Bass Strings

George · Post by **George** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:50 am

If your round wounds are dieing too quickly use FastFret. I seriously can't recommend it enough for all guitars. And keep those rosewood fretboards oiled.

My strings last for donkeys at that perfect stage of not being too bright and boingy, and not too dull and uncomfortable.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:07 pm

Boil those fuckers!

Post by **Doog** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:16 pm

Ankhanu wrote:Boil those fuckers!

This. I haven't bought new bass strings in forevorrrrrrrrr.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:11 pm

It's a really economical way to extend the life of your strings and sound.

Yes, boiling degrades the string somewhat... but it's better than plopping down another $25-60 for a new set every time you start getting dull. I'll usually boil strings about 4 (occasionally more) times before replacing them. They don't come out of the boil quite as bright as new, but they'll be a lot punchier than they were, and the tone doesn't last as long as it would from new, but an extra couple weeks is a lot of money saved. Unless you're a super aggressive player, you shouldn't have much increased risk of string breakage from the heating/cooling. I think I've broken three strings since 1996, and they were generally new strings rather than old ones

George · Post by **George** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:22 pm

PROTIP!

I might do that this weekend!

EDIT: How long for roughly? 10 minutes?

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:53 pm

Here's a lengthy thread on the topic from a bass forum I use: http://forum.bassdogs.com/showthread.ph ... ng-strings

here's what I wrote in there back in 2007

Ankhanu wrote:I boiled my strings for the first 7 years of playing. Until very recently (and soon to be again) I never had the $40 for a new set of stings. I'd only be able to treat myself to new strings once a year or so. In the meantime, I'd boil.

Boiling definately will bring some life back to your strings, but, won't bring them back to what they were. Their tonal life also isn't as long as it was when the strings were new, making you boil sooner than the first boil. But, for the inconvenience that it presents, it is a real life saver for the struggling player.

My method was to boil them at a moderate boil for about 30 or 40 minutes; all four strings at once, then dry them thoroughly and restring.

Previously there was a question about lower the action on a P-Bass in this thread and it was mentioned that doing so may affect intonation... I would suggest not trying to intonate with old and/or boiled strings. If you're going to intonate the bass, do it with new strings.

Looks like I had pretty much the same thing to say then

I will occasionally add some vinegar to the water... not sure it really helps, but I do it

I swing the strings in a quick circle to fling off extra water and let them hang and dry overnight before reinstalling. I've read of other people drying them in the oven, and other fast methods... as long as they're good and dry before going back on, it's all good.

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:15 pm

I've heard that boiling strings actually makes them weaker, can sometimes cause them to rust, and while they sound better after being boiled that they lose that tone very quickly.

I am very interested in trying THIS method for cleaning bass strings though. It's supposed to be much more effective, at cleaning strings and without harming them like boiling. I actually think I'm going to do this method the next time I feel like I need to change my strings on either of my basses.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:59 pm

Billy3000 wrote:I've heard that boiling strings actually makes them weaker, can sometimes cause them to rust, and while they sound better after being boiled that they lose that tone very quickly.

All true. But "lose that tone very quickly" is measured in weeks. Rust will only happen if you don't dry them effectively, and if you use cheap strings prone to rust

As for weakening, yes, but by the time you've boiled them enough times to weaken them enough for it to matter, you really should have picked up a new set already

Billy3000 wrote:I am very interested in trying THIS method for cleaning bass strings though. It's supposed to be much more effective, at cleaning strings and without harming them like boiling. I actually think I'm going to do this method the next time I feel like I need to change my strings on either of my basses.

Yeah, someone mentioned that last year in the link I posted. I'm pretty curious, but haven't picked any up to give it a try.
Nice thing about boiling is that there is almost no extra cost associated, just electricity or gas to boil water for a couple minutes.

Berto · Post by **Berto** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 12:00 am

George wrote:If your round wounds are dieing too quickly use FastFret. I seriously can't recommend it enough for all guitars. And keep those rosewood fretboards oiled.

My strings last for donkeys at that perfect stage of not being too bright and boingy, and not too dull and uncomfortable.

+1
I don't change the strings on my stingray that often because I hate the sound of new strings. Broken in round wounds sound amazing imho, they are pretty shite while you wait though. I have played broken in flat wounds on a bass before, but I felt they didn't have the attack that the round wounds have.