Strings long-lastment?

[Michael L.]

Somewhere I recall reading that it is bad to leave strings

in their packet for long periods of time before putting them

on the violin. Is this true? I have a very good opportunity now to

get some synthetic strings and in a very short while my

opportunity will be gone. If I get them now, I would want to keep

them until my current strings get too old, then put on synthetics.

That could be a year of them being in their packet before use.

Is that ok? Thanks.

-Michael L.

[Irene]

I once called Shar and asked about that-- this may not be an expert opinion, since it was a sales rep who told me this, but she said that it depends on the type of string. She said that gut strings will go bad if you leave them for six months; synthetic will supposedly go bad only after a few years. I once kept a set of Dominants in the package for maybe two years; they were utterly unplayable when I put them on! Then again, who knows how long they had been sitting around before they even reached me?

Are your current strings new? I don't claim to be knowledgeable about this, but I think that for synthetics a year would probably be OK, though I personally find that I get much better playing results if I change strings twice a year at least.

: Somewhere I recall reading that it is bad to leave strings

: in their packet for long periods of time before putting them

: on the violin. Is this true? I have a very good opportunity now to

: get some synthetic strings and in a very short while my

: opportunity will be gone. If I get them now, I would want to keep

: them until my current strings get too old, then put on synthetics.

: That could be a year of them being in their packet before use.

: Is that ok? Thanks.

: -Michael L.

[todles]

Michael,

I personally prefer to use "fresher" strings rather then ones that have been sitting around for too long. Mind you I use metal wound gut strings like Pirastro Oliv, Eudoxa and Gold and I rarely use synthetic strings.

If you are going to save a lot of money by getting them now I would go for it. After all who is to say that when you purchase strings from a shop that they haven't been sitting there for months.

The only warning I can give you is to keep them in a dry place. Recently I went to purchase some Pirastro steel e-strings and they had begun to rust so watch for this.

However as with everything it depends on personal preference. If you are a fickler for details I would try to purchase strings closer to when you need them as opposed to letting them sit around for months.

There are so many differing views on this matter.

Best of luck

Todd Gogol

: Somewhere I recall reading that it is bad to leave strings

: in their packet for long periods of time before putting them

: on the violin. Is this true? I have a very good opportunity now to

: get some synthetic strings and in a very short while my

: opportunity will be gone. If I get them now, I would want to keep

: them until my current strings get too old, then put on synthetics.

: That could be a year of them being in their packet before use.

: Is that ok? Thanks.

: -Michael L.

[iceman]

I just ordered a set of Pirastro Eudoxas and I don't plan on using them anytime soon. Do you all think it's better to by a set so you can have a new string available when one breaks, or to buy them when they break? (I have two music stores near me. One sells only dominants and the other sells Eudoxas at more than double the price of Shar.)

: I once called Shar and asked about that-- this may not be an expert opinion, since it was a sales rep who told me this, but she said that it depends on the type of string. She said that gut strings will go bad if you leave them for six months; synthetic will supposedly go bad only after a few years. I once kept a set of Dominants in the package for maybe two years; they were utterly unplayable when I put them on! Then again, who knows how long they had been sitting around before they even reached me?

: Are your current strings new? I don't claim to be knowledgeable about this, but I think that for synthetics a year would probably be OK, though I personally find that I get much better playing results if I change strings twice a year at least.

: : Somewhere I recall reading that it is bad to leave strings

: : in their packet for long periods of time before putting them

: : on the violin. Is this true? I have a very good opportunity now to

: : get some synthetic strings and in a very short while my

: : opportunity will be gone. If I get them now, I would want to keep

: : them until my current strings get too old, then put on synthetics.

: : That could be a year of them being in their packet before use.

: : Is that ok? Thanks.

: : -Michael L.

[victor]

What I (and some others that I know) do with synthetics is to keep the last set of strings around as spares. If one of the current strings breaks, I replace it with a "spare" and immediately order a new set of strings. The benefit of this is that the "spare" will mix well with the other strings.

With steel strings, I order several sets at the same time and keep them around--new steel sets last a long time in their packages. With gut, good luck--neither keeping spares nor stocking up works well with gut strings. They just don't last long either way.

Victor

: I just ordered a set of Pirastro Eudoxas and I don't plan on using them anytime soon. Do you all think it's better to by a set so you can have a new string available when one breaks, or to buy them when they break? (I have two music stores near me. One sells only dominants and the other sells Eudoxas at more than double the price of Shar.)

[Dorothy]

Michael L.,

Aren't you the one searching for the perfect strings for a Von Aue violin (or was it Roth)?

How is this going? You might like Tonica, I think these hold up well in storage.

Dorothy

[Allison_Marie]

I posted something about this a while back. From my experience and from talking to others, I've found that strings (my experience is only in synthetics) have a shelf life of about six months. I also change my strings at least twice a year, although I often wear them out faster than that. Something to keep your ears ;-) open for and to keep in mind, it that your ear is used to the tone of the strings on your violin, and since the tone starts going slowly your ears may not catch it till it's progressed down hill quite a way.

As to your deal on strings, if it were me, I probably wouldn't buy too many. No more than a whole set and possibly an extra A and E. But that's just my opinion. I've just had to many experiences of buying strings ahead and having them be false by the time I put them on, and you never know how long they've been sitting on the shelf at the place you're buying them from.

Good luck!

Allison <><