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Surgical gloves to save strings?

#101
Just wipe the strings down after every time you play.
If you gotta buy a new set every once in awhile, that's just the cost of doing business.
Besides, are you really thinking of walking on stage with latex or nitrile gloves on your hands?
I can't imagine the how difficult and sticky it would be on the back side trying to get your thumb to slide up and down the neck.
The 'Music Machine' band from the '60's all wore black gloves but on their right hand only and it was strictly a gimmick.
 
#104
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.
Click to expand...

Not a rant. Reality. If you can't afford to spend $30 four times a year for strings, maybe you need to find another line of work.
 
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#106
Killed_by_Death said:
I've got both solutions right now.
One bass has SS Elixirs on for 8 months & they still sound new.
The other has Cobalt Flats & they've been on there for a year.
Click to expand...
It always cracks me up when people suggest flats as a solution to strings going dead too fast. LoL I would assume anyone taking the time to post about how to get their strings to last longer is obviously not a fan of the dead string sound, so recommending flats is futile.

*Note: I'm not trying to be snarky. It genuinely made me laugh.
 
#108
Bunk McNulty said:
If you can't afford to spend $30 four times a year for strings, maybe you need to find another line of work.
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I used to change my strings every week. The expense was something I was willing and able to budget at the time - I can understand that not everyone is. But rather than trying to breathe new life into strings that are exhausted, I recommend becoming clever with your EQ settings. If your strings aren't bright enough, you can cheat a little by boosting your EQ in the higher frequencies. You'll be farther ahead to gain this skill than you will be to try to McGyver your way to extending the life of your strings, which due to metal fatigue, is a pipe dream.
 
#109
Killed_by_Death said:
I'm guessing you've never tried Cobalt flats.
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That would be a good guess. When I was younger I tried a bunch of different flats and loathed the tone. Nowadays, I toy with the idea of putting flats or tapes on my Fender. That sound is something you have to be in the right head space to appreciate. I'll look into the Cobalts, but I can't imagine how they could possibly compare to rounds if that's the sound you're going for.
 
#112
It is meant to be a sensual experience, your naked skin sensing and reacting in a way that simply cannot be done with a desensitizing latex barrier in the way. Wait, are we talking about strings? Oh hell yeah, ride bareback, enjoy the ride, find something new when it ceases to bring you the same pleasure anymore. Strings right? And you pick players disgust me, that type of perversion should be outlawed.
 
#113
I don't really think the cobalts sound anything like rounds, but I think they sound pretty bright (not sure because the ric could be the source of a lot of the brightness).

I swear, some people don't understand that many would have to spend 20-30 a week to keep their strings bright. I can't afford that, so I actually tried the alcohol thing. It worked just as well as boiling, short-term, and much better long-term. The rejuvenation's not just taking them off and letting them sit without tension, because I've put old strings back on that have been sitting in their container, and they're just as dull as ever. EQ ing does not help, probably because the frequencies aren't there. Sort of like turning up the highs with labella flats; you can't even tell. You can refer to metallurgy, but I would actually be willing to prove the alcohol method does work. And it's not just the highs it restores, but just a general livelyness at all frequencies. I can't stand dead rounds. Way worse than flats.
 
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#118
Killed_by_Death said:
I think that to hear the Cobalt flats on their own it would be difficult to say they weren't rounds.
The difference is subtle, subtle enough that I can live with Cobalts long-term instead of changing strings often.
On a bright bass, like my Ibanez Premium, they're just right!
Click to expand...
While Cobalt Flats are brighter than other flats and nearly as bright as nickel round-wounds, they are still flats and just don’t carry the harmonic content of round-wound strings. I think the vid you posted demonstrates that. They still thud like flats — a bright thud, but thud nevertheless. They are great strings, and like all flats, they focus on the fundamental. And that’s a good thing, if that’s what you want. Me, I prefer the richness of round-wounds for most uses.
 
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