Why aren't pre-strectched strings sold?

Hikingstevo

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Every time I change my strings I wonder why I've never seen pre-stretched strings for sale. I find it a bit of an annoyance that it takes a few days for strings to settle in. It seems to me that pre-stretched strings would be a great selling point.
 
I dont think so.... The strings stretch a different way on each uke. I imagine it would be impossible to get anything near a 'full stretch' that doesn't sacrifice sound...... I mean maybe they could stretch them a little and shave off a day of the breaking in period, but I dont see the point. You only have to change your strings a couple times a year. A few days of breaking in is no biggie.

Use that time to get really good at tuning your uke by ear. Will come in handy in the future :)
 
Is there such a thing as a prestretched string.
 
I don't think it works in that way. (Or it may? Please correct me:)) When I ever strung some strings that I took off after a period of time (maybe tried another brand and wanted to come back). The strings always try to shrink to the original length. Even they were stretched enough and settled-in, or they were only lose tension for few minutes. Different materials seems do the same. The next time they are put back on, they need stretch again (less or more).
Personally I don't feel any annoyance in the stretch period.:) This is a part of joy. In playing ukulele.:D Also a chance to train my ear.:) I am not trying to skip the process to get the apple.
 
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I think part of the stretch is from the coils cinching around the peg tighter and tighter and pre-stretching likely wouldn't help that aspect.
 
I find that stretching every day is good for overall fitness. If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for my ukes.
 
I just de-tuned my 'ukulele to clean the frets and oil the fretboard. The strings are month and a half old nicely stable Worth CL. After slacking them down and tuning back up they have a whole new round of stretching and settling to do. It's not as dramatic as when they were new, but they did relax and now must stretch again. I can only assume that "pre-stretched" strings would behave in a similar way. For all the pre-stretching they would still need close to a week to settle. So relax, retune, and enjoy the tone changes as the strings settle.

New strings can sound a little dead when first put on. It takes awhile for them to reach their full potential.
 
Yep, the longer "pre-stretched" strings would sit on the shelf the more they'd no longer be "pre stretched"

I've found the best way to stretch in strings is to put them on the day before I want to use the uke and then keep tuning them up a full step high whenever I get a few minutes free - do it a final time before bed and they're usually pretty stable when I tune them normally the next day. This doesn't have the risk of stretching them unevenly the way tugging on the strings does.

John
 
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