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Dingwall Owners Club

#44,723
81B3EB14-C270-45A8-BC55-08C219E680FF.jpeg
So after two days of practice my new ABZ feels great. Fanned frets don’t bring any discomfort as soon as I found the right playing position after adjusting the strap length. It was an easy fix but that was very important advice and I really appreciate it otherwise I’d feel frustrated. Now it’s nice and comfortable to play in spite of its giant B string scale. And of course no one can beat the B string of the Dingwall. Sure it’s a keeper. Tomorrow is the first band practice with this bass and I’ll play my ABZ on my next gig 22nd October.
 
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#44,724
Does anyone here boil or soak their Dingwall brand strings in denatured alcohol to refresh them? I've seen this recommended in places but have never tried it. I play my Z3 so much as my #1 that I'm going through strings fast that I'm considering it and wondered if you'll have had luck with it.
 
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#44,725
Ryno1330 said:
Does anyone here boil or soak their Dingwall brand strings in denatured alcohol to refresh them? I've seen this recommended in places but have never tried it. I play my Z3 so much as my #1 that I'm going through strings fast that I'm considering it and wondered if you'll have had luck with it.
Click to expand...

I've done both and recommend soaking in denatured alcohol as it's better for the strings (water can get trapped inside the string and cause rust). I don't do it right now as I'm not really playing enough to go through a lot of strings but it does work well. I've also heard of people using ultrasonic cleaners with success but I've never tried that.
 
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#44,727
Ryno1330 said:
Does anyone here boil or soak their Dingwall brand strings in denatured alcohol to refresh them? I've seen this recommended in places but have never tried it. I play my Z3 so much as my #1 that I'm going through strings fast that I'm considering it and wondered if you'll have had luck with it.
Click to expand...
Ha! Boiling or soaking in denatured alcohol is DEFINITELY an either/or proposition - you would NOT want to boil the alcohol.

Anyhow, yes - I regularly soak my strings in denatured alcohol.
In college, I tried boiling strings in water, but the benefit seemed temporary - and then the strings got rusty.

The method I've been using for 10-15 years now is this:
I went to Home Depot and got myself a quart of denatured alcohol, a 4' length of 1.25" PVC pipe, (2) caps for 1.25" PVC pipe, and some PVC cement.

I cut the pipe down to a little longer than the length of my longest string.
I mildly sanded/de-burred one end of the pipe and sanded the other end enough so that it'd still fit snug, but be removable.

I cemented a cap onto the mildly sanded end - if your cut of the pipe wasn't square, I'd recommend cementing the end that IS square, to avoid leakage.

Once the PVC cement sets, you remove your strings and put them in the tube - fill the tube with the denatured alcohol, put on the "pressure fit" cap (to minimize evaporation and the chance of spillage) and let them sit overnight or longer.

Initially, I found it useful to lean the tube in a corner to keep it from tipping - now, I use a spring clip to keep the tube securely upright.

When I'm ready to reinstall the strings, I use a funnel to pour the alcohol back into the container, then pull out the strings one at a time, wiping them with an old (but clean) washcloth prior to putting them on my bass.

When reinstalled, they will be about 80% as bright as new strings, but hold their tuning better than new strings do (which makes them great for recording).

This method works because it gets rid of the oils and skin particles that deaden the strings.
Eventually the metal in the strings gets fatigued, but I've gotten years of usage with this method.
 
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#44,729
groovaholic said:
Ha! Boiling or soaking in denatured alcohol is DEFINITELY an either/or proposition - you would NOT want to boil the alcohol.

Anyhow, yes - I regularly soak my strings in denatured alcohol.
In college, I tried boiling strings in water, but the benefit seemed temporary - and then the strings got rusty.

The method I've been using for 10-15 years now is this:
I went to Home Depot and got myself a quart of denatured alcohol, a 4' length of 1.25" PVC pipe, (2) caps for 1.25" PVC pipe, and some PVC cement.

I cut the pipe down to a little longer than the length of my longest string.
I mildly sanded/de-burred one end of the pipe and sanded the other end enough so that it'd still fit snug, but be removable.

I cemented a cap onto the mildly sanded end - if your cut of the pipe wasn't square, I'd recommend cementing the end that IS square, to avoid leakage.

Once the PVC cement sets, you remove your strings and put them in the tube - fill the tube with the denatured alcohol, put on the "pressure fit" cap (to minimize evaporation and the chance of spillage) and let them sit overnight or longer.

Initially, I found it useful to lean the tube in a corner to keep it from tipping - now, I use a spring clip to keep the tube securely upright.

When I'm ready to reinstall the strings, I use a funnel to pour the alcohol back into the container, then pull out the strings one at a time, wiping them with an old (but clean) washcloth prior to putting them on my bass.

When reinstalled, they will be about 80% as bright as new strings, but hold their tuning better than new strings do (which makes them great for recording).

This method works because it gets rid of the oils and skin particles that deaden the strings.
Eventually the metal in the strings gets fatigued, but I've gotten years of usage with this method.
Click to expand...

^ This.

Works great!

I just reach into the tube, grab the strings, and wipe them off as they come of the tube.

This stuff is flammable so make sure you keep the lid on and use common sense where you store it in the home.
 
#44,733
Selta said:
How was your order with Kalium? Was it recent?
Click to expand...

My last order was about a week ago and it was perfect. I’ve placed two orders with them in the past couple of months and in both cases I had my strings within a week.

I made a mistake on my first order and ordered a long set instead of the mediums I needed. I received a phone call that evening to verify I had ordered the correct set. They informed me I should be using the medium length strings and set them out the next day.

I know there is a good amount of complaints floating around here about their customer service, but my experiences have been great.
 
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#44,735
goldendomer04 said:
My last order was about a week ago and it was perfect. I’ve placed two orders with them in the past couple of months and in both cases I had my strings within a week.

I made a mistake on my first order and ordered a long set instead of the mediums I needed. I received a phone call that evening to verify I had ordered the correct set. They informed me I should be using the medium length strings and set them out the next day.

I know there is a good amount of complaints floating around here about their customer service, but my experiences have been great.
Click to expand...

nice to hear. Thanks for sharing
 
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#44,736
goldendomer04 said:
My last order was about a week ago and it was perfect. I’ve placed two orders with them in the past couple of months and in both cases I had my strings within a week.

I made a mistake on my first order and ordered a long set instead of the mediums I needed. I received a phone call that evening to verify I had ordered the correct set. They informed me I should be using the medium length strings and set them out the next day.

I know there is a good amount of complaints floating around here about their customer service, but my experiences have been great.
Click to expand...
Good to know that someone out there is getting good customer service from Kalium. Hopefully, this is a trend for all orders.
 
#44,737
Ryno1330 said:
Does anyone here boil or soak their Dingwall brand strings in denatured alcohol to refresh them? I've seen this recommended in places but have never tried it. I play my Z3 so much as my #1 that I'm going through strings fast that I'm considering it and wondered if you'll have had luck with it.
Click to expand...
I do. Here’s a short YouTube video I did about the process: https://youtube.com/shorts/jTIImLY-qRE?feature=share
 
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#44,739
goldendomer04 said:
My last order was about a week ago and it was perfect. I’ve placed two orders with them in the past couple of months and in both cases I had my strings within a week.

I made a mistake on my first order and ordered a long set instead of the mediums I needed. I received a phone call that evening to verify I had ordered the correct set. They informed me I should be using the medium length strings and set them out the next day.

I know there is a good amount of complaints floating around here about their customer service, but my experiences have been great.
Click to expand...
Great news.
 
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