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boiling flat wounds.

#2
JamesM said:
Hey i was just wondering if its all right to boil flat wound strings, i can't afford a new set, i've just made a new fretless out of my old bass and its hard to hear what it could sound like with old string.
Cheers.
Click to expand...

sure, why not...boil away...

for a good job, put a tiny bit of dishwashing liquid in there, too...and let them dry completely before restringing.
 
#5
canopener said:
I don't think you'd need to bother cleaning flats too much.
Click to expand...

play, wipe down, close case. repeat (about a year per set should be sufficient).
if they sound a little thuddier than when you bought them, it's because they should. that's the flatwound mojo. you don't want to brighten them up too much now.
 
#7
i have rotosound flats on my ibanez and i boiled them and it worked fine.
i hear that ur actually supposed to put them in some denatured alcohol and leave them in that for a day or so, cause theres no water in it to rust the srtings...i havent tried it yet.
just some "food for thought"
 
#9
jacove said:
Let us know how it goes, JamesM!.... :hyper:
Click to expand...

Hey guys, the fretless came out great and surprisingly the tone is killer, it took me a while to get the intonation right. I gave the strings a boil and it did make a little difference, had a a few jams with the band and its brought a totally different approach to the songs and my playing.
Catchya laters.
 
#10
Yep. Fretless is a whole 'nother planet. Lined fretless is very cool if you're a fretless beginner (like moi). I'm comitted to frets for the vast majority of the material that I work with but there are a few tunes where the fretless really provides an interestsing dimension.

We started doing an old free jazz vamp named Tunji ('trane ?) a month ago and in my trio setting I'm doing a lot of chording in it. The fretless just works for that beautifully and the lines do help. Training wheels I know bit for the moment I need 'em.
 

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