I usually just keep 1 old rolled up set in case one fails.

 

[micguy]

A few times I have taken "broken in, but not worn out" strings off of one bass to put on one I've just built or re-wired - I like to optimize my circuits for strings that are broken in, not brand new, so this is helpful in doing that. But I don't end up storing used strings for any period of time past a day or two, so they sit uncoiled on the surface of my workbench for that brief period.

When strings are worn out, they are trash - never kept.

My spare strings on a gig are a new set in the packaging, in my gig bag.