Old new strings?

[CliffR]

Hey folks,
I need to restring a solid body I just bought, and am wondering if an unused string set I have will be okay, given that they've been left in their packaging for more years than I care to remember?

[213Cobra]

Unless the strings were kept in an unusually damp or toxic fog environment, they should be fine. Last week I wanted to try something different with one of my Telecasters and found a box where I had a few packs of Gibson flat-wound 12s I bought 30 years ago. I thought, "Why not?" Those strings look and feel fine, sound right, and play perfectly. Can't hurt to try yours.

Phil

[nyc chaz]

Strings will last forever as long as kept dry.I found a set of D'addarios when cleaning out my closet that were 40 years old,put them on my guitar and they played great.I bought a load of Thomastik strings years ago when prices were way lower and got 30 percent off to boot and i am still going through them and they all sound fine.

[John A.]

Hey folks,
I need to restring a solid body I just bought, and am wondering if an unused string set I have will be okay, given that they've been left in their packaging for more years than I care to remember?

If they're in sealed packaging shelf life should be infinite. Some packaging is less air tight, and maybe the plain strings could be rusty, but most likely not. I've got a ziploc bag with spare of strings of varying ages in various kinds of packaging or not even in packaging at all. They're all fine. You certainly won't harm anything by trying. Worse comes to worst: "oh man these things suck, I better put something else on."

More importantly, though what kind of guitar did you get?

[CliffR]

Thanks all! I'll give the strings a try at the weekend. I want to put them on and set it up to be sure the bridge and truss rod are working before I accept the Reverb order.

It's a Japanese-made Charvel from the 90s. I already have a super strat made in the same factory from the late 80s, and it's one of - if not the - best playing guitars I own. But this one is a Les Paul copy. I've never had a Les Paul style guitar before, and this came up and I jumped on it. I've been practicing a couple of Jimmy Page riffs in preparation and will post a NGD thread once it's all good to go!

[sgosnell]

If they aren't rusted, the strings should be okay. Any rust should be obvious. Even a few rust spots shouldn't be dangerous, as long as it's superficial. No guarantees about sound, since there are many different strings on the market with different sizes, composition, and sound. I haven't had issues with rust even on strings left in open packages since I started using a Tupperware container and ziplock bags with lots of silica gel packets in them for storage. I get more silica gel than I can use from most of the things I buy - capsules, food, electronics, what-have-you. Instead of tossing them, I put them in the string storage container, and there are many more of them than strings now. The Gulf Coast humidity can't compete.