Boiling bass strings

[FergusonRJ]

Bass strings are expensive and I am poor. Some questions about it:

1. Is it true that it ruins the pot they are boiled in?
2. Are they really EXACTLY like they were before the grim got piled on?
3. Do the strings warp or expand?

Buy some Denatured Alcohol - Methylated Spirits, exactly - as this does not contain water.

Even Stainless Steel will rust.

A couple of pounds (or bucks) for 500ml of Methylated Spirits, and you're away.

Soak in the alcohol, in a bucket/bowl/pan (clean) for 12-24 hours. Wipe down with a clean cloth which isn't going to leave fur/fluff.

Lol... NEVER boil steel strings.

 

[Bassflute]

Bass strings are expensive and I am poor. Some questions about it:

1. Is it true that it ruins the pot they are boiled in?
2. Are they really EXACTLY like they were before the grim got piled on?
3. Do the strings warp or expand?

http://www.tunemybass.com/strings/bass_string_cleaning_tube.html

Works WAY better. Works equally well with Methyl Hydrate, which is much easier to get. On a fretted bass, you can do this maybe twice before the fret wear wrecks the strings...on a fretless you can do it several more times, till finally they lose their elasticity and frequency range. Will save you lots of dollars over the years.

Cheers,
Cameron

 

[mikeswals]

FWIW: I’ve tried boiling bass strings a few times - and every time it was just a waste of time!!!

I know - I wish it worked, but it don't, so don't waste your time.

Same here...complete waste of time. When I tried it, the string will be bright for a couple days, then die even faster.
Strings are cheap, try skipping Mickey D's a couple times a week, when decent strings are like $12-$18 nowadays.

 

[uOpt]

Bass strings are expensive and I am poor. Some questions about it:

1. Is it true that it ruins the pot they are boiled in?
2. Are they really EXACTLY like they were before the grim got piled on?
3. Do the strings warp or expand?

No, it's all fine, but they won't stay bright nearly as long as new ones. You also need to be careful taking them off and putting them on so that they don't get nicked and swing uneven from then on. Can be annoying with bridges where you have to feed them through. A lot more convenient on a Warwick. (btw, why not say which strings you like and what bass you have?)

If you are in the US and you want fresh sounding roundwounds you should stalk all kinds of strings in your Amazon.com cart. Just recently you could get D'Addario's balanced set for $3.76 or something crazy.

Or get cheap but effective strings (Boomers, D'Addario) as a bulk pack. Calling bassstringsonline can probably help.