Denatured Alcohol - It Really Works

[WJGreer]

Background - I am a new string addict. I insist upon the sound and feel of a fresh set of strings. I've been this way for 20 years. I can't help it, and I know not everybody is like this. If you are, read on...

I've been a boiler for years. When I was a kid, my dad thought I was crazy for doing it, and as an adult, my wife thinks I am an idiot (for boiling my strings? Maybe, or maybe just in general). Boiling kind of helps...it brings a little life back into a set of dead strings. It is, however, a bit of a pain in the ass and they die again very quickly.

Someone turned me on to denatured alcohol, the same stuff that sits next to the paint thinner at Home Depot. You put a bunch of it in a deep tupperware bowl, and when your strings die you soak them in it for a couple of days. When they come out, they sound and feel _exactly_ as new, and they take as long to die again as they did new (which varies by string type).

So here's my new drill. I get two sets of strings that I really like. One set is on my bass, and when it comes off, it goes into the alcohol for a while, as the second set, which did its time in the alcohol, goes on the bass.

This way, I only have to buy new strings when my old ones wear out from use, which quite frankly takes a really, really long time for average strings. This solution saves me hundreds of dollars over the long run.

Give it a try.

[Supergroup]

Cool man, I just crossed over into the realm of liking that new string bite all the time. I will try this for sure.

[FL Knifemaker]

You should try putting them in an ultrasonic cleaner with the alchohol. That would vibrate the tiniest particles of crud out of the strings and not do the strings any harm at all. You can find them cheap on Ebay.

[fenderx55]

Actually, it really only has to be a for a few hours. If you search, there have been really realyl extensive conversations about this. I rigged a pvc pipe with a permanent end, pour some denatured alcohol and I let em soak for a couple hours, hang the strings for a little bit to let the alcohol evaporate and they're as good as new.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a point of just mechanical giving out. I just ran some sadowsky nickel brites into the ground, they didn't break, but they're just so worn that any amount of cleaning is useless. I ran them through that routine 3 or 4 times.