Without guitar strings, we guitarists wouldn’t be much. But what to do with our old strings has long been a dilemma for many. Fortunately, there may be an answer, besides throwing them in the garbage: the Fret12 String Thing.
The Chicago-based firm, headed up by Mark Tremonti’s brother, has unveiled a unique approach to reusing old strings to save them from landfill. In essence, the String Thing turns old strings into a figurine that looks like something Scooby Doo and co. would chase around a haunted mansion. That’s right, it’s “the world’s only guitar string upcycling mummy.”
This body-shaped piece of gear is a blank canvas, ready to have strings of all sizes wrapped around it. Like a slice of Swiss cheese, it's full of holes to make weaving the strings in and around a whole lot easier.
The little fella, made of black plastic, can have acoustic, electric, and bass guitar strings up to .90 gauge threaded through the perforations. Thicker strings they can be woven in and around the thinner strings.
The figure stands at 8.75" tall and 4.75" wide, and is designed to stop the 1,500,000 lbs of used guitar strings that get dumped into landfills each year.
Previously, D’Addario and Guitar Center teamed up to encourage guitar string recycling and more sustainable behaviors from guitar players, with D'Addario's string recycling program helping recycle over 13 million strings to date. But Fret12’s fresh take on it is certainly unique – and more creative.
The String Thing is available now and is priced at $44.
See Fret12 for more.
