<HTML>In a message dated 12/23/01 2:35:33 PM Eastern Standard Time, Wimblees@AOL.COM writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Now why in the world would a 6 - 8 month-old bass string in a box be useless, and a 20 year old bass string on a piano be expected to sound reasonably good? </BLOCKQUOTE> In my experience, universals that I have had for years work OK.  It is the smaller diameter universal strings (even "right out of the box"), such as #8 on up, that tend to be dead when I have installed them.  My guess has been that the problem lies in that universal strings have a relatively larger core and relatively smaller winding wire than standard strings, and that this thin winding then cannot grip the core properly in the smaller diameter universals - hence they loosen in the process of trimming and are dead when you tune them up. Bill Maxim, RPT Maxim Piano Service 212 Newpark Place Columbia, SC 29212-8666 (803) 732-9225, FAX (803) 732-2641 wmaxim@aol.com</HTML>