LeftyBassist.com

Just wondering if there are any charities to donate my old strings to? I'm happy to pay the freight cost of sending a dozen sets of used strings I have lying around at home & I guess there are some music schools or organizations that could use them but I have no idea. Does anyone know if such places exist? Thanks

Funny you say that I was recently thinking of my first bass teacher in France who used to ship them to Africa. I meet quite of few African players who told me they used bicycle cables as they could not afford strings in their country. I should check with him if he still does it. But yeah I would not mind shipping a bunch if it make someone happy.

I have a least 10 sets of various strings only maybe 5-8 weeks old max. DR high beams, Longnecks, ProSteels, Dunlop, Warwick. All cut for lefty basses obviously and 5 string sets with paddle type headstocks (non-Fender) I don’t know why I save them I guess because they were a lot of money at one point. Some guys soak them in denatured alcohol or boil them not sure I just change them but if anyone wants them let me know just cover shipping I would send them to a charity as well as long as it doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg. Good topic.

This is a great idea... I have a friend in town with a music school, and I'm going to talk with him to see if his students could use extra strings, or find out if we can donate and send string sets to outer Islands or other Islands in the Pacific, through friends, church groups etc....

I think the main factor would be to label the used sets as to what they are - scale length/ nickel-stainless/gauge... I'm sure there are many young bassists out there that would love some of the "expensive" sets we buy, that have a minimum of hours on them, and have the ability to try major manufacturers sets of great strings for free. I like this idea!

Hmmm... the last time I remember changing the strings on my Precision was around 1982.

Please check on that old teacher of yours Frenchy, as I googled various versions, such as bass string charities, bass string donations, strings to Africa & all I got was a now defunct website, secondstringsproject, & lots of sites turning strings into bracelets, etc, which is pointless in my view for underprivileged Musos in poorer countries. If I find anything else useful, I'll post it here. Thnx

I know this isn't exactly what you had in mind when you thought about donating your bass strings but...

My wife works the the University Health Network here in Toronto and is quite heavily involved in the non profit scene for some cancer related charities and Sick Kids Hospital. She uses my old bass strings to make these cool earrings and sells them at shows and silent auctions for the charities she's involved with. Last year at a Sick Kids benefit show one of my bands played, she was able to donate almost $200 to the cause just from the proceeds. She usually just takes enough of the profit to cover her expense on the clasps etc. - and even donates that as well sometimes. Her time is donated absolutely free. Usually, they sell for $15/pr and at least $10 of that goes to charity.

If y'all don't find something else to do with them, she'd be happy to take them off your hands. And I'm sure we could work out a way to get some back to you in re-purposed earring format if you have someone in your life who would wear 'em.

On topic, does anyone know what all the pros do with their old strings? Some of them change sets every gig n I guess those dudes are getting them for free so it would be good to find out. Still googling but getting no leads, just ideas. I'm gonna drop a few emails to some of their websites n see if they'll give us an answer/insight. God forbid they end up in landfill when they could be going on some aspiring bassists axe in Africa/Cuba/S America or the like, child or adult. No more bicycle brake lines on basses!

Those look cool.

What about music charities? There are several out there like VH1's Save the Music, Nat'l Endowment for the Arts, and even ASCAP has a program for donating musical instruments.
I have to believe some might take strings as well, or would be able to refer us to someone who does. I found this link of several charities:

http://soundcitizen.com/ten-ways-to-give-back-with-music-charities/

Jaycee, that looks like a great cause n I'd be happy to send some your way as well. My actual dilemma is that I live in Japan but I have about 50 sets of old strings in Australia n I won't get a chance to get home til Xmas time but I'll zap a few sets your way then for sure. Thanks for the alternative idea!

jayceo PM me the address I'll send some out to ya..That's a great idea

That is a cool idea, and I've never seen string earrings of any sort! Talented lady there, and I applaud you both for your work and donations on behalf of the charities listed above.

There's got to be a way to get our used strings into the hands of players in poor countries...