Do Strings have an Expiration date?

[Rmccamey]

This is not a situation that will break the bank for any of us, I am just curious. I have a set of D'Addario EJ16s in the original, unopened package that is at least 10 years old, maybe even 15. Is it worth my time and effort (as little as that may be) to put them on and use them or are they, for all practical purposes, already "dead"?

The basic question is: do steel strings have an expiration date? Should they?

[drive-south]

As long as they are not corroded they should be fine.

[redir]

I think D'Addario says something like 3 years and that depends on how they are stored.

I'd still at least try them though. They might lose something but still be fine. I think tension is what ultimately wears strings out.

[warfrat73]

I have a stash of strings, some of which are in that 7-8 year old range that I'm working through. Not in those sealed nitrogen purged packs either, and they're still ok. A couple of little corrosion spots here and there, but more or less fine.

They might not have quite the same zing as a factory fresh set, but they're serviceable.

I mean, worst case scenario here, you put them on and aren't happy with them, and you switch them out. No terribly high stakes.

[nightchef]

I've had a set of strings go dead in the sealed package in less than a year. Since that experience, I try to only buy enough strings to meet my immediate (1- to 3-month) needs.

[Silly Moustache]

I was once told by a chap in D'addario customer service that strings start to "go off" about 18-24 months.

Remember that D'addario, Martin etc., do not sell to end users, they sell to retailers so if there was a "Best Before" the retailers would be concerned about the saleability of their lesser used string stock.

I suspect tat if your old strings still look bright then they'll be Ok but only for a short while.

However, with D'addario in particular, they change the design/colour of the "theoretically" airtight VCI impregnated inner sleeves every few years.

They tell us that the VCI protects the strings from corrosion, and for sure they are better than paper envelopes that ,say, John Pearse still use, but if, again, the sealed inner sleeves are punctured, the "potentially" carcinogenic VCI may possibly diminish in effect. (I don't "know" this to be true but as D'addario now squeezes inner packs into smaller cheaper outers, puncturing the inners in the packing process .... who knows?

see: Note, I still buy 'em but tend t buy Martins and D'adds 50/50 oh, and Dunlop strings when I can get them.

[Earl49]

I bought a bunch of uncoated house brand PB strings from Musician's Friend about 15 years ago for $2 a pack. They were not in sealed pouches and were stored in the original packaging in a box in a closet. I still put a set of those on once in a while and they are perfectly fine, most recently about three months ago. There are only a couple of sets left now. As long as the strings are not corroded they should be fine. If you lived in a tropical climate with high humidity, they would probably get surface corrosion in storage unless you sealed them in Ziploc bags or something similar, with desiccant packs.

Strings wear out from tension, movement, and bending, but mostly from contamination by skin oils. The metal does not fatigue while just sitting there slack in the package. For example, when we sold our 1920 Steinway piano a couple of years ago, it had almost all original strings and they sounded great. They got plenty of play over the decades but no handling. One or two strings broke during tunings and were changed along the way. Those fresher (brighter) strings stood out like sore thumbs for a while until they settled.

[jaan]

Originally Posted by Earl49

I bought a bunch of uncoated house brand PB strings from Musician's Friend about 15 years ago for $2 a pack. They were not in sealed pouches and were stored in the original packaging in a box in a closet. I still put a set of those on once in a while and they are perfectly fine, most recently about three months ago. There are only a couple of sets left now. As long as the strings are not corroded they should be fine. If you lived in a tropical climate with high humidity, they would probably get surface corrosion in storage unless you sealed them in Ziploc bags or something similar, with desiccant packs.

Strings wear out from tension, movement, and bending, but mostly from contamination by skin oils. The metal does not fatigue while just sitting there slack in the package. For example, when we sold our 1920 Steinway piano a couple of years ago, it had almost all original strings and they sounded great. They got plenty of play over the decades but no handling. One or two strings broke during tunings and were changed along the way. Those fresher (brighter) strings stood out like sore thumbs for a while until they settled.

Agreed, not in my experience either. I ran a vintage guitar store much of the 1990s. I constantly was sent boxes of strings here and there from suppliers. I’m still using them nowadays, and they are perfectly fine if kept totally dry.

[Rmccamey]

Great info, thanks for the feedback. I'll probably stick these with my camping guitar as a backup set.

[mawmow]

I would say, if they seem fine, not corroded, they should be fine :
it is "mineral" not "organic" in nature.

D'Addario sets and some other brands are sold in a sealed plastic package
while other brands are sold in some paper envelopes.

That said, I once had sets of nylons that were clearly corroded
after a few months.

I clearly got early corosion problems while I used to live nearby sea salted waters.

I currently have a bunch of string sets, well stored for months, even years,
and had no issue with string sets I recently used.

[Emil]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

I was once told by a chap in D'addario customer service that strings start to "go off" about 18-24 months.

Remember that D'addario, Martin etc., do not sell to end users, they sell to retailers so if there was a "Best Before" the retailers would be concerned about the saleability of their lesser used string stock.

I suspect tat if your old strings still look bright then they'll be Ok but only for a short while.

However, with D'addario in particular, they change the design/colour of the "theoretically" airtight VCI impregnated inner sleeves every few years.

They tell us that the VCI protects the strings from corrosion, and for sure they are better than paper envelopes that ,say, John Pearse still use, but if, again, the sealed inner sleeves are punctured, the "potentially" carcinogenic VCI may possibly diminish in effect. (I don't "know" this to be true but as D'addario now squeezes inner packs into smaller cheaper outers, puncturing the inners in the packing process .... who knows?

see: Note, I still buy 'em but tend t buy Martins and D'adds 50/50 oh, and Dunlop strings when I can get them.

Off topic, i know but i just wanted to say that you adding your Videos to answers from time to time really gives all threads a boost.

[Tone Gopher]

Grime and corrosion are the enemy of strings - not tension.

Tension of guitar strings is well below the elastic limit of deformation - else you would notice tuning constantly sagging.

What about the brass/bronze windings? Those are wrappings to add mass to the string, and are not under tension.

[JERZEY]

Originally Posted by Tone Gopher

Grime and corrosion are the enemy of strings - not tension.

Tension of guitar strings is well below the elastic limit of deformation - else you would notice tuning constantly sagging.

What about the brass/bronze windings? Those are wrappings to add mass to the string, and are not under tension.

The windings are under tension. When the winding breaks away its time to get rid of that string asap.

[Taylor Ham]

Originally Posted by JERZEY

The windings are under tension. When the winding breaks away its time to get rid of that string asap.

They're under some tension from being wound, and the miniscule amount the core wire lengthens being tuned to pitch, but the windings aren't under the full string tension.