Dead strings out of the pack??

[glaswerks]

Have any of you ever run into the situation where you put on a new set of strings and they deader than a donut from the get-go?

I have this happen every once in a while and it JUST DRIVE ME NUTZ.... .

 

[DamianP]

Never with D`addario.

 

[Fuzzhead66]

I've had some bad ones... but they were never dead as a doughnut!

 

[MarkF786]

I just got finished putting a set of Elixir Phosphor Bronze on my acoustic. I can't tell if they are dead or this is how the strings sound, since it's my first time using them. I'll give 'em a chance tomorrow to see how I feel about them.

 

[Latif]

I've never had a whole set be dead but did have a very dead low E Sadowsky polished roundwound last year. They sent me a new set right away and it had a dead A string. Turns out they got a bad batch from the factory. They made good right away each time. Great customer service at Sadowsky.

latif

 

[EADGBE]

Yes. They were just too old. Strings can lose their springiness after about 2-3 years just sitting on a shelf.

 

[PanaDP]

I like that ernie ball seals their packages now. It probably doesn't matter much where I live in southern california, but strings could easily tarnish after a month on the shelf in a humid climate when they're just packed in paper.

 

[Sterling#Sound]

I just strung my Les Paul with a vacuum packed set of Gibson Historic strings. It's not exactly dead, but far from fresh sounding. A bit anaemic sounding and lacking in feel.

 

[supergenius365]

Only once with a set of Ernie Ball's many years ago. Certainly never with D'Addarios in the past 10 years.

 

[Trebor Renkluaf]

Yep. Strings can sit for a long time in a shop or an online warehouse. That's why I like D'Addario's corrosion resistant packaging. I buy a box and don't worry about them going dead.

 

[musicman1]

I agree that I seldom if ever have had a problem w/D'Addario freshness. I have had a couple of the unwinding high E strings but i dont find it to be a big deal as they have usually unwound as Im stretching a new set out at home. I have many spare strings laying around too. I do like and use EB Regular Slinkies but have had some small issues with them such as the occasional dead low E and D strings that break at post of the tuner.

For some reason I dont like the EBs as much now that they are in a sealed package. Ive had 2 sets of them leave my finger tips black which never happened before and I find the strings to be abit deader, less ringing and less piano-like since the sealed packaging came along. I had a couple of their older traditional packaged sets laying around and found them to be better sounding than the sealed sets.

To their credit I did email EB about these things and they sent me a 6 pack of replacement Ds and a free t-shirt.

Id like to go back to D'Addario 110s but the pricing is better on EBs. You get 12 sets for $3.00 more than a D'Addario 10 pack. EB also throws in the occasional freebie w/a case of strings from time to time.

 

[glaswerks]

The particular set I was talking of were a sealed pack (new style packaging) of GHS boomers. I usually buy 10 sets at a time and these has been sitting here about 4 weeks.

Maybe there is a common denominator here....

 

[musicman1]

The GHS packaging is a direct copy of the EB. I wonder if its the trapped air inside the packaging and the paper sleeves. The D'Addarios dont seem to have any air trapped inside and of course dont have paper sleeves.

 

[glaswerks]

I guess I will pick up D'Addarios today and give them a shot.

Bummer, I always found the GHS lasted longer than the D'Addarios I use to use.

EB's sound great but don't last...

Oh well....

 

[rreiser]

On Pyramid strings you have to bend the wound strings to a 90 degree angle before cutting them otherwise you risk the string going dead. My favorite strings.

 

[daddyo]

Had some Augustine classicals that wouldn't tune up. I'll never buy them again.

 

[buffjones]

Yeah, I put a set of DR blues on my partscaster that the low E was dead, dead, dead. No tone, like you put a piece of cloth over it. Then again, that is the ONLY time it's ever happened. Not really a big deal, I keep plenty of spares on hand.

 

[Slowlicks]

I have had problems with DR's. dead strings, wound 4th rolls when bent, Garbage. I quit using them and went back to D'Addy's..... Don't like to bash, but they suck. Sorry DR.. Yes the truth hurts but only for a little while if you get you sh*t together.

 

[glaswerks]

Well I bought 10 sets of D'Addarios yesterday, let see how they do .

 

[Tubescorcher]

I've had good luck with Dean Markley Blue Steels. I've recently tried DR's and the verdict isn't in on them. I got the coated strings gauged .009-.050.