Yep, if I use lotion of any kind on my hands, anywhere i touch my strings they will turn black in just a few minutes. No lotion, no problem.
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ANYONE BOIL STRINGS?
- Thread starter tercesyrev
- Start date
Yep, if I use lotion of any kind on my hands, anywhere i touch my strings they will turn black in just a few minutes. No lotion, no problem.
Not since the early 90's. And I can confirm it works well enough to get you through a gig. The refreshed sound will go dead within a week though.
Now I (also) just use Elixirs and change strings maybe once a year. They are the best thing ever if you like that new string zing.
Now I (also) just use Elixirs and change strings maybe once a year. They are the best thing ever if you like that new string zing.
I boiled obsessively when I was a kid. A denatured alcohol soak works quite a bit better.
I bought a PVC tube long enough to contain a bass string, some PVC caps, and sealant. I created a PVC tube that holds the alcohol and I just slide a set of strings into it and leave them for a day or two.
What's going on is the breakup and removal of the organic material that has collected along the windings. Boiling works. Denatured alcohol works better.
I bought a PVC tube long enough to contain a bass string, some PVC caps, and sealant. I created a PVC tube that holds the alcohol and I just slide a set of strings into it and leave them for a day or two.
What's going on is the breakup and removal of the organic material that has collected along the windings. Boiling works. Denatured alcohol works better.
This especially goes for guys with a 50 year old set of flats that are just begining to get good..LOL!!
Never did. Back in the day I didn't know strings went dead. My brand new 1986 Fender Jazz Bass Special sounded so good when it was new. Almost a year later it didn't sound nearly as good as it did when it was new. I thought something was wrong with it so I sold it for cheap.
I would recommend lube instead of lotion to be honest...
oh... wait...
WRONG CHAT
Denatured alcohol soaking works great, although it can make the strings feel a bit rough. After they dry I’ll typically put a little splash of Dr. Ducks on a rag and give them a good rubdown.
I did when I was around 13-14, using the normal cookware. Heard that tip from one of the other high school band geeks. Then one day, my Dad got upset because his ramen started tasting metallic, with the occasional garnish of red thread silk from my enduring GHS Boomers.
Nope; not ever once. Why?
1. I've never been so strapped for cash, that I would even consider such a thing...
2. The only times I've ever played a bass with rounds on it, it was: somebody else's bass; it was a function check of a new-to-me-bass, just before I... removed... them, and replaced them with flats; or they were tolerable enough (a very rare occurrence) that I just played them 'till they died - and replaced them with flats. And, finally...
3. I abso-frickin'-lutely refuse to stand over a hot stove, cooking something that I can't eat.
But, hey... that's just me. If you want to boil your strings, or pickle them in alcohol, or rub lotion all over them... whatever; knock yerself out...
1. I've never been so strapped for cash, that I would even consider such a thing...
2. The only times I've ever played a bass with rounds on it, it was: somebody else's bass; it was a function check of a new-to-me-bass, just before I... removed... them, and replaced them with flats; or they were tolerable enough (a very rare occurrence) that I just played them 'till they died - and replaced them with flats. And, finally...
3. I abso-frickin'-lutely refuse to stand over a hot stove, cooking something that I can't eat.
But, hey... that's just me. If you want to boil your strings, or pickle them in alcohol, or rub lotion all over them... whatever; knock yerself out...
A question to everyone who use acetone: do you store the used acetone after cleaning and reuse it multiple times?
Proper tests are indeed difficult to design; that doesn't make the conclusions without them any more valid.
I think it's pretty darned fair to say that all we're doing by boiling is cleaning – not affecting the properties of the metal. 212 F water isn't going to do much to strings metallurgically, other than temporarily expanding them a bit. So a thorough cleaning on the basses would seem pretty acceptable. Does soaking vs. thorough wiping matter? I lean toward no, but that's worth exploring first.
But the main issue here is the analysis. People other than the owner should be the ones listening to recordings...and a device needs to be made to pluck the strings in exactly the same manner every time. And it should be done on a large number of basses, and judged by a large number of people, who are unaware of what they’re hearing, and just asked to note any differences they believe they hear.
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Would you care to post a picture of the PVC pipe that you using? I'm trying to get an idea of how to make this as efficient as possible so that I don't have to use too much alcohol.Used to all the time.
Boiled GHS Boomers to death for years.
Never had an issue, never broke a string, they never rusted, no intonation issues (but I played a lot of fretless)
4 minutes in an old pan, pat dry with a towel and let air dry for a while.
Now I just soak in denatured alcohol in a pvc tube. It does bring them back to life. (but I do think your "chemistry" has a lot to do with it)
Not often, as I'm not into the bright round-wound sound anymore.
You can reuse the denatured alcohol. Over 20 years of doing this I have only ever topped it off periodically so as to completely soak the strings
