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Rubbing alcohol has oil in it. Denatured is your ticket.Just clean your strings if you don't already. I couldn't even imagine trying to play with any type of glove on. I can get a month or so out of my RW SS strings, and that's with a lot of playing before the strings lose their shimmer and the e string starts to thud.
Of course if those are flatwounds they are just starting to get broken in..
I've had ok luck with string cleaners or 90% rubbing alcohol.
Nah, it just has isopropyl alcohol and water. There might be rubbing alcohol in parts of the world that have 2.5% castor oil, but not in the U.S. afaik. All the alcohol that is in rubbing alcohol is denatured.
I use denatured alcohol, it's good but not good enough to bring back that hard, metallic slap bass edge.
I see on YouTube the scumy residue left behind after boiling. My jar of denatured alcohol leaves no debris after a long string soak.
Here's my game plan: I just got a 6 string set (125 105 85 65 45 30) of Black Beauties for my 5 string fretless. I no longer use a B string, so I'll boil it along with the really old existing Hibeams I already have on it.
After boiling I will mount those Hibeams 105 80 60 45 on my Marcus Miller bass & of I get the right sound....AND maintain it for 3-5 days (rather than the 5 minute interval claimed by some) then it's a success.
Furthermore, if the black, K3, polymer coating doesn't boil off the 125 gauge string, then I'm really in luck--though, again, the strings on my fretless don't have to sound fresh
I'll keep y'all informed. I also actually have a small pair of musicians silk gloves sent with my Xhinesw ebsy flugelhorn. Surprisingly I can at bass with them. I might send away for a.box of 5 large flesh-colored ones from Amazon. If I can get away with buying 3-4 sets of Dragonskins per year & 2 sets of Black Beauties, I'll be happy
I see on YouTube the scumy residue left behind after boiling. My jar of denatured alcohol leaves no debris after a long string soak.
Here's my game plan: I just got a 6 string set (125 105 85 65 45 30) of Black Beauties for my 5 string fretless. I no longer use a B string, so I'll boil it along with the really old existing Hibeams I already have on it.
After boiling I will mount those Hibeams 105 80 60 45 on my Marcus Miller bass & of I get the right sound....AND maintain it for 3-5 days (rather than the 5 minute interval claimed by some) then it's a success.
Furthermore, if the black, K3, polymer coating doesn't boil off the 125 gauge string, then I'm really in luck--though, again, the strings on my fretless don't have to sound fresh
I'll keep y'all informed. I also actually have a small pair of musicians silk gloves sent with my Xhinesw ebsy flugelhorn. Surprisingly I can at bass with them. I might send away for a.box of 5 large flesh-colored ones from Amazon. If I can get away with buying 3-4 sets of Dragonskins per year & 2 sets of Black Beauties, I'll be happy
This goes to illustrate how tastes, instruments vary in term of their interface with strings,, & that's why we can't necessarily agree on what's flat & what isn't. I put the Black Beauties on & I can't wait for them to break in & lose their ping. I got them because I assumed they'd sound fatter & rounded than Hibeams, but they're nasal & klang intolerably with finger & fingerboard noise.
My G&K mb800 has wonderful EQ options, & it took hours of fiddle-faddling to get the right sound-& tthat turned out sounding close the existing 1 1/2 year okd Hibeams with no EQ. (LOL). The crud streak directly underneath where those old Hibeams were (on the ebanol fingerboard) were disgusting.
If I keep those Black Beautiws in it may be another year and a half before I change tgem. Of course the string wear issue with the Marcus Miller bass is another matter.
I haven't boiled anything yet
My G&K mb800 has wonderful EQ options, & it took hours of fiddle-faddling to get the right sound-& tthat turned out sounding close the existing 1 1/2 year okd Hibeams with no EQ. (LOL). The crud streak directly underneath where those old Hibeams were (on the ebanol fingerboard) were disgusting.
If I keep those Black Beautiws in it may be another year and a half before I change tgem. Of course the string wear issue with the Marcus Miller bass is another matter.
I haven't boiled anything yet
