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Best bass string cleaner?
- Thread starter BenWhoPlaysBass
- Start date
BassHappy
Supporting Member
I do REALLY well with boiling but I find the technique matters. Get a pot with RAPIDLY boiling water and remove it from the stove so the rolling boil STOPS but the water is still extremely hot. Then plunge the strings in only for 20-30 seconds. Pull them out and IMMEDIATELY pull them several times through a dry towel. Plunging them in extremely hot water does the trick for me but if you actually boil them it will encourage breakage at the weaker bridge and tuner stress points over time. I find I can get away with this twice, maybe three times - and YES - each time as Jimmy says as with alcohol soaking - it's slightly diminishing returns.
Much easier to manage the water thing on the road too, as opposed to carrying around a flammable liquid methinks. I just carry a little electric burner in my bag. You never know when you might need a little finger cheese soup!
BassHappy
Much easier to manage the water thing on the road too, as opposed to carrying around a flammable liquid methinks. I just carry a little electric burner in my bag. You never know when you might need a little finger cheese soup!
BassHappy
I don't think WD-40 is oil. I understand it was not designed as a lubricant. I believe WD=Water Displacement - and the liquid is propellant that evaporates leaving behind dry chemical.
Yes it was designed for Water Displacement, but also has other uses such as light lubrication. It essentially displaces the moisture with (among other ingredients) light oil. What is your source for it leaving behind dry chemical? Never heard that. Never experienced that.
While the exact formula is a secret, here's an excerpt from the wd-40 Material Safety Data Sheet filed with the government.
Petroleum Base Oil <25%
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I recently bought FAST FRET, String Cleaner & Lubricant after I put new A string on, so far so good..
okcrum
in your chest
You are confusing Invalid Link Removed.
Nickel and stainless steel are two of the more corrosion-resistant metals around. Now, if you had soaked them for a month in vinegar or Coca Cola...
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Solvents are not corrosive; acids and caustics are. Solvents will clean strings. Acid or caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) will eat your strings up.
I soak my strings in a sealed PVC pipe (threaded on one end) full of denatured alcohol for one hour. The denaturants (MIBK, IPA, MEOH, etc.) are really what do the cleaning, but the ethanol doesn't hurt either. The strings come out looking and sounding new.
I soak my strings in a sealed PVC pipe (threaded on one end) full of denatured alcohol for one hour. The denaturants (MIBK, IPA, MEOH, etc.) are really what do the cleaning, but the ethanol doesn't hurt either. The strings come out looking and sounding new.
okcrum
in your chest
Yeah most likely. I was stating what happened and my response.
Not actually that the long soak caused the breakage.
24hrs seems to be a good amount of time for a string soak.
Thanks @aborg1 ! Lots of good discussion here.
If you haven't tried it yet, I wanted to let you know we're running a promo this week for TB'ers on BassBrites:
Go to Link Removed and use code TLKBSS for 25% off your order. Just for this week.
If you try them, let me know what you think!
If you wipe your strings down after you play you may not need any kind of "cleaner". I wipe my strings down with a rag very time I play, and my strings last for years—if you saw them, you'd think they were new.
Yup, that's what I do. Wipe them down with Fast Fret regularly and they will sound new much longer. I used to boil strings when I was playing out but that only buys you another week or two at best. On a budget anything helps.
I've always recommended buying a larger Ultrasonic cleaner to be used together with Isopropyl Alcohol. "Isopropanol" is it called. The fluid you used to clean video and tape heads with. But the thing is - is to clean the strings indirectly. First, you have to have another small jar of glass or stainless steel that can carry the strings, and then pour Isopropanol over the strings in the jar. Then you put that jar in the waterfilled Ultrasonic cleaner. You must have the ones that allows 1-2 litres (1.7 uk gallon and 0.3 imperial gallon).
You may think this is overkill investing in something like that, but you can use it to clean numerous things (Even CD's and so on), especially all kinds of glasses, sunglasses, necklaces, all things metal were you can't reach with normal cleaning methods. After a few tries with an expensive bass strings set, and other things, you've saved yourself a package of brand new strings. You've saved and "earned" the initial cost of this product. This works for me 3-4 times, on any stainless steel string set regardless of brand. Zzing comes back and they look shiny. Lasts for 1-2 weeks. I do this a couple of times per year. The last time, the 4th time, the zzzing just comes back for a day or two and then it's really time for a brand new set. But it can save you for an upcoming gig at least. And of course, don't ever try to clean any COATED strings this way!
Velleman is just one of the brands with variations in volume capacity. You need just one larger than their smallest one, which just contains 0.5 liter. This is a bit too small for bass strings. Here's another one that's suitable:
Invalid Link Removed
By and large, considerably better than boiling strings with any detergent! Water is no good for any string, regardless of boiling or not! I've done this above for quite some time now, since I've discovered that that fluid (Isopropyl Alcohol) can be contained within the cleaner, without combustion.
Keep your pets out from being in the same room as the Ultrasonic. And - maybe - infants. Those high frequencies - that you and I can't hear - can trip dogs and cats over, not to say bats... if ever those were one of your pets.
- Do not use any heater function if the unit has this. Take warning of this! Isopropanol is vaporizing and combustible at certain temperatures.
- Let it rip for 10 minutes each string (Yes, the jar absorbs 20-30 percent of the ultrasonic, so you have to take longer time).
- Do not use the fluid (isoprop) in the tank directly. It is just a waste of cost, and you have to dispose of it later on. Better to use it just in a little jar at 0.4 DL's or similar. And waste it later on as it is filled with gunk and string/finger skin residue.
You may think this is overkill investing in something like that, but you can use it to clean numerous things (Even CD's and so on), especially all kinds of glasses, sunglasses, necklaces, all things metal were you can't reach with normal cleaning methods. After a few tries with an expensive bass strings set, and other things, you've saved yourself a package of brand new strings. You've saved and "earned" the initial cost of this product. This works for me 3-4 times, on any stainless steel string set regardless of brand. Zzing comes back and they look shiny. Lasts for 1-2 weeks. I do this a couple of times per year. The last time, the 4th time, the zzzing just comes back for a day or two and then it's really time for a brand new set. But it can save you for an upcoming gig at least. And of course, don't ever try to clean any COATED strings this way!
Velleman is just one of the brands with variations in volume capacity. You need just one larger than their smallest one, which just contains 0.5 liter. This is a bit too small for bass strings. Here's another one that's suitable:
Invalid Link Removed
By and large, considerably better than boiling strings with any detergent! Water is no good for any string, regardless of boiling or not! I've done this above for quite some time now, since I've discovered that that fluid (Isopropyl Alcohol) can be contained within the cleaner, without combustion.
Keep your pets out from being in the same room as the Ultrasonic. And - maybe - infants. Those high frequencies - that you and I can't hear - can trip dogs and cats over, not to say bats... if ever those were one of your pets.
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I use 91% alcohol as a solvent for my d'Addario chrome XL flats. I take a 2" x 2" cotton bore patch that I use to clean my pistol, dampen it with the alcohol and then do a top wipe on the strings. Afterwards, I cradle wrap each string from below with the patch and then run up and down the length of the string. The strings come out very shiny and smooth to the touch afterward. The alcohol evaporates with no residue and will not chemically interact with the metal and does a good job of lifting the gunk out. The white cotton patches tell me clearly when the strings are fully clean. I get the alcohol pretty cheaply from my local drugstore.
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I still maintain that this is the most effective string cleaning method I've ever tried.
Strings stay under normal playing tension, holding those windings nice an open so the cleaner can get right in between them.
Ok guys, this may be the ULTIMATE string cleaning method ..... | Page 4 | TalkBass.com
I still maintain that this is the most effective string cleaning method I've ever tried.
Strings stay under normal playing tension, holding those windings nice an open so the cleaner can get right in between them.
Ok guys, this may be the ULTIMATE string cleaning method ..... | Page 4 | TalkBass.com
Normally, I just do the "clean hands, and wipe down afterwards" thing; my hands are normally pretty dry; I'm non-corrosive; and there isn't much chance of my basses getting gunked up anymore, anyway. I'll use a clean cloth with denatured alcohol, but not often. The only time I really, really clean strings is if I have to use D'Addarios (like on my baritone guitar). Something in their finishing process makes my fingers really itchy, unless I clean the bejeezus out of them with 1,1,1 Trichlorethane (which is kinda dangerous stuff), and wash that off with alcohol, first. And, I hate "New String Zing", anyway. When my strings finally wear out, I'm wealthy enough
to just replace them; never felt the need for all that boiling/soaking/magic spell stuff.
to just replace them; never felt the need for all that boiling/soaking/magic spell stuff.
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And there's actually that danish guy who just slaps the strings hard when detuning them slightly.
I would even consider bringing them up a bit in pitch instead, so they stretch a bit and let the solvent/fluid to creep in more easily between the windings. But it is what ultrasonic cleaner does anyway, when they're as slack as possible. I've compared Ultrasonic with water, and Ultrasonic with Isopropyl Alcohol, and the difference is day and night. The zzing that comes back, is actually new string zzing, not "cleaned" zzzing. That last for at least 2-3 weeks, then it's back to medium zzing, and it takes just as long for them to fade to whatever it was just before cleaning them, like any new string. While I do think that it's best to buy new strings, it is somewhat of a luxury that most of us can't spend. You can use that Isopropyl Alcohol and Ultrasonic cleaner to a numerous things (jewelry and so on), so that cost shouldn't be measured against the strings cost only.
FWIW, In Sweden, My favorite Rotosound Swing 045-130 Stainless Steel set costs 67 USD at the moment. Flatwounds and special treatment (open core, coated) even more. And Rotosound aren't the most expensive ones. DR's lo riders and high beams even higher (5 string that is). like 70 USD.
I mean, it's mostly due to that all strings on bass are wounded or spun. On guitar there's only reason to clean the wound ones. The plains, wipe with a regular cloth and the gunk is moved. It's very little use to clean plain guitar strings in any way (ultrasonic, alcohol, fluid whatever). Nothing sticks to them, that can't be wiped off with a clean cotton cloth anyway.
I would even consider bringing them up a bit in pitch instead, so they stretch a bit and let the solvent/fluid to creep in more easily between the windings. But it is what ultrasonic cleaner does anyway, when they're as slack as possible. I've compared Ultrasonic with water, and Ultrasonic with Isopropyl Alcohol, and the difference is day and night. The zzing that comes back, is actually new string zzing, not "cleaned" zzzing. That last for at least 2-3 weeks, then it's back to medium zzing, and it takes just as long for them to fade to whatever it was just before cleaning them, like any new string. While I do think that it's best to buy new strings, it is somewhat of a luxury that most of us can't spend. You can use that Isopropyl Alcohol and Ultrasonic cleaner to a numerous things (jewelry and so on), so that cost shouldn't be measured against the strings cost only.
FWIW, In Sweden, My favorite Rotosound Swing 045-130 Stainless Steel set costs 67 USD at the moment. Flatwounds and special treatment (open core, coated) even more. And Rotosound aren't the most expensive ones. DR's lo riders and high beams even higher (5 string that is). like 70 USD.
I mean, it's mostly due to that all strings on bass are wounded or spun. On guitar there's only reason to clean the wound ones. The plains, wipe with a regular cloth and the gunk is moved. It's very little use to clean plain guitar strings in any way (ultrasonic, alcohol, fluid whatever). Nothing sticks to them, that can't be wiped off with a clean cotton cloth anyway.
hmm...I know of a string cleaner that's easier to use than most of these...
If you haven't tried them yet, we're doing another promo for TB'ers this week. Use code TLKBSS to get 20% off your order on our site: Link Removed
And as always, would love to hear your thoughts on them and how they compare to many of these options.
If you haven't tried them yet, we're doing another promo for TB'ers this week. Use code TLKBSS to get 20% off your order on our site: Link Removed
And as always, would love to hear your thoughts on them and how they compare to many of these options.
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A great product that I use occasionally to clean the oxidization off strings.
I have never gotten around to doing my own before/after test to see if they brighten dirty strings any better than other methods, but I do seem to remember seeing a Youtube video that showed how they do this to a certain extent.
I love the convenience of a bunch of simple wipes in a plastic container.
I'll buy them again.
My only real criticism is that they, like all of the "wipe" type cleaners, can't get the crud out from down between the windings as well as the "wet" methods.
That's the stuff that really dulls strings IMO.
A great product that I use occasionally to clean the oxidization off strings.
I have never gotten around to doing my own before/after test to see if they brighten dirty strings any better than other methods, but I do seem to remember seeing a Youtube video that showed how they do this to a certain extent.
I love the convenience of a bunch of simple wipes in a plastic container.
I'll buy them again.
My only real criticism is that they, like all of the "wipe" type cleaners, can't get the crud out from down between the windings as well as the "wet" methods.
That's the stuff that really dulls strings IMO.
