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Surgical gloves to save strings?

#62
You might want to try a bottle of DR Stringlife liquid polymer coating. It's pretty much the stuff companies use to coat their coated lines of strings. You apply it on your strings 24 hours before putting them on. I use it to wipe down strings in between sets. A bottle goes a long way. I have a Squier P bass With D'Addario XL's that have been on since January that I treated with this stuff & the strings still sound new. I've used this stuff for the last 3 years & it works for me.
Also ,there's some cheap lines of bass strings. Guitar Fetish has a line called Xaviere bass strings that are $6.95 a set. They aren't my favorite but they are bright & do the job. If you are going for that bright rock sound they work well & with the DR Stringlife you can get some hours out of them. I've seen Hartke strings really cheap too.
 
#63
GreggBummer said:
Scott did a video about the gloves.

He wears them because he has a medical condition called focal dystonia. This neurological condition causes tremors. The gloves help with the tremors. He's a great player who adapted how he plays around the condition.
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beans-on-toast said:
It’s a silk glove from what I understand. Could this be them?


https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Glove-Bass-Musicians-Practice/dp/B01C4QYJ5E
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I've seen the video. I just can't find a link to the product he uses. There are a few threads on it, and links to a page on his site, but my computer locks up when I try to follow them.

That link could be similar or the actual product. I just haven't found anything saying it actually is.
 
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#69
ddnidd1 said:
One thing that's Critical when boiling strings is to dry them in the oven on low heat for 15 minutes to evaporate the water trapped in the windings.

If you don't do that its a waste of time.
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I've been boiling strings for nearly a decade to clean them, and have never needed to do that.

Just wipe them down throughly.
 
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#70
I'd be curious if anyone has ever tried to use an ultrasonic cleaner on strings, like the kind you use for jewelry? Isopropyl alcohol will definitely dissolve the oily buildup better than hot water, but the boiling process agitates the strings better, busts more stuff loose. If you have lots of agitation with isopropyl then that might be the ideal combo. Just a thought.
 
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#71
MDBass said:
I've been boiling strings for nearly a decade to clean them, and have never needed to do that.
Just wipe them down throughly.
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For years I boiled them without drying them. Then I saw in Gary Willis' '101 Bass Tips' his recommendation to dry them in the oven on low after boiling.

The difference in how much longer they retained their brightness was dramatic.

My previous post saying that boiling without drying 'was a waste of time' was a bit of an an over statement.
 
#73
I agree with the folks who are basically (bassically?) saying that if you like the brightness of fresh strings, you should just keep your hands clean, wipe down your strings after each use, and accept that the price of your favorite strings and frequent replacement are part of the cost of playing bass.
 
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#75
backin82 said:
Why are you trying to "save the strings"? I play about 6-8 hours per week on average, and probably change them out about once every year or so. Do you just like the brand new string sound that much? (for reference, I hate the new string sound and want them broken in ASAP)
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It's called "different tastes." Some people don't like the sound of dead strings.
 
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#76
SteveC said:
I agree. All this talk of boiling and all the other "tricks" to get a little more time from stings is to me a little ridiculous. Strings are an expendable part of being a musician. Yeah, strings are expensive but it's part of playing. They wear out. The tires on your vehicle wear out. What do you do. Replace them. It's the price you pay for being a musician. Drink a few less beers or coffee's. Unless you play a ton strings last quite a while really, unless you have to have that new string zing. Again, if that's your choice then be ready to pay.

Rant over.
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I dunno, I have a couple basses with 5 year-old strings on them. I rotate two sets and soak each in alcohol whenever they come off. It’s been working great.
 
#77
I wipe my strings down with dunlop string cleaner. It's cheap. I don't see the need to change strings mine sound fine after a year. I can just see the glove catching when you slide. Strings aren't that expensive if you're only changing every six months of so, and you can get a set of Blue Steel for $22. I don't think things are so drastic, tons of players keep the same strings on 10+ years. Change them as often as you can afford to.
 
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#78
dpaul said:
Soaking a set of old strings in denatured alcohol for 24 hours will bring the strings back to 99% of their original tone. I do this with all my strings, and have been doing it for years. Thankfully, I can still buy denatured alcohol in NJ :)
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I have a jar filled with strings & denatured alcohol right now, & have been doing this for 2 years. If I got 99% restoration I wouldn't have started this thread. Maybe 75%-85 %?
 

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