String change !!

[Fender_Bender]

Any of you ever tried the boiling water "trick" to restore life to older strings?

I was a huge skeptic for the first fourteen years of my life as a bass player but finally tired it last summer... and couldn't believe how happy I was with the results. It's saving me a lot of money on strings.



Jeez!!

It does work but I find it changes the feeling. I have not tried the soaking in alcohol trick yet.

 

[jamro217]

Nothing like the zing of a fresh set of rounds. Sort of the equivalent of the "new car smell". Use that bass sparingly and it will stay fresh longer than being overused and broken in. That's what you do with flats: leave them on until you have no choice but to change them.

 

[Agent0]

Count me in as another who does not like new string zing. I use GHS Pressure Wounds and keep them on about three years. They tell me when they are ready to go.

 

[johnnynitro]

To Me The Older The Better. (RotoSound Steel) My P has had them 3 years. My PJ is new and those are nine months now. (still new) I play at least three hours a day. So their getting used.

 

[Spidey2112]

Jeez!!

It's possible they're married.

 

[Spidey2112]

I use GHS Pressure Wounds and keep them on about three years. They tell me when they are ready to go.

Totally agree, especially with those!

 

[legalbass]

It does work but I find it changes the feeling. I have not tried the soaking in alcohol trick yet.

Nor I. That may be in the future. Boiling the strings is part of my "deep clean" ritual for my bass so maybe every 8-9 weeks tops? I find I can get about six or seven months of solid use from my Optima strings this way which, considering the cost, yay. Can't say I am able to attribute a change in how the strings feel to boiling itself but, certainly as they get older they loosen up a bit. But these are awfully stiff strings to begin with.

 

[SkylineFiver]

I change mine once a month.
DR HI BEAMS. I would go longer but the D string gets a little stiff and goes
sharp when tuning.

 

[Heavy Blue]

I think you’ve just won the thread!

5 years is epic!

I received the GHS Precision Flats currently on my '95 MIJ Jazz '62 RI for my 50th b'day. I turn 55 next month.

Love those strings! Just perfect for this bass. No tuning or intonation issues to date.

Count me in as another who does not like new string zing. I use GHS Pressure Wounds and keep them on about three years. They tell me when they are ready to go.

I just put the PWs on my AmPro2 Jazz. Nicest strings so far on this bass. The midrange isn't overly loud & brassy like it was when I tried these strings on the Player J. Finger noise is there but is minimal at worse. Imo, not an issue. A bit of thump would make them perfect.

 

[swarfrat]

I get flat players doing this. But rounds that old are just gross. Like to even touch.

 

[Heavy Blue]

I get flat players doing this. But rounds that old are just gross. Like to even touch.

Hence why some of us boil them.

 

[scuzzy]

I've nearly (and probably have) sold basses I've grown weary of, but a string change brought back the life and stoked the flames of passion once again. Never underestimate the strings.

 

[GeorgesEric]

Totally agree, especially with those!

I noticed likewise with the GHS short scale balanced nickels strings. They sound good as they age. In the first 3-4 months, the open E string note sounded like it was fed through a chorus effect. That’s gone now. Getting three years out of them would be pretty cool.

 

[legalbass]

Hence why some of us boil them.

Exactly! Can't believe I found this out so late in the game. It's amazing how much finger 'gunk' alone can take the life out of strings that are otherwise perfectly fine. :]

 

[iiipopes]

Ah, yes: new string zing. That's what the tone knob on a passive bass is for, among other applications: roll it off a little bit when the strings are new, and gradually bring it back up as the strings seat in.

 

[revd]

Ah, yes: new string zing. That's what the tone knob on a passive bass is for, among other applications: roll it off a little bit when the strings are new, and gradually bring it back up as the strings seat in.

Yup 100% this.

I like the sound of old strings but it had got to the point where they had no bounce or response left.

I don’t particularly like the sound of new strings but I do like the feel.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Any of you ever tried the boiling water "trick" to restore life to older strings?

I was a huge skeptic for the first fourteen years of my life as a bass player but finally tired it last summer... and couldn't believe how happy I was with the results. It's saving me a lot of money on strings.



Jeez!!

I did that when I was a kid and gigging a lot but living on short money. It brought back the zing to my Rotosounds for a while longer, and since it was fretless I didn't have the fret dings in the strings,

The DJ Bebop P Bass of Doom...