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I Boiled My Bass Strings Today

#43
dpaul said:
Next time, try soaking your strings for 24 hours in denatured alcohol. It will thoroughly clean the strings, have them sounding like new, and is far less destructive than boiling. And if you strain the alcohol through a filter afterwards, you can reuse it.
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This. First it would shorten the OP's 'process' second, it doesn't introduce water into the windings/core of the strings which can cause weakness and corrosion.

I don't even filter the denatured alcohol (also called methylated spirits in some areas). Just re-use it until it gets really dirty and then drain and go again. I clean my strings regularly and generally get 3-4 cleanings out of a set before they're really to beat to use again.
 
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#45
This is what I built. If you have one or two basses, dont change strings often, or would rather just get new ones every month or so, then this or boiling wont apply. But, I started boiling my strings years ago when I was young and had no money to get new strings. It does work, but IMO this string tube with denatured alcohol works much better:

https://www.studybass.com/gear/bass-strings/bass-string-cleaning-tube/

Since I have 7 basses and up til recently, gigged fairly regularly, this has been great. I can rotate sets of strings in and out of the tube to keep them sounding new. Plus I hate the idea of just tossing them in the trash when you can spend a few bucks to keep them going.
 
#47
I just ordered a 6 string set of EB for my 5 string Heartfield bass String cost $15 That's cheap enough Who says you have to use a low B string How about a high B or C .More useful to me What you think ?? Got the idea from a drummer
 
#50
Yools said:
I've been doing this for years - not the alcohol soak, but a good 10 min in boiling water with a little bit of baking soda. In fact one of mine is in need of a good boil treatment right now. They do come out sounding almost like new, but it won't last that long - generally after a few practices/shows they will be noticeably deader. I've tried doing it a second time, but it generally only has a nominal effect.

Oh, and I definitely use that pot again for making spaghetti, etc. After a thorough cleaning, of course.

-Y
Click to expand...
This is my experience with boiling- the heat does something to the strings.

Just a good soak in alcohol and a cleaning with a sponge or cloth gets them just as clean but they don’t die right away. Could get another month or two out of a set that way.

Definitely diminishing returns on repeated cleanings.
 
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#51
If you let your strings get that gunky it’s hardly a surprise to me. Even a quick wipe down with TrueGreen and a paper towel would have netted you a significant improvement in overall brightness - both visual and sonic.

tl:dr - yuck! :vomit:;)
 
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#57
SR499 said:
I just ordered a 6 string set of EB for my 5 string Heartfield bass String cost $15 That's cheap enough Who says you have to use a low B string How about a high B or C .More useful to me What you think ?? Got the idea from a drummer
Click to expand...


Where are you finding Ernie Ball strings for $15 a set?


I used to boil strings when I was a broke kid.

As short a rolling boils time as possible, and a drop of detergent.

It brought the strings back to life for a couple of weeks, before they rapidly died off.

The boiling process had a negative effect on the feel of the strings, and perhaps that wasn't helped by the fact that it's almost impossible to put the strings back on in exactly the same way they were originally installed - so you could see, and feel fret wear on the strings.


Obviously the denatured alcohol tube is the superior strategy, but back when I was boiling strings ; nobody had come up with that idea, and it would have been an expense that a broke kid couldn't afford (compared to wrecking one of Mum's saucepans).
 
#58
Curious to see how long they last. I tried this with Rotosound RS66 strings and They were a bit brighter (nothing like out of the box) and spectacularly died within a week. I do find cleaning the strings with alcohol after playing keeps them alive longer.

I remember reading that Billy Sheehan would pour Brut aftershave on his strings in between sets.
 
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