Maybe this is a dumb question but can I completely remove the strings and then reuse them after I fix the problem I’m having with my bass…It’s an Ibanez GSR, and I have to remove the bridge to check a continuity problem.
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I hope so. I saved my original round wounds from when I switched to flat wounds, and then the flat wounds when I switched to tape wounds. Just in case I ever want to go back.
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@Redneck, as long as the strings sound OK now, and aren’t corroded, you certainly can use them again.
Cheers, Joe 
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Thanks!!..and yes @Jazzbass19 they still sound good, only been on there bout a year and I try to keep everything wiped down.
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Would there be any special way to store them to help keep them in good shape? I know at least one string maker ships strings sealed in airtight packages and I can’t imagine they would do that if it didn’t help at all.
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Yes, I would keep them in a plastic baggie loosely rolled up in ~4" diameter just as a new set of strings would be packaged.
You wouldn’t want to store them in a damp location, either lol 
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I’m actually unsure how well this would work. When I changed mine, the old strings were sort of formed in a spiral at the end and it looked like it might be difficult to get them to go back in the tuning machines the same way.
Plus it’s easier to just cut them off
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I’ve taken strings off and put them back on many times.
Also, soaking old used strings in methylated spirits for a day or two rejuvenates them to a quite surprising degree.
Possibly known as ‘Denatured Alcohol’ in USA.
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@howard Thats what happened to me, the E and A strings were OK…but the D string broke as I was gently straightening it out…heh. Just glad I had an extra set,…and didn’t even know I had them.
@Mark_D Thanks for the tip!
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I’ve reused strings many times myself…
Happened to me too so I just quit trying to straighten them out… Kinda just keep them the way they are when they come off…
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Have to admit I kind of like the lazy tactic of cutting them off. They pull through the bridge holes easier that way too.
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While the guitar store would like to sell a new set of strings all the time, they can be cleaned. Billy Sheehan boils his regularly. The purpose of boiling is to clean them, get any grit or oil from between the windings. So just take them off, make a nice coil that would fit in a saucepan, bring them to a boil for a few minutes and take them out to dry. Just like new!
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They’re very difficult to put back on that way
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indeed
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Wanted to revive this very old thread here with a question, as I think there should be more people in here who re-use strings in the sense of taking them off a bass, storing them, and perhaps putting them back on that (or a different) bass later. This could perhaps be in the process of testing strings, or when switching between rounds and flats etc.
Strings that have already been used have been subject to crimping and kinking and I was wondering whether you had any experience with how that has influenced the strings’ performance once you re-used them!?
I think I have a dead B-string (quite dull sounding) on a set that I previously used (but not heavily), then stored for a while, and now put on a different bass. I think the kink it got being bent over the bridge saddle has probably “killed” it. It is one of those drum/barrel type saddles and the nut there is nowhere near wide enough for the B string, so it needs to get bent/“kinked” across the saddle to not have a mile-high action… It might get a similar (though slightly less severe) kink going over the top nut, and of course some crimping in the tuners…
Anyway, just interested to hear if anyone had similar experiences!? Thx!
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That’s interesting @joergkutter, I’ve taken strings off and then put them back on many times with no problem. The only issue I’ve ever had was when I took a set off an Ibanez, and later tried to put it on a Yamaha, the D string had been trimmed too short due to the configuration of the Ibanez headstock. I just ordered a D string from LaBella to solve the problem.
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Yeah, I am sure it works OK most of the time, but I guess sometimes the strings get “damaged” in a way that affects their vibrations/harmonics/overtones…
The Yamaha bridge saddles are probably better for re-using strings (judging from my TRB5Pii), while the “classic” barrel design is probably more strenuous on the strings (see how it looks on the Ibanez fretless below):
Come to think of it, maybe I was too rough trying to push the string down over the barrel… 
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What’s the gauge of that B string? Man, it looks monstrous in that pic!
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This is actually “only” .130 - I had a .135 on it before 
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