Boiling vs. Buying strings

[SuperEnigmation]

Well, I've always bought strings, but I wonder...does boiling them really give the same effect as new ones? What exactly does boiling them do, and how do you boil strings properly?

[tylerwylie]

Denatured alcohol's the way to go, boiling AFAIK is a quick trick to get another night or two out of your strings.

[Gear_Junky]

I always add a few peppercorns, allspice and a bay leaf

but seriously, although i've never done it, the chemist in me would suggest to avoid acid, but to use a base, like maybe a baking soda - this should cut through the organic grime/oils without corroding the metal.

[bassictraining]

+1 for denatured alcohol. Just like new.

[sockmonkee]

How to Clean Bass Strings

[carlos840]

Originally Posted by SuperEnigmation

Well, I've always bought strings, but I wonder...does boiling them really give the same effect as new ones? What exactly does boiling them do, and how do you boil strings properly?

No, it doesnt work!

It will give a bit of brightness back for a few hours but unless your absolutely broke and cant afford to change strings every other month dont waist your time!

[Jerry Callo]

To me, strings sound even deader after being boiled.

Much like cymbals or horns, metal , when vibrated (and in the case of strings, stretched) changed molecular structure which in turn changes the tone. Cleaning it makes it look a bit brighter and that cross senses over into the person thinking it sounds brighter.

In other words -- it only works if you want to believe it does.

[fretlessguy]

If I can afford it at the time, I'd just as soon buy new ones.

[Gear_Junky]

Yeah, my guess: a new set of these:

http://www.music123.com/Accessories/...4000000000.sku

would be better (and less hassle, considering the time involved) than a boiled set of dead premium strings.

[singlemalt]

When I was broke and looking for that spanky MM tone, I boiled em till they broke. It works okay for any roundwound string. One of the one the cheap, quick fixes that works for dead sounding strings.

You do get a brighter sound restored, but they won't last like a new set. Carry lots of spares if you do start boiling, they are more prone to breaking. Repeat until they break.

IMHO, I saved a ton of money doing this, but as the money saved went in questionable directions, maybe I should have been buying strings.

YMMV, but it's a entertaining, mostly safe experiment. Get adult supervision if you need help with the stove, and bring medium size pot of water to a boil. Drop in your loosely coiled sets of dead strings. Boil for ten minutes or so. Wrinkle your nose in disgust at the nasty film of scum on the water. Pour out the water and dry each string with a cloth that doesn't leave lint or fibers on the string. (Mom's dish towel)

Be certain to clean the pot really well, hide the dish towel, you'll never get the black streaks out.

String it up and see what you think.

Now days I can't stand the sound of brand new strings, so I just leave em on till the break.

[kaiuk]

Originally Posted by Jerry Callo

To me, strings sound even deader after being boiled.

Much like cymbals or horns, metal , when vibrated (and in the case of strings, stretched) changed molecular structure which in turn changes the tone. Cleaning it makes it look a bit brighter and that cross senses over into the person thinking it sounds brighter.

In other words -- it only works if you want to believe it does.

yikes every other month?? Ive played rounds for over four years

[eastcoasteddie]

I may boil strings 1-2 times a year, but there is a time when boiling will only do so much. Dead strings are dead strings. I never broke any, though...

[harmendebresser]

Used to boil my strings back in the day (the 90's that is) when smoking indoors wasn't banned & our band played hardcore punk to moshpits with people throwing beer out of sheer joy so after a weekend of gigs of course I'd boil the hell out of them. Also because they seemed way more expensive when you're that age. The boiling doesn't actually break them, it's the not-getting-them-back-exactly-in-the-position-they-were-in that makes them snap.
Nowadays, I use flatwounds that I regularly whipe with denatured alcohol and roundwounds that are coated. Never break strings anymore!

[darkstorm]

Buy new, Just cant see myself not being able to buy a few sets a year.

[Wasted Bassist]

Originally Posted by darkstorm

Buy new, Just cant see myself not being able to buy a few sets a year.

Strings can be a rather pricey bit of maintenance. When I was unemployed, I just stuck it out with old strings until they broke. I wish I had known about using denatured alcohol back then.

[251]

Originally Posted by Gear_Junky

I always add a few peppercorns, allspice and a bay leaf

but seriously, although i've never done it, the chemist in me would suggest to avoid acid, but to use a base, like maybe a baking soda - this should cut through the organic grime/oils without corroding the metal.

The chemist in me agrees but the metallurgist says each time you stretch & release the strings, they change (for the "worse"). Therefore, each time, they sound different regardless of the amount of grime in the nooks & crannies.

Before mounting new strings, I wipe them with denatured alcohol or residue free window cleaner (water, alcohol, a tiny amount of ammonia & something blue that wipes off). FWIW, I have not reordered strings that came to me dirty, from the factory.

FYI, though ammonia is caustic, it should not be added to a boiling solution. The fumes are bad for you.

[Doelle]

It's a quick fix IMO. New strings are better, if you are into that stuff. I am strictly flatwound guy myself, and a firm believer in that the funk is in the gunk.

But boiling the strings is a bit like cleaning up your car. It's good and all that, but a new one would be the best

[Doelle]

Originally Posted by 251

The fumes are bad for you.

So is alchohol...

[lunarpollen]

Strings begin to sound dull after a while mostly because of (1) buildup of residue that works its way amidst the windings from your hands over time and (2) erosion of the windings throughout the string where they rub up against one another as the string vibrates.

Boiling helps with issue #1 but does nothing for issue #2, and issue #1 will more quickly afflict the string once again because there is more space between the windings because of issue #2.

[bucephylus]

My 2c is that the "deadening" of the strings is possibly due to physical damage to the temper of the hardened steel core that occurs at the breakpoint of the bridge saddle. Won't bore you with the microstructural mechanisms, but the important point is that you would need to take the steel core to something like 700C (~1300F) to "heal" the microstructure and restore the lack of loss in the string. Which you will never do. Just buy a new set and try to stick to the string types that last longest is the best you will be able to do. Boiling won't get it, temperature is way too low; and there are known physical reasons why.