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Boiled my strings for the first time....Holy Sh*t

SlapPopBass

SlapPopBass

Jan 8, 2013
98
11
Iowa City, Iowa
#1
So for the first time in history I decided to try out the boiling string thing. Took out some dead Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys and threw them in boiling water for like 3-4 minutes each. Gave them a few good rubs with some dry cloth to remove the grime and all and when I strung them on....Wow, they sounded brand spanking new. Poppy and twangy like straight out of the packet. Still had some visible rust marks on it, but still sounded kick ass. I think this method had much better results then the soaking in alcohol thing. Anyone else feels this way too? I mean, if it worked for Andrew Gouche, why not for me :D
 
#4
RDUB said:
Used to do it with Rotosounds way back in the day. They wouldn't last as long, second time around, and lost some body and mids. The Roto's were also more prone to breaking at the bridge after boiling.
Click to expand...

I used to boil my D'Addario XL's and while it did bring back a lot of the original sparkle, I found that they tended to break a lot more easily afterwards so I stopped doing it. Definitely the way to go if you're on a budget and love that new strings sound.
 
#5
When I first started playing I used to boil strings because I could not afford new ones and I wanted to sound like Flea inside of a trashcan. It was a great way to brighten the strings up again, but like RDUB said, they always would break. Nowadays I can't wait for new strings to lose that brightness and change them much much less often. *Side note, I haven't broke a string in 20 years. (I probably will break one tomorrow)
 
#6
One thing nobody mentions: when I was taught to do this back in the 70s, we put a spoonful of baking soda in the pot of water to help remove any corrosion. I never had a string break after doing this but I did find the strings went dead rather quickly. I have now tried the alcohol treatments and that works much better in my opinion.
 
#13
I tried the denatured alcohol. Quite honestly I didn't notice a huge difference from before I soaked them. Maybe 3 days wasn't long enough to soak. Maybe the strings weren't weathered enough. Idk. I just assume spend the money on new strings. If I can't afford them, I wait till I can. Nothing and I mean nothing beats a new set out of the package. Obviously. I've boiled more than a few times too. They stay zinggy for about a day or two them lose it again. The time and effort isn't worth it to me anymore. I'd just assume go buy a new set. Just my opinion.

On a side note, I just picked up a container of bass brite string wipes. Now these, these help keep my strings sounding newer longer. They don't make them sound brand spankin zinggy new, but they help prolong the lively sound of a string. To my ears.
 
#14
.
BIG +1 for boiling strings to give them life back.
I've been doing it for years. It works.
Two or three boils, then chuck 'em away and buy new strings.
...... It doesn't work forever.

IMO the increased frequency of snapped strings after boiling OR soaking in alcohol has nothing to do with the liquid they are being cleaned in.
It's the removal and re-tensioning that does it.
 
#15
I used to boil strings. Works to get them back to sounding new for a while. It does kill their longevity, but once they died I was through with them anyways. I moved on to soaking them overnight in denatured alcohol (NOT boiling in it). That worked just as well and didn't seem to kill them like boiling did. Plus it was easier. Toss them in and forget about it till the morning. Give that a try if you want to keep your strings fresh longer. Better tactic.

Since then I've grown to prefer broken in rounds and dislike new string zing. Have the same set of Dunlops on my main slab for the past six months.
 
#17
I recently boiled some D'Addarios - first time i've boiled strings in years. This time I wrapped them in aluminium foil & into the oven to dry them out. Works well but after 2 days they're dead as a door knob.

On occassion I wipe the strings down with *lemon scented guitar cleaning fluid (lem oil) for a little bit of life cos it's easier than boiling. These days I'm not too fussed with the rounds gone dead sound.

At the end of the day, boil them for a gig but if you like roundwounds nothing beats a fresh set of strings.
 
#19
Jiker75 said:
*Side note, I haven't broke a string in 20 years. (I probably will break one tomorrow)
Click to expand...

????????????
I've just broke the D (70) string - Ernie Ball Regular Slinky -after 3 weeks in "service".
As I've mentioned in some other threads, the G and D strings usually last for me about up to 3 weeks, the A and E strings - up to 2 months.
For my exercises, I've started using cheap strings, "Musician's Gear".
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acce...0@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^30421935867

Pros: They are cheap, and also, there is no difference between brand the new and used ones in terms of sound/tone.
Cons: They sound really bad.
 

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