Clean Bass Tone

[rtslinger]

Before proceeding, make sure you are in a well-ventilated area. Use protective goggles and gloves.

Make the String-Holding Cap
Instead of dropping your bass strings in and having to fish them out, we'll make a cap with a hook where you can hook the strings on by the ball-end. Instead of drilling into the PVC cap, we'll glue a cork inside of the cap and screw the hook into the cork.

1. Shape the hook with pliers so that it can evenly hold the ball-ends of all your strings and still fit through the cap.
2. Screw the hook into the cork making sure the hook is well centered.
3. Super glue the cork/hook to the inside of the screw-on cap making sure it will smoothly go in and out of the male adapter.
4. Let it dry.

You should end up with something like this:

Make the Tube

1. Clean the tube ends and fittings with a little bit of alcohol and let dry.
2. Apply the cement to the outside of one end of the PVC pipe and the inside of the plain end cap. Coat well all the way around. It needs to be leak-proof.
3. Put the cap on the pipe making sure the pipe is as far in the cap as possible. Hold it for about 30 seconds so it doesn’t slip out.
4. Similarly, cement the male adapter or to the other end of the pipe.
5. Let it dry for 2 hours.

Check for Leaks
Once the tube fittings are dry, check the tube for leaks. Fill the tube with a little bit of water and screw it closed. See whether either end leaks. If it leaks you’ll have to try to plug up the holes with more cement if you can.

Put It to Work!

1. Fill your new bass string cleaning tube with denatured alcohol.
2. Place your strings on the hook.
3. Slide the strings into the tube and screw the cap on.
4. Let it sit in a corner for 12-24 hours.
5. Take them out, wipe them off with a paper towel and let them dry out – the alcohol will evaporate.
6. Screw the tube closed and leave your denatured alcohol inside. If it’s closed, it won’t evaporate and it should work for many bass string cleanings to come. It'd be a good idea to mark the tube poison and keep it away from kids (and drummers)!
7. Put your bass strings back on your bass.

 

[40Hz]

Firstly, I'm with @mrjim123 you do not want/need a pedal for what OP describes.

Secondly, re: ethyl alcohol...

^^^this makes me wonder: Has anyone ever tried Odorless Mineral Spirits for cleaning/degreasing/"embrightening" their old bass strings? Seems like it might do the trick, with slightly less stink and danger.

Don’t know if it’d be any safer. Might smell less but be more dangerous to inhale.

The material safety data sheet for odorless mineral spirits reads:

Classification in accordance with Schedule 1 of Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR) (SOR/2015-17) and 29 CFR 1910.1200
Flammable Liquids - Category 3
Aspiration Hazard - Category 1
Acute Toxicity - Inhalation - Vapor - Category 4
Germ Cell Mutagenicity, Category 1B
Specific Target Organ Toxicity – Single Exposure, Category 3 (central nervous and respiratory systems)
​

As far as isopropyl goes, even in a 70% solution, isopropyl seems only slightly less dangerous:

Flammable liquids
Serious Eye Damage/Eye Irritation
Specific target organ toxicity (single exposure) Target Organs - Central nervous system (CNS).
Label Elements
Highly flammable liquid and vapor Causes serious eye irritation
May cause drowsiness or dizziness​

Both are classified as hazardous materials by OSHA and have specific organ toxicity warnings. But the “germ cell mutagenicity” warning (i.e. can cause damage to cell DNA resulting in birth defects) on mineral spirits is especially concerning.

I think I rather stick to isopropyl and put up with the odor if I had a choice.

 

[juancaminos]

I like a bright and clear piano string like sound. The best I have done is with a Jazz Bass having 70's bridge pup spacing. Dimarzio PAF's wired to J-Retro controls and round wounds. Played thru an Eden WT400/410XLT. I have several other basses and amp combinations that don't compare. Regardless I have learned no to be afraid to favor the the higher portion of amp and bass EQ slightly.

 

[chadds]

New strings don't equal clean tone. They do equal new string tone. Old flats can sound clean.
Get rid of all the unnecessary eq. Play the sound of your bass. Then you will hear the changes in your touch. Then you will see that more or less highs, more or less lows, more or less mids, comes from your fingers. You know many people set their eq on their amp and never touch it room to room unless it's to adjust for a needed cut or boost in a specific frequency area. Some use the knobs on their bass to make more of the sound they are making. Different from setting up your bass to make a sound.

 

[JimmyM]

Swap those Dimarzios for EMGs. Crisp, clean, clear, and powerful.

As an endorser, I have to agree. That was Rob Turner's whole intention with EMG when he started it...cleaner and clearer pickups. Of course, folks like me tend to poop all over that with overdrive and fuzz but they start out super clean.

And if you want super clean with extra highs and lows, the X series.

 

[GeorgesEric]

…All this talk about denatured alcohol does not make me thirsty but reminds of that great concoction by Alice Cooper “Cold Ethyl”

 

[bassfreakah]

I like the pax P bass pickup!!!! Nice and full sounding p bass pickup. Just plug in your bass and turn it up. Perfect! Had one in a peavey fury bass that i sold. My stupidity.

 

[Aidenn7]

clean strings tone is for a studio.. turn up your treble.. or an expander can help.. the more brightness the better you stand out in a mix

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

Maybe switch to stainless steel strings add lace pickups, Audere pre, and maybe a really good clean di or preamp as you main tone like a Neve Rndi, Noble, Avalon u5, Grace design Alix, Trickfish minnow or maybe a Nordstrand Starlifter. Any of those things paired together should give you fantastic clean tones.

 

[jimmydean]

I prefer to boil my strings for that " Oh so crisp tone "....over and over , again and again .

 

[JimmyM]

I prefer to boil my strings for that " Oh so crisp tone "....over and over , again and again .

I used to boil but it wears them out much quicker than denatured alcohol. Denatured alcohol takes a lot longer, though. Some say a day is enough, but never has been for me...4 or 5 days is more like it for me. OTOH, I'm all about dead rounds now that I found a set that sounds good dead and still has some snap when you need it.

 

[drumvsbass]

clean bass tone is overrated.

 

[ruju]

I use a BOSS BC-1x for this purpose. In addition to compression, it evens out the tone, making it much brighter than when off. My strings are LaBella LTFs that have been on for a few months.

I also use a compressor but the TC spectra with the Nathan east toneprint. It really bring the presence forward and just evens out strings volume.

 

[micguy]

Fuel. You can buy a smaller can of it for about nine bucks at any Home Depot. Keep it in an airtight Tupperware with your strings and one can will last quite a while.

Keep in mind that every time you clean strings with any solvent, the way the solvent cleans the strings is to dissolve the gunk into the solvent, thereby reducing the amount on the strings. If you re-use the solvent, with every use the solvent gets more gunk in it, and your "cleaned" strings will be somewhat less clean with every use. I work for a company where we clean parts in solvents; this is an issue we deal with. Best to toss it and start fresh at some point.

Rubbing alcohol.

Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol. Denatured is ethanol with some other stuff in it (so it's not drinkable). They are different chemicals. Both will probably work for cleaning strings, though isopropyl has enough water that you might get a bit of rust from the process. If you're going to use isopropyl, get the 91% stuff, not the 70% stuff.

 

[DrThumpenstein]

Yes, sorry. Forgot to add this...
Markbass Little Mark 800 & Markbass Standard 104HF cab

I had a Markbass Big Bang that was a well-named, clean, loud amp. It was too clean for me, I moved to a Mesa WD800. Maybe the Little Mark is too colored? I’ve never played one, but when I saw your post I immediately thought that “clean” would be a great word to describe that amp, and you seem to be digging the MB thing, so maybe it’s worth mentioning.

As far as “clean” playing technique, it depends on what you mean, but my clean tone requires accurate fretting and, for my right hand, more fingertip plucking rather than with the side of my fingers, which I use for a more muted, softer attack. My “cleanest” tone comes from a plectrum. WD gain way down, no effects, bass slight cut and mids boosted, master to volume needed. Clean, hifi tone.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Yeah, hate to hurt your feelings, you need a active eq bass. I tried to chase the sound with my fender p & jazz basses. Finally made my life easier and got a 3 band active eq bass. Problem solved without a pedal...

 

[Iristone]

Coated strings, specifically DR's, will keep that new string sound (slightly toned down) for a long time. I always use them for economical and environmental reasons.

 

[Bassist30]

You can change strings, Pick Ups and ad outboard pre's. Less is more. Boosting frequencies and adding pre's and new Pu's means you're not satisfied. I say learn to cut and go for flat eq's. learn that first and then you will know how to ad. That is if you do.

 

[HolmeBass]

Keep in mind that every time you clean strings with any solvent, the way the solvent cleans the strings is to dissolve the gunk into the solvent, thereby reducing the amount on the strings. If you re-use the solvent, with every use the solvent gets more gunk in it, and your "cleaned" strings will be somewhat less clean with every use. I work for a company where we clean parts in solvents; this is an issue we deal with. Best to toss it and start fresh at some point.




Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol. Denatured is ethanol with some other stuff in it (so it's not drinkable). They are different chemicals. Both will probably work for cleaning strings, though isopropyl has enough water that you might get a bit of rust from the process. If you're going to use isopropyl, get the 91% stuff, not the 70% stuff.

I do stand corrected, and good advice to use the 91% isopropyl. Or perhaps the actual denatured alcohol would be best.

 

[Chrisk-K]

I’ve boiled strings and used denatured alcohol to make old strings sound new. No matter what I did, old strings never sounded like fresh ones. If you want the most crisp tone, use fresh strings. The only other option would be to play a MIDI bass to trigger super crisp bass samples.