Every guitarist and bass player knows the exact drill. You finish a grueling, late-night tracking session or a high-energy live set, your tone goes completely dead, and it’s time to rip off the old wires for a fresh pack.
Usually, those coiled-up, sweat-corroded dead strings find their way straight into the trash bin.
However, the creative heavyweights at FRET12 are out to completely disrupt that wasteful cycle with a piece of studio gear that is equal parts rock-and-roll folklore and eco-conscious art piece.
Say hello to the FRET12 STRING THING® Guitar String Upcycling Mummy, a one-of-a-kind, mummy-shaped collectible designed to immortalize your musical journey.
Retailing for a highly accessible $44, it’s the ultimate low-profile, high-character addition to your studio desk, fireplace mantle, or guitar amplifier stack.
Rescuing Tone From the Landfill
If you think a few old wires don’t matter, the statistics are a brutal wake-up call.
Every single year, a staggering 1.5 million pounds of used guitar and bass strings end up rotting away in landfills around the globe.
Musicians invest countless hours and relentless passion into honing their skills, but the metal remnants of that hard work are typically discarded without a second thought.
“FRET12 designed the STRING THING® to act as a tangible, badass trophy celebrating your commitment to the craft. Instead of tossing away your dead wire, you summon this metallic mutant to give your old strings a glorious second life.”
Whether it’s a broken high-E string that cut a legendary jam session short, a bent note that marked your graduation to soulful solos, or a tour-worn set from your personal guitar gods, this figure locks them down into a permanent piece of your own musical history.
We Provide the Mutant, You Provide the Metal
Physically, the STRING THING® arrives as a fully assembled, blank-slate solid black plastic figure, standing an imposing 8.75 inches tall on a sturdy 4.75-inch wide display base.
It looks incredibly sleek completely unwrapped, but the real magic kicks off when you start customizing it with your own spent metal.
* Figure Height: 8.75 inches (including base)
* Base Footprint: 4.75 inches wide
* Anchor Setup: 139 pre-drilled precision holes
* Optimal Load: 8 to 10 sets of strings for a fully loaded look
The body is meticulously molded with detailed features and comes pre-drilled with 139 precise holes designed to securely anchor strings up to a heavy 0.090-gauge.
Don’t worry if you lay down the low-end on a thick bass guitar, either. While the pre-drilled holes act as anchor points that pass directly through the body, higher gauge bass strings can easily be woven, bent, twisted, and pierced around the figure’s limbs.
Wrap it, twist it, or pierce it—the choice is yours. It looks killer with just a single set of strings, but it takes roughly 8 to 10 sets to get that fully loaded, beautifully chaotic undead mummy effect.
A Collectible with True Stage Lore
According to touring and studio lore, this creature is a totem to a being that feeds off the clipped string ends that slip through the cracks of stadium stages and snarl up global landfills.
It acts as the ultimate conversation starter for the studio, office, or living room. The unboxing experience is equally dialed-in; it arrives securely housed inside a highly graphic, collectible art box with custom original artwork that will look right at home on any gear-head’s shelf.
| Box Contents | Material & Utility |
| 1x String Thing® Figure | Solid black plastic, pre-drilled and fully assembled |
| 1x Custom Display Box | Graphic-intensive collectible packaging with original art |
| Upcycling Potential | Holds up to 10 sets of guitar or bass history |
Ultimately, for $44, the FRET12 STRING THING® is a brilliant, zero-fuss way to think differently about your gear waste while building a custom monument to your musical evolution.
If you want to keep metal out of the environment and create a truly bespoke piece of rock memorabilia, adding this mutant to your setup is an absolute no-brainer.
Founded in 2009, FRET12 has been described as a ‘back alley to music culture’ that gives musicians and music fans alike access to the music industry via behind-the-scenes documentaries, lessons, exclusive gear, and clothing—such as their graphic tees, jackets, and more—all of which are sold out of their home base in Chicago
