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Just put some strings in denatured alcohol

O

oniman7

Jun 1, 2010
2,490
10
Saint Augustine, Florida
#1
I've been hobbling along on dead strings for a while now. Seriously losing tone. I hate dead strings and it was making me depressed and frustrated.

And then I remembered. I had a can of denatured alcohol just for this! And next to it I found 4 old sets of strings. I'll pull them out in the morning and report
 
#3
oniman7 said:
I've been hobbling along on dead strings for a while now. Seriously losing tone. I hate dead strings and it was making me depressed and frustrated.

And then I remembered. I had a can of denatured alcohol just for this! And next to it I found 4 old sets of strings. I'll pull them out in the morning and report
Click to expand...

Oh, good. I'm sure none of us has ever heard of this kind of thing before...

MM
 
#4
MysticMichael said:
Oh, good. I'm sure none of us has ever heard of this kind of thing before...

MM
Click to expand...

Yeah, just like none of us have heard your wisea** replies before. You left off one of these :hmm:, that seems to be your favorite. To the OP, yes there are numerous threads here about the denatured alcohol thing if you haven't already searched.
 
#7
I had heard of it and that was why I wanted to experiment. I was very skeptical. I have a very oily skin type and very acidic at that, mixed with heavy playing and poor cleaning habits (the strings, not myself :D) I run through strings very fast. I also love new strings. From the moment they're put on to a week or two later is the best, although they're usually nice for a month or so.

I put some strings on yesterday that I had soaked. They sounded immediately better. The "new string clang" was back as soon as I had tuned them up. I hadn't realized I had cut them for my other bass, so the D and G strings didn't fit. I somehow managed to tune an A string up to D and a D string up to G in order to get through band practice but detuned them a little after. The strings that were the proper gauge sounded great! Not enough to be considered new but definitely within that sweet range. Even if I have to change them once a week I will be happy.
 
#8
oniman7 said:
I had heard of it and that was why I wanted to experiment. I was very skeptical. I have a very oily skin type and very acidic at that, mixed with heavy playing and poor cleaning habits (the strings, not myself :D) I run through strings very fast. I also love new strings. From the moment they're put on to a week or two later is the best, although they're usually nice for a month or so.

I put some strings on yesterday that I had soaked. They sounded immediately better. The "new string clang" was back as soon as I had tuned them up. I hadn't realized I had cut them for my other bass, so the D and G strings didn't fit. I somehow managed to tune an A string up to D and a D string up to G in order to get through band practice but detuned them a little after. The strings that were the proper gauge sounded great! Not enough to be considered new but definitely within that sweet range. Even if I have to change them once a week I will be happy.
Click to expand...

I've had strings dead out of the package improve by soaking them in rubbing alcohol.
 
#14
.
I've had strings dead out of the package improve by soaking them in rubbing alcohol.
Click to expand...

That has me intrigued.
I have a set of new (well known/respected brand) strings on one of my basses that has two bright strings and two dull ones believe it or not.

I'm going to try soaking one of the dull ones and see if it brightens it up.
I'm hoping this works for me like it did you!

Thanks!
 
#18
.
That has me intrigued.
I have a set of new (well known/respected brand) strings on one of my basses that has two bright strings and two dull ones believe it or not.
I'm going to try soaking one of the dull ones and see if it brightens it up.
I'm hoping this works for me like it did you!
Click to expand...

It worked! .... It really did!

I ended up soaking them for a day, then finally warming the mix up carefully on my stove, stirring it occasionally for 10 minutes before allowing it to cool.

The D and G strings are now as bright as the E and A! :hyper:

Mental note: I must remember to soak new sets of bass strings before I fit them to a bass.
 
#19
OzzyGreg said:
.
I ended up soaking them for a day, then finally warming the mix up carefully on my stove, stirring it occasionally for 10 minutes before allowing it to cool.
Click to expand...

Next time, I highly recommend just waiting an extra day or so and giving your string container a couple of shakes each day. Denatured alcohol is very flammable (even at 40% concentration, it has a flash point of about 80 degrees Farenheit).
 

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