Daft question time - what 'ages' strings? Playing or time?

[Paul S]

Just that really. if you bought a load of strings and kept them in a drawer for 10 years, unplayed, would they sound as dull as 10 year old strings that had been played? Or would they be as bright as the day they were made? Or somewhere between?

Thanks!

[ezbass]

I would have thought that there would be some sort of effect of the atmosphere acting on them (unless vac packed), but probably now't that you'd notice. Dead skin, grease and sweat are the foremost killers of string brightness.

[HowieBass]

I imagine there might be some aspect of work hardening involved with played-in strings too.

[icastle]

Atmospheric pollutants would eventually get to a set of strings, but IRL it's usage that kills them.

[BassBus]

If you bend a piece of metal backwards and forwards often enough the molecular structure will weaken and it will break. Effectively you are bending the string every time you pluck it and re-tune it. Other than that as above.

['ark a' 'im and 'is molecular structure] [size=4] [/size]

[FlatEric]

This may help and is my belief.

A bass I still have - My Hondo Pro (which sounds more like a P than mnost P's!!),
was ftted a few years ago, with some "Grant" strings I bought in the 70's - still in the sleeves
and in a packet.
Tucked away at the bottom of a box, away from view!

So I had them for 35 odd years before I fitted them.
Sounded SO sweet!
Still on there, still sounding sweet.

Basses I play/rehearse/gig with - strings have a limited lifespan.

Some go off relatively quickly others seem to go on and on but at the
point the can only offer something bordering on a Dull Thud, they're off!!

[icastle]

Anyone remember Superwound Funkmasters?

I found a set in a guitar case I'd not used in at least 15 years and put them on my Aria SB900 earlier this year.

They sound the same way they used to some 20 years ago when they were last made... bleedin' awful.

[Paul S]

Muchas gracias amigos!

[iiipopes]

The primary reason strings die: string gunk damping the string and accumulating acids which corrode the string. So if you have a string in a sealed package, it should theoretically last forever.

Stainless steel flatwounds have a reputation, deservedly so, of lasting for years or even decades. This is because the wrap is not only corrosion resistant by design, but also because the wraps are tight enough to not let any gunk get into the interior of the strings. This also makes the string less flexible, therefore less overtones and darker tone, but that is for another thread.

On the double bass side, for these same reasons, some jazz players have used their sets of Thomastik-Infeld Spirocores for over a quarter century.

Decades ago, when coal was used more, and there were more sulphur and other compounds and other pollution in the air, yes, even stainless steel flatwound strings could eventually suffer from corrosion from the London Fog, even if not played. But thankfully those days are over.

So we're back full circle - the primary reason strings die is we play them. Every mechanical item wears out eventually.

[JTUK]

Strings go off because they have been played... and I change mine when the feel
is off, rather than the sound. They feel crap rather than sound too bad...
but I wouldn't expect any sort of result from old strings even if they had been
sealed for all that time. Fine, if they sounded ok, but I wouldn't have strings that old
sitting around, anyway.