Why do folks cut strings?

[BobKos]

I cut my strings so the wraps ideally will breakout as close to the headstock as possible without overlapping. I think it is about 5" beyond tuner for 1/2" Fender type tuners. Gives me around 3 wraps. For me the strings are permanent to the bass usually. If I remove them they will fit one of my other basses as I own many FSO basses. I don't consider resale part of the equation. I have only bought two sets of takeoff strings and they were both TIs with pretty much zero mileage.

FWIW a pic of my new Fender Ultra Jazz as received from Fender....

 

[Brich]

Selling used strings? lol

Lmao I thought the same thing, tf is buying used strings?

 

[fourfinger]

I have long been installing mine exactly the way this guy installs the E string at the end of this video. Especially important with round cores.



As for used strings -- why not? The "biohazard" argument is refuted by one alcohol wipe. Except for the homemade bass in my avatar, my basses currently sport "used" strings.

Many times, new strings are changed for reasons other than being worn out. If you want to try and compare a number of different string brands or gauges, it's much less expensive than buying new.

And if you did buy new to compare, or just to use while still nearly new, why not sell the lightly used ones? I have done this, and hopefully it worked out well for the buyer, not just for me.

Admittedly, I would NOT resell strings that I bought used and then played. And I think used flats are far better to re-use than rounds.

 

[Ric5]

I’m having a hard time understanding why people cut strings. I’ve literally never had a case where a string has had so much extra it wasn’t able to sit on the peg after wrapping it around. Strings for me usually wrap around 3-5 times then continue down to the nut. Never had any problem what so ever with slippage, tuning, etc. Why cut them, then when you go to re-sell your strings they’re a specific length for your specific bass. Why is this a thing, what am I missing?

I could maybe understand if it was a 2+2 at the headstock and the G and maybe D silk was over kill. But I see people selling standard strings saying “cut for a precision”…. That is where I am lost.

Strings are actually designed to be cut to proper length

(5618) How To Change Your Bass Strings | Fender - YouTube

(5618) DIY - How to Change Your Bass Guitar Strings - YouTube

 

[marchone]

Here are a couple of pics you posted in another thread. Are you telling us you didn't have to cut these strings down to size?

His wraps are going over themselves. This would seem to affect intonation.

Only the G string has a single layer on its post.

 

[HardNHeavy]

because i like my eyeballs.?.....and i like a tidy headstock.

 

[Jefenator]

It may be better to have too many wraps around a post than not enough, but why do that when you can have just the right amount?
I invested in a nice set of snippers just for string changes - makes my life easier. YMMV.
It's a bigger deal with modern 3/8" pegs IME.

 

[non]

Why cut them, then when you go to re-sell your strings they’re a specific length for your specific bass.

people resell used strings?
people buy used strings?

 

[FunkHead]

people resell used strings?
people buy used strings?

All the time. Especially Flats(TI JF344)

 

[GretschWretch]

Because if you don't,you have this!
View attachment 4711510
.....and many of us don't want this!

I cut my strings to about 2 1/2 inches past the post so I will have about three winds around the post.
Maybe a bit more on the D,G, and C.(Sixers)
View attachment 4711511

With regard to the first pic, if that wind had been done competently then we wouldn't have "this."

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I’m having a hard time understanding why people cut strings. I’ve literally never had a case where a string has had so much extra it wasn’t able to sit on the peg after wrapping it around. Strings for me usually wrap around 3-5 times then continue down to the nut. Never had any problem what so ever with slippage, tuning, etc. Why cut them, then when you go to re-sell your strings they’re a specific length for your specific bass. Why is this a thing, what am I missing?

I could maybe understand if it was a 2+2 at the headstock and the G and maybe D silk was over kill. But I see people selling standard strings saying “cut for a precision”…. That is where I am lost.

Have you seen the diameter of a Warwick Corvette tuning peg and their close proximity to each other? A B string can be as thick as .145. There is not enough room for the required multiple windings to take up the slack.

There is no mechanical advantage taking up the entire slack of a whole string out of the package. In some cases that may cause intonation cases if there are overlapping windings. Besides, how much fun is there spinning your tunning peg round and round when you don't have to. For me, I cut strings about 4" beyond the tuning peg, slightly longer for Fender basses due to the pegs being larger in diameter. Hope this helps.

 

[Killing Floor]

I cut mine to make them fit on my bass. Interestingly I also want guitar strings to fit on my guitar.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I cut to proper length to get enough winding to give good string angle and not overlap. Resale is never a consideration for strings. By the time I pay for shipping, I’m back to zero if I sold them.

 

[darwin-bass]

Why? To make them fit properly.

Why not?

 

[MultiScaleMale]

His wraps are going over themselves. This would seem to affect intonation.

Only the G string has a single layer on its post.

Intonation is nut to bridge. Tuner wraps don’t come into play.

 

[fhm555]

On my Fenders I cut strings three spaces from where they enter their capstan. I lay the E through it’s post then clip it just ahead of the G post. All the other strings get the same treatment, mark (with fingers) where they pass through their capstan, then drop them through the E post and snip just past the G post. I do this because it was the way I was taught, along with how to get them wound with a minimum of slack in the coils, and how to remove that slack.
I’ve been doing it long before I ever heard of TB and it has never failed to work well enough I can put on fresh strings and play right away without fear of my strings “settling” as any slack left in the coils is worked out and tuning suffers. And that’s not to mention this method satisfies my OCD with it’s uniformity and neatness.
I’m a firm believer in no single right way to do things so whatever works for you is what you should do. If OTOH, someone asks how I do it, i’m happy to oblige, but I’ve never been dogmatic about things unless there is good reason to do so.

 

[gazzatriumph]

I didn't know people didn't cut strings to correct length. I've sold used double bass strings but they are pretty expensive new.

 

[GretschWretch]

If one has multiple basses with varying tailpiece to headstock distances, then cutting is going to severely limit migrating a set of strings across several basses just to see what fits best where, or even just for whimsy. Sometimes the diameter of the post dictates that a string simply must be cut, but if there is a workaround for that I usually take it.

I regard selling (non-DB) strings as being more trouble than it is worth, but if I knew of a church that has an overseas mission program that needed bass strings, I would cheerfully give them my overage. All of which have been soaked in denatured alcohol for at least twenty-four hours and then air dried.

 

[Jeff Scott]

So the string you buy are at a perfect length for your bass?

When/if I buy a new/different brand/set of strings I always have a new bass made to accommodate their specific needs; it's a lot easier to do this than to cut the strings to fit the bass properly. I though everybody did this?

 

[Nev375]

My frets will have worn notches into the windings of my strings by the time I'm through with them.

Who are these lunatics who would want to buy such a thing?