Today's Lesson: Don't Boil Cheap Strings...

[Smooth_bass88]

The thing is though, over time strings lose their elasticity. So now if you boil your strings and then put them back on, sure they might sound kind of fresher, but they've already been stretched out so when you tune them up to pitch, you're stretching them even further thereby risking the chances of a breakage.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Rather than taking all the strings off at once, I would recommend changing one at a time. if you take them all off at once you could possibly alter the truss rod by releasing all the tension from the strings. Also, it's not hard to "bump" the bridge saddles and inadvertently change their adjustments as well (depending on the bridge of course). Both of these things can cause the fret buzz. Once all the strings are changed, stretch your strings a little while tuning to avoid having to tune several times before they settle in.

This simply isn't true. There is no real risk to taking off all the strings.

 

[staurosjohn]

I wonder what Jason's @SLaPiNFuNK opinion is of this?

(... just buy new ones... hehe... from BSO... hehe)

 

[mikew31]

Why would anyone assume the Op overtightened his string?

Because he said he did in the OP:

Put the E back on the bass, tensioned it up and maaad fret buzz, even with the string much higher than I thought it should sound. Tightened it up a little more (to see if I could get the string to clear the frets/if there was a problem with the neck now I'd taken all the strings off) and with a sudden fatal snap, the string went limp against the fretboard.

 

[FirewalZ]

Once you go FLAT you never go back......

 

[Squid-TEGH]

My bass now sounds (unplugged) like a bloody steel guitar!

 

[Coolhandjjl]

If you are struggling financially, living gig to gig in someones trailer or basement, boiling strings to get a few more weeks out of them until you get enough cash saved for new ones is a survival tactic. I doubt that any TB members are in that situation. Just buy new ones for cry'n out loud.

 

[sotua]

I just put the new E string on - mad fret buzz.
I wonder if the neck's "relaxed a little" due to all the strings being off...

Every time you change strings, you should at least do a quick check of the setup. As you mention, being off tension could have shifted stuff a little, your new strings will most likely not be exactly the same as the old ones (as you stated you're changing OEMs for Rotos), etc.

 

[Mvilmany]

On the other hand, anyone who does play TI Jazz Flats rarely needs or wants to change them anyway. So it's kind of a moot point, isn't it?

MM

I boil flats, not to brighten them for a short period of time, but to get the crud off of them.

 

[Joybass]

Maybe I am rehashing other posts, but boiling strings is not wise. If you want to clean them, let them soak 48 hours in denaturated alcohol (ethanol, bio-ethanol). Take'em out, wipe'em clean, restring the bass. Tune it up and put it away. Tune it up again next day, and now maybe start worrying about fretbuzz. Or not.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Maybe I am rehashing other posts, but boiling strings is not wise. If you want to clean them, let them soak 48 hours in denaturated alcohol (ethanol, bio-ethanol). Take'em out, wipe'em clean, restring the bass. Tune it up and put it away. Tune it up again next day, and now maybe start worrying about fretbuzz. Or not.

Somewhere floating around here is a pic of a device that was a just a PVC tube with a closed fitting on the bottom and the top was a rubber stopper with a cup hook to hang the strings on.

 

[Scottkarch]

I tried it once, and it gave me about 3 hours of renewed sound. Not worth the effort.

Unless your hands are dripping with oil and dead skin flakes, that makes no sense. Most of what you get is extra brigh

I have never and will never boil strings. I would much rather spend the money for new strings.

I have 14 basses and play them all. Including a 12 string, 2 8 strings and an EUB. Replacing them all is a lot of money, and once you get a few sets soaking, it's trivial to swap a set out until one snaps.. then the set gets binned. Soaking in alcolhol is easy to to and does get rid of the gunk in the windings that is the cause for much of the deadening of strings. The 10s of times I've used denatured alcohol soaked strings they come out close to new in sound... close but not quite, and stay that way as long as a new string.

I'm under the impression that soaking strings in alcohol, or boiling, gets rid of the oils and dead skin and dust etc stuck in the windings. Someone saying they were only good for 6 hours makes no sense to me. Are your hands dripping with oil and dirt? The reason why coated strings last so much longer is that the coating keeps your strings from absorbing the oil and dirt. Wiping the strings down before and after playing can help remove it too, but I only do that to the portion of the strings from the bridge to about the 12th fret.

Yes you can have flat spots on the strings... it doesn't bother me. They are good enough for me and save me hundreds of dollars a year... so I'll keep soaking them. I have 2-3 sets out in the garage in a sealed tin right now. I was planning on swapping some dead strings on my practice bass this weekend.

 

[Scottkarch]

If you are struggling financially, living gig to gig in someones trailer or basement, boiling strings to get a few more weeks out of them until you get enough cash saved for new ones is a survival tactic. I doubt that any TB members are in that situation. Just buy new ones for cry'n out loud.

I make good money. I just chose not to waste it when I don't need to. I'm sure most people that reuse their strings feel the same way. If you like new strings and feel the cost is worth it, by all means, keep spending the money. I'd rather use the money to take my family to dinner or go on a date with my wife. No need to try and put people down for wasting money on strings they don't need because you think it's beneath you to do so.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I make good money. I just chose not to waste it when I don't need to. I'm sure most people that reuse their strings feel the same way. If you like new strings and feel the cost is worth it, by all means, keep spending the money. I'd rather use the money to take my family to dinner or go on a date with my wife. No need to try and put people down for wasting money on strings they don't need because you think it's beneath you to do so.

Agreed, there are many ways to be green, re-use, recycle, up-cycle, etc. For remodeling projects, I get reclaimed lumber from a guy in the biz. My wife spins wool right from the sheep to make her own yarn. As far as boiling strings goes, knowing the danger of doing such, and the gas or electricity needed, makes it not worth it IMO.

I didn't mean to put anyone down. Having recently read Keith Richards book and getting an account of how he and Mick lived in their days before the Stones were actually formed, it became clear that many musicians struggled in abject poverty to make it big and had to be very inventive to get things done. How the Beatles lived while in Hamburg was also an eye opener. And I'm sure those stories are common amongst many.

 

[Third Stone From the Sun]

No gonna lie I boil my strings Im a student in school but I only boil SS strings

 

[Ric5]

Okay so I got totally sick and tired of my bass strings being filthy. Given that I'm not gigging and I don't play very often I thought I'd give boiling them a go. I oiled the fretboard while they boiled, and I dried them with 15 minutes in the oven.

Put the E back on the bass, tensioned it up and maaad fret buzz, even with the string much higher than I thought it should sound. Tightened it up a little more (to see if I could get the string to clear the frets/if there was a problem with the neck now I'd taken all the strings off) and with a sudden fatal snap, the string went limp against the fretboard.

I has a sad . I've never snapped a string before, and the faithful E string was my favourite!

Apparently though (as I understand it) it's the cheap strings that are prone to becoming weakened during boiling whereas the real strings survive it two or even three times. So maybe I've just ruined the cheapy cheapy no-name OEM strings that shipped with the bass, but at least I get to put my shiny Rotosounds on now.

Anyone have any thoughts or advice so I can learn from this experience?

Boiling strings is usually not worth the effort ... Back in the 70s I could get a good set of strings for my 4 string bass for about $25 ... now I can get a good set of strings for my 5 string bass for under $25. So if the price of strings had kept pace with inflation a set would be well over $100 ... so with strings being so cheap put new ones on ... If you want to make them last longer then wash your hands before playing.

 

[Joybass]

Somewhere floating around here is a pic of a device that was a just a PVC tube with a closed fitting on the bottom and the top was a rubber stopper with a cup hook to hang the strings on.

I once stumbled upon that here:
The Bass String Cleaning Tube | Bass Gear | StudyBass

I stuff them rolled-up in a glass jar with a well sealing lid, covered with bio-ethanol.

You should avoid lighting a cigarette, or whatever else one might like to smoke during bass maintenance, though. Ethanol is highly inflammable.

 

[morgansterne]

Because he said he did in the OP:

DOH, Quite right. I read his post as "even with the string much higher" off the fretboard than I thought would give fret buzz.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I once stumbled upon that here:
The Bass String Cleaning Tube | Bass Gear | StudyBass

That's it!

 

[Ewo]

I once stumbled upon that here:
The Bass String Cleaning Tube | Bass Gear | StudyBass

I stuff them rolled-up in a glass jar with a well sealing lid, covered with bio-ethanol.

You should avoid lighting a cigarette, or whatever else one might like to smoke during bass maintenance, though. Ethanol is highly inflammable.

Yeah, that's where I got the idea. I like the tube for soaking strings because the strings don't have to be coiled up again, and the cleanout plug seals the tube well. I keep mine outside, in the carport.