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Cleaning and reusing strings?
- Thread starter Dropkickyourgrandmother
- Start date
I get the 91% isopropyl alcohol from my local drugstore(CVS here in California) and dampen a white cotton bore patch with the alcohol. I then cut up a plastic garbage can bag and slide the thin plastic sheet between the strings and the fretboard, as a protective barrier. Finally, I saddle wrap one string at a time and pinch on the top of the patch and then slide the patch back and forth along the length of the string in a scrubbing action. The white cotton is nice because you can readily see any gunk that gets pick up and you know when the string is clean, usually two applications if the strings haven't been cleaned for awhile.
I've been doing this for about a year on my D'addario chrome flats and it seems to be doing a good job. Of course, I wash my hands before any extended playing and I do a wipe down with a clean terry cloth after playing so there is not much of a problem with buildup on the strings.
I've been doing this for about a year on my D'addario chrome flats and it seems to be doing a good job. Of course, I wash my hands before any extended playing and I do a wipe down with a clean terry cloth after playing so there is not much of a problem with buildup on the strings.
what?
salt corrodes the metal and is part of what you're trying to get rid of!
you're not making spaghetti here
what?
salt corrodes the metal and is part of what you're trying to get rid of!
you're not making spaghetti here
You're right ... I got confused ... salt for pastas ... clear water for strings.
Maybe he's a TB member?
I've been boiling my strings for years and it is magic. Brings them right back to life because it pulls all the oil and dead skin cells out of the grooves. I've tried to boil them multiple times and that never really works, but it is a good way to get at least twice the life out of them. After I boil them for about 10 minutes, I use tongs to pull them out and just run a dry towel from top to bottom to make sure all the water is off and re-string the bass. Two tips - use nickel strings instead of steel because they tend not to rust, and try and get strings that aren't thread wrapped on the ends. Once you boil them the thread wrapping starts to fray, and not that it's a problem, but can take away from the aesthetic of a freshly cleaned bass!
Hope this helps!
remember a couple years ago olive garden got called out and embarrassed by one of their corporate stockholders or some such?
they'd made a top-down decision to no longer salt the water for boiling their pasta just because it made the pots and pans last longer without corroding, saving a few dollers over time and making their faux-italian food even lamer and blander than before.
I've heard of "taking the long view" ... but if there margins are that tight ... yikes!!!!
Basically, a wipe down (lengthwise to the string) only cleans the surface, and may deposit some of that in the voids between the strings (If there's anywhere that's not already filled with sweat oils, salts, dirt, etc), so I don't see how that could really help. The stuff between the wrap windings needs to be released/removed to have any real benefit.
Have you tried Elixir strings?? They sound like they would be perfect for you.
Straight out of the packet brand new they aren't as bright as uncoated strings. I've always compared them to strings that are a few days old however they basically don't fade from that point on so two months down the track they still stay the same while the uncoated strings (which are brighter when you put them on) are now sounding dull and old. Might be worth a go. I haven't used them on electric bass due to them not having short scales or flats but on my guitars and my acoustic bass the only reason I replace them is when they have too much fret damage.
The thing with ultracleaning AND isoprop, is that the surfactant not only releases surface tension, but makes the cavitation bubbles creep into holes and cracks that you can't reach with JUST isoprop. And you should not use GALLONS of isoprop into the ultrasonic container, it's a very bad idea, and is a totally waste. You should put the isoprop in a smaller jar, glass jar, or metal mug, FIRST and then coil that string up and put it in there. That jar should be place into WATER that is filled in the ultrasonic container. And not be covered in water so the water sips into the jar filled with isoprop. While turned on (lit?!), you can see the isoprop fluid move around, like undercurrent on a river. Instead of shaking the jar manually, it stirs the fluid. You can even watch the string starts to rotate slowly.
3-5 minutes. After a while, you can watch the residue gathering on the bottom of the jar, which is a proof that at least something is released from the strings. Now, the main difference to this from boiling is that neither the fluid nor string gets boiling hot, and thus KEEPS THE INTONATION afterwards. The actual new string zzzing is about the same. But the main difference is that the Ultrasonic/isoprop thing doesn't whack the gauge, and gets rid of ALL gunk within the cracks and gaps of a hex core strings. And, it should be carried out on Stainless Steel strings, mostly. You can get away with nickel wounds maybe three passes a year, but SS lasts several years.
- - - - -
The only thing I do in between, is to soak a regular linen cloth (scrapped from old ones) with a dash of isoprop and drag it along each strings prior and after a gig or long session. When you start to hear that CLANG TONE while dragging the cloth, the surface of the string is clean enough! That eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkk shrieking sound that can wake up the dead! That's another thread and beyond anal retentive, but it is the sound that is not picked up by magnetic pickups but only exists acoustically.
So verdict:
1. Take off and on your strings as often as you like. They may suffer some metal fatigue at the bends when you're on the 100th time
2. Not boil in water. Ever. Even with detergent. You may get new shiny look and new string zzzing, but intonation may be gone for good.
3. Not ispoprop only.
4. Not ultrasonic clean only (i e especially in water)
5. Ultrasonic clean + isoprop give the best results in the long run, plus stainless steel strings. Not everyone likes the abrasive feel and sound of Stainless Steel strings. Nickel wounds suits the most people.
6. avoid coated, elixir, exp whatever. Whatever people say, I think they're snake oil.
3-5 minutes. After a while, you can watch the residue gathering on the bottom of the jar, which is a proof that at least something is released from the strings. Now, the main difference to this from boiling is that neither the fluid nor string gets boiling hot, and thus KEEPS THE INTONATION afterwards. The actual new string zzzing is about the same. But the main difference is that the Ultrasonic/isoprop thing doesn't whack the gauge, and gets rid of ALL gunk within the cracks and gaps of a hex core strings. And, it should be carried out on Stainless Steel strings, mostly. You can get away with nickel wounds maybe three passes a year, but SS lasts several years.
- - - - -
The only thing I do in between, is to soak a regular linen cloth (scrapped from old ones) with a dash of isoprop and drag it along each strings prior and after a gig or long session. When you start to hear that CLANG TONE while dragging the cloth, the surface of the string is clean enough! That eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkk shrieking sound that can wake up the dead! That's another thread and beyond anal retentive, but it is the sound that is not picked up by magnetic pickups but only exists acoustically.
So verdict:
1. Take off and on your strings as often as you like. They may suffer some metal fatigue at the bends when you're on the 100th time
2. Not boil in water. Ever. Even with detergent. You may get new shiny look and new string zzzing, but intonation may be gone for good.
3. Not ispoprop only.
4. Not ultrasonic clean only (i e especially in water)
5. Ultrasonic clean + isoprop give the best results in the long run, plus stainless steel strings. Not everyone likes the abrasive feel and sound of Stainless Steel strings. Nickel wounds suits the most people.
6. avoid coated, elixir, exp whatever. Whatever people say, I think they're snake oil.
Remember to not clean the bass by boiling it too. Bass should be pan-fried anyway.
Snake oil!!? That's it I'm against the harming of snakes, even if they make my Elixers last a year or more! I guess I won't be using Elixers again!
I use stainless roundwounds for funk. Before I do a gig I boil my strings in water and vinegar about as long as boiling an egg. They sound like new for the gig.
Caveat: A new set sounds new for weeks; a boiled set only sounds new again for days.
Caveat: A new set sounds new for weeks; a boiled set only sounds new again for days.
Yes. I would urge you to try the Ultrasonic cleaner. If you're networking or paying for rehearsal space, and you have guitarists in your band, save up and do a crowd funding and common purchase of an Ultrasonic cleaner, and let the cost split among you. Many people can use it. Now, then after that, compare the new string zzzing after a couple of days to the regular boiling thing, and on top of this... check out the intonation too! See which ones wins. While I do not think it sounds exactly like new strings, the Ultrasonic plus isoprop sounds like a just broken in new string, like it does after 2-3 days from brand new. The main difference from regular boiling and ultrasonic+isoprop cleaning is that it wont affect intonation.
I forgot to put number 7 up there:
7. If your string has fret dents/wear underneath, and has uneven gauge anyway due to that, no boiling, cleaning, ultrasonic+isoprop in the world can save this. Brand new strings are the only way then.
A string with no double end should not be taken off and on too many times (or at all) if it's a round core, see the difference here:
And the following is what's going to happen - if round core - at the top, where the tuner end resides:
Thus, the HEX CORE is supposed to keep the string from unravel. Uncoil. Unwinds itself. It keeps the string from "screwing" around itself along in the center too. Like, I mean, take a string and hold it firmly in one end. Take a small allen wrench small enough to fit in the ball end hole at the other end. Now TWIST it counterclockwise while you're twisting it clockwise at the other end. A hex core will keep it from "twisting it around itself" in lack of better description. BUT! When boiling at boiling temperatures, the metal expands, and you actually "turn loose" the strings windings from lower than its idle mode. I e the string when wound in room temperature, has its lowest tension, and can only be increased from that point on. It can't be lower that when you open the package up, and take out the brand new strings. It only can go up from there once you put it on the bass and starts to tune up. Now, with BOILING temperatures, everything gets larger, including metal, and you'll whack the lowest tension, and jeopardizing the perfect wound and gauge of the whole string as such. Don't count on it, that it will retract back to its original state once cooled down to room temperature. My experience of just boiling is a 50/50 crap shoot. Half of the strings retained intonation, and the rest of the was way off. Like...in way off. Not even tolerable. 20-30 cents off.
I wonder why there's nothing on this on YT. Someone checking intonation before a string is boiled, and then after it. The main thing is that it ruins the string, but I could very well think that the major manufacturers could do one of these, just to pitch on to us, to buy new strings all of the time. To them, one string waste is nothing.
I have only ONCE seen a guitarist try to boil his strings - which for plain strings are totally futile, a wipe clean will wipe off most gunk anyway, it's the round ones that are the culprit of hoarding gunk - and the actuall ball end came loose from the windings. The strings "loop" became larger due to heat and the ball end dropped off. Impossible to put it back in there later on. This can be possible for bass strings too, if you cook them like 45 minutes as one other around here did. Don't overcook anyhing!
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So it may be. The new sound of Elixirs (Exp, Cleartone, DR Neons etc) are not the same new string zzing of any of the other non-coated strings. Not even close. You have a broken in string feel and sound for a longer time though. But the actual BREAKAGE factor of the string is about the same as any regular string. Now think of this, the ad lingo goes "Our strings lasts longer", which they don't tell you means. They mean "IN TONE". I e that old string sound, well they just sound like old strings brand new,...but longer. They don't mean "Last longer" when it comes to breakage . And flaking and such things. And for that price. Go figure. They break just as often as regular strings. Now on bass, this may seem a no-no, but on acoustic guitar, and guitars in general, they just break and flake all of the time. Maybe Cleartone or Martin LifeSpan doesn't flake, but they break just as often as any other string, especially wound g-ones. The only thing they mitigate is the finger squeal but that's most of heard on acoustic guitars anyway.
hey, don't derail and hijack the thread into another flame of coated vs uncoated. There's already enough of them. What we should inform the readers, it's that the coated ones are not up for any boiling, isoprop or ultrasound-cleaning at all. But you still can take the coated ones off and on as many times you like. Too.
I used to boil them when I was younger. No problem putting them back on, but the new sound didn't last
it's elixIrs,not elixErs
ha ha. Elix errrhhh....may be a new name since the old one got a bad rap. Or counterfeit, cheap Asian copy trying to ride on the name. Just enough name difference to not get sued.
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