Cleaning/wiping down DR coated/extra life strings after playing w/ alcohol?

[davecheng]

Does anyone know if alcohol wipes deteriorate the coating on DR Black Beauties? In other words, would I be getting less life out of the strings if I were wiping them down regularly after playing?

Or, for that matter, what about Elixirs?

My hands sweat a lot, and right now, even just using a cloth, keeping my Lakland DJ5 zingy is a painful $55/month expense.

[Luckydog]

I use Elixirs mostly and just wipe them down with a dry t-shirt.

[Meatballz]

Alcohol would probably eat right throught the coating if they had prolonged contact with it, though you should be fine if you just wipe them down with a little bit after use- In other words it's probably no worse than the oils in you skin.

[headtrip762]

i would get some string cleaner like No.65 cleaner or the dunlop string whipes, i gave them a whirl and they work pretty good.

I have the old gibson string cleaner, the peacock blues coating comes off pretty easy and the black beauties a little slower, but i only clean my string twice a month.

[davecheng]

I have a set of DR Black Beauties sitting in a PVC tube of methanol (methyl hydrate) right now. I'll leave it for a few days and put them back on and see how long they'll last.

Of the two brands of coated strings I like--Elixirs and DRs--I wonder which has the most durable coating... that can withstand cleaning, alcohol soak, etc.

It'd be nice to get a definitive answer from a string manufacturer, but of course, it's not in their best interest to tell you a way to prolong the life of a consumable!

[Psychicpet]

GHS has a pretty good coated string as well.


but.


maybe try giving the strings a quick wipe between songs and/or right after you play for sure.


I'd say if you're doing the alcohol dip anyway, save your bucks and just buy regular stainless steel strings. for the price of coateds you could almost get 2 sets. AND if you're 'cleaning the coating off' anyway, then maybe that's the more logical/economical route to go.

[davecheng]

Originally Posted by Psychicpet

I'd say if you're doing the alcohol dip anyway, save your bucks and just buy regular stainless steel strings. for the price of coateds you could almost get 2 sets.

Hmm, you have a point there.

When I first got my Lakland DJ5, it came with a great sounding set of R. Coccos. After about two days straight of shedding and gigging, they were already dead. That was my only foray back into the non-coated stuff in a looooooong time.

I just wish the Lakland bridge made it easier to quick release the ball end of the string, or else I'd be cleaning and changing every other day...!

[GeneralElectric]

How often do you gig?

[stflbn]

SIT Power Steels... $18 for a 5-string set. The sound is meatier than Elixirs, but still the essence is somewhat the same.

I did a comparison between Elixir's and SIT Power Steels and Power Nickels in a thread a while ago. I was surprised by how similar the Power Steels and Elixir's sounded on my punchy dual Humbucker bass.

SIT PowerSteels vs PowerNickels vs Elixirs w/ soundclips



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