I've head it mention, and obviously you boild them, but, how do you gfo about it, anything put in the water? How long do I boil them? Do I put them in after it boils, or put them in as soon as I turn on the heat? And What does this accpomplish? It's apparently a good thing to do, so, what's the low down on boiling strings?

This deals with strings, so, voila...moved to strings...

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I am rubber, you are glue. Whatever you say i will store in a little box just in case i need to shove it down your throat at any given moment.

OOooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! Biski's getting vicious!

However, this guy has a good question. Would some of you please answer this for him and myself?

All hail Biski the vicious! http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/smile.gif

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If I said it, It's probably wrong!

1. Take your dead strings off your bass.

2. Boil them in water for 20 minutes.

3. Put them back on the bass. Zing!

This removes the sweat and dirt that makes the strings go dead. But, sooner or later metal fatigue from the playing/being on the bass affects the strings and boiling doesn´t help anymore. Change!

One word of caution: If you do boil your strings, do not use a pan that you use for cooking.

Will C. http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/cool.gif

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I'm not a genius. I'm just a hard working guy.
-BW

I put this up many months ago but it is likely buried so I'll throw it up (so to speak) again.

I bought a set of D'Addarion Half Rounds for my fretless. I have always loved these strings and when I got back into playing after a 20 year absence, wanted to use them again. When I put them on the A and G strings were positively dead! No characteristic ring - just muddly thump. I had the bass checked out by some pro's and all (nut, bridge, tuners) was in working order. So, I took them back to Mars on the bass, let them hear the problem, and they gladly gave me a new set. When I installed these the exact same problem was still there! Talk about pi**ed off! I then emailed D'Addario and they responded by telling me that during the making of these strings an oil based coolant fluid in used in the machining process. The fluid is usually "baked" out as the last step in the manufacturing process and that it was likely that all of the coolant hadn't been vaporized. They told me to bake them at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. That did the trick. Where am I going with all of this? I think the best way to rejuvenate used strings is to boil for removal of the solids (ugh!) and then bake to both get all of the water out and put a bit of zing back in the string. If you don't want to boil/bake then use denatured alcohol in a large glass jar (mayo perhaps) to remove the gunk and when removed they will dry quickly without corrosion. I've done all of these methods at one time or another and they have all worked. And if you find yourself a little light to buy a new set of $25 strings, this is the best way to get some more miles from them.

I used to always boil mine in water and some sort of window cleaner, it works a treat. I'm guessing, but I always thought boiling the strings cleaned them (removed all the dead skin, filth and other rot) AND heated them so they stretched and shrunk again - this must do something to the sound(?)

I must admit that I always boiled them in a pan that I also cook in, with Window Cleaner...

My dog can fly, but he has no airtime voucher, sometimes I ask myself to eat worms, but only very occaisionally, as it tends to make me angry.

My method of reviving strings involves using denatured alcohol. I have a big glass jar which I keep half filled with denatured alcohol. I put the strings in to soak for 24-48 hours or so and then let them air dry on a paper towel. Seems to work better for me than boiling ever did. However, since I can usually find D'Addarios for under $15, and I typically leave my strings on for 2-4 months, I don't do this much any more. I find it useful to keep a set of "cleaned" strings as a backup in case I break one.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Big Wheel:
One word of caution: If you do boil your strings, do not use a pan that you use for cooking.

Will C. http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/cool.gif

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why not? I can understand not doing this using a Teflon coated pan or boiling strings like Elixer's. I doubt boiling stainless steel strings in a stainless steel pot would hurt anything. You MIGHT have a case with nickel strings, but then you just clean the pot really good. just curious. I've done this for years and yet to see tumors growing on my face. http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

I would advise boiling strings only if you're dead broke and can't shell out for a new set. In my experience, boiling cleans the string and thus restores some brightness, but does nothing to increase its longevity. In fact, the only bass strings I've ever broken are boiled ones.