“Treating” flatwounds

[lovernotfighter]

I know a lot of people “treat” flatwounds to “age” them for a better sound. Iv heard a lot of different ways of doing this; from rubbing butter on them before each gig to letting them sit on cooking oil over night. What do you guys do/suggest?

[SoLongJake]

There's no substitute for the real thing, just play the heck out of it.

[SuperSnake2012]

Originally Posted by SoLongJake

There's no substitute for the real thing, just play the heck out of it.

+1 I know this probably isn't what you want to hear but this is how it needs to be done. Just keep at it, because the reward is great

[lovernotfighter]

Originally Posted by SuperSnake2012

+1 I know this probably isn't what you want to hear but this is how it needs to be done. Just keep at it, because the reward is great

im not nesisarily looking to try this myself, iv just her so many ways of doing it i want to get my facts straight

[lunarpollen]

When I get a new set of flatwounds, I like to let wolves pee on them, and then I bury them in the ground at Lawrence Tierney's grave. After a week, I drink a bottle of bourbon, shake the dirt off the strings, and put them on my bass. This method never fails.

[jasper383]

Originally Posted by lunarpollen

When I get a new set of flatwounds, I like to let wolves pee on them, and then I bury them in the ground at Lawrence Tierney's grave. After a week, I drink a bottle of bourbon, shake the dirt off the strings, and put them on my bass. This method never fails.

I do this, too!

[nubs]

Originally Posted by lunarpollen

When I get a new set of flatwounds, I like to let wolves pee on them, and then I bury them in the ground at Lawrence Tierney's grave. After a week, I drink a bottle of bourbon, shake the dirt off the strings, and put them on my bass. This method never fails.

liar, liar pants on fire

[nortonrider]

I have never seen anybody "treat" their strings in any way.
Do people actually do this?

[markjazzbassist]

i play them a lot every day. it seems to work the best.

[Eric S]

The windings on a new flat wound strings are not perfectly flat and lined up. Plus any machined metal has micro-burrs (rough edges).

So, when strings break in, several things are happening. They get grimmy inside. The windings smooth out and realign. Also the strings surface shape digs in a bit and "marries" itself to the fingerboard or frets. (Ever notice that when you remove a string and put it back on, it doen't sound as good as before? Its because the windings no longer line up exacly the same way with the wear-marks in the fingerboard or frets.)

I hate new strings. First I sand the down with fine sand papar a bit to smooth out any tiny surface irregularities then I rub some butter on a cloth and rub them dowm real good with that. Then I play the crap out of them for a few weeks.

Everything helps speed along the procees.

.

[air_leech]

I never treat my strings.

actually I once threw a 10 dollar bill at my strings and told them to go get something nice for themselves....

[62bass]

Originally Posted by lunarpollen

When I get a new set of flatwounds, I like to let wolves pee on them, and then I bury them in the ground at Lawrence Tierney's grave. After a week, I drink a bottle of bourbon, shake the dirt off the strings, and put them on my bass. This method never fails.

I think that if you just drink the bottle of bourbon you can skip the previous steps. Any difference you hear will be due to the bourbon.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by lovernotfighter

I know a lot of people “treat” flatwounds to “age” them for a better sound. Iv heard a lot of different ways of doing this; from rubbing butter on them before each gig to letting them sit on cooking oil over night. What do you guys do/suggest?

I don't know anyone who "treats" their strings to "age" them, and I've been playing for over 45 years. A lot of these stories get made up and then passed along and embellished and some people actually believe them. Or one guy does something weird like aging his strings in bear fat and it gets reported in Bass Player magazine and passed along.

Just playing strings ages them fine. Of course, if you don't play much your strings won't age.

[peterbright]

Play them.

[lonote]

Originally Posted by 62bass

I don't know anyone who "treats" their strings to "age" them, and I've been playing for over 45 years. A lot of these stories get made up and then passed along and embellished and some people actually believe them. Or one guy does something weird like aging his strings in bear fat and it gets reported in Bass Player magazine and passed along.

Just playing strings ages them fine. Of course, if you don't play much your strings won't age.

+1 from another 40+ year player.

[bigtexashonk]

Stephen Still used to rub barbeque sauce into his.

[pjmuck]

Is it only for flats? I heard Jaco liked to get fried chicken grease on his rounds, though this might be another Jaco urban myth.

[Marcury]

Originally Posted by pjmuck

Is it only for flats? I heard Jaco liked to get fried chicken grease on his rounds, though this might be another Jaco urban myth.

It Is.

[JohnM2001]

Originally Posted by Eric S

I hate new strings. First I sand the down with fine sand papar a bit to smooth out any tiny surface irregularities then I rub some butter on a cloth and rub them dowm real good with that..

Mystery solved! I always wondered where that expression "plays like buttah" came from!

[Pilgrim]

Install - play - be patient. After a few months, they'll be jes' right. Personally, I don't think the difference is so dramatic that it is a big deal. If they're bright, run the tone knob down a hair for the first few weeks to take the edge off.