I did that when I was younger and strings were relatively more expensive. Didn't worry about rust because the arid Colorado climate takes care of any moisture in 10 minutes or less.
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Have you ever boiled your bass strings?
- Thread starter Rod Barchetta
- Start date
I've done this, from time to time, over the years. When I was first starting out in the early 90's, strings seemed very expensive, and I had little money to spare. I will add to this that I would wrap them in tinfoil, with holes poked, and bake them at a low temp to remove any excess moisture. Ah, this brings me back and totally gets you through the tight times. Anything that keeps the dream alive is worthy, imho
Way back when I made my living playing bass, a new set was a significant portion of my weekly net. I heard bout boiling them to extend their life, but I was on the road, and had no access to a pan or a stove.
However, I did have to do laundry. So I'd take the strings off, coil them into a dirty sock,l and throw them in with my washload. After that, straight into the dryer. They came out bright, fresh and shiny, almost as zingy as new. Didn't last quite as long as new, of course. After all, there was wear and tear from use, as well as a bit of corrosion from sweat. But it worked well for me. Sometimes I still do it, even though I can now afford to buy new strings. In fact, I went so far as to craft a denim bag to wash them in. Saves wear and tear on my socks, as well as the washing machine!
However, I did have to do laundry. So I'd take the strings off, coil them into a dirty sock,l and throw them in with my washload. After that, straight into the dryer. They came out bright, fresh and shiny, almost as zingy as new. Didn't last quite as long as new, of course. After all, there was wear and tear from use, as well as a bit of corrosion from sweat. But it worked well for me. Sometimes I still do it, even though I can now afford to buy new strings. In fact, I went so far as to craft a denim bag to wash them in. Saves wear and tear on my socks, as well as the washing machine!
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I used to boil my bass strings after I read about it. I have a few sets of strings and every few months I change them. But nowadays I put my strings in the dishwasher together with the other dishes and this also works very well! I never have to buy bass strings.
I've used to boil strings for a long period with dish soap or only salt in water. But the life of boiled string is very short and the decay is fast and unpredictable. I prefer to doing nothing and use the string as long as they sound for a better long life. Boiling or cleaning with solveant permit to penetrate onto the internal rounds the dirty and dust that penetrate very slowly in normal use.
Yes, back in the 70's and 80's I was playing six nights a week and hardly making any money "DC, VA" AREA and I boiled my strings about once a week .
There were good for another week and then put new ones on. The life of a Rock and Roll star.
There were good for another week and then put new ones on. The life of a Rock and Roll star.
I used to do that in my poor punk/metal days. Then I started to earn money and replaced strings every few gigs, donating the old ones down the line.
Now I play dub and the producer LOVES that old string deadness, so I am not allowed to do anything anymore. It even gets worse: now it is preferred that I age new strings ASAP. Found out that keeping them in a plastic bag in a slightly damp environment (like outside in the shed when it rains) for 24 hrs works best....
Now I play dub and the producer LOVES that old string deadness, so I am not allowed to do anything anymore. It even gets worse: now it is preferred that I age new strings ASAP. Found out that keeping them in a plastic bag in a slightly damp environment (like outside in the shed when it rains) for 24 hrs works best....
I used to boil my Rotosounds all the time. Lately I've gone to bulk bass strings you can buy online from juststrings.com and the price is low enough to where I don't bother to do that any more.
Seems like that would work well, especially if you use the drying cycle.
I only tried with methylated spirit or denatured alcohol and and it definitely brought back some zing for a little while. I also used to get rust in at the core of the string so I found that doing it made the strings break earlier rather than extending life.
I have 3 rules that definately make my strings last MUCH longer:
1) Always wash your hands right before you play
2)Do not use hand cream or touch anything oily, sticky or wet after washing your hands before playing.
3) Never let anyone else play your bass
I actually don't like a very bright sound, which makes it even more amazing how if anyone else plays my bass even for just a few seconds, it often sounds/feels like it needs a new set of strings, even if they were quite new.
1) Always wash your hands right before you play
2)Do not use hand cream or touch anything oily, sticky or wet after washing your hands before playing.
3) Never let anyone else play your bass
I actually don't like a very bright sound, which makes it even more amazing how if anyone else plays my bass even for just a few seconds, it often sounds/feels like it needs a new set of strings, even if they were quite new.
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I occasionally let people play my bass, but I insist they wash their hands first.
This is my experience, too.
Luckily, my body chemistry is really easy on strings, and I'm not a sweaty hand person, either.
Something about mixing two body chemistries on the strings and the strings die very fast.
I use coated strings, and I clean them regularly with GHS Fast Fret or D'Addario XLR8. I'm not as worried about someone else's body chemistry affecting my strings as I am about getting traces of hamburger juice or ranch dressing on them.
Yep, I don't buy coated strings much, as I really don't need them. I am that guy that asks people to wash up before playing my instruments, too.
Interestingly, I can wipe fingerprints and smudges off of a gloss black guitar with just my fingertips!
I can't get the neon colors on uncoated strings. I've used DR neons for so long, I don't remember what it's like playing on uncoated strings. (When I have to put strings on a bass where I don't want the color, which will happen eventually, I'll probably use DR Dragon Skins -- same coating but without the color.) But that's another reason for me to not boil my strings -- I wouldn't want to damage or remove the coating. Besides, the coating helps the strings last longer anyway. I probably get more use out of strings with the coating and just keeping them clean, than I ever would using uncoated roundwounds and boiling them when they go dead.
