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So boiling bass strings....does it work?

For the time and labor it takes to remove the strings, boil them and then re-string the bass (depending on how much your time is worth), just order some new Power Slinky strings from Muscian's Friend (they'll even ship them to your door), how easy can it be.

And, don't complain about the cost (lol,lol,lol), cut out your cable TV or skip the six pack this weekend.

Besides, it keeps our good friend Ernie Ball Strings Co. in good health. No "bailout" out needed here!

Cheers:)
 
He, he, well luckily for me I have spares. This was just an experiment for guys (and gals) with absolutely no cash at all...

Btw, TNT, you seem to know your stuff. I'm finding I may need a lighter gauge string for my solo stuff at the moment, which is outside of the band. My 'ray came with a standard set, but I don't know what that standard gauge is. They are quite "heavy".

Can you help?
 
Hey DaMan,

Try a set of SS 45-100. However, you can also mix and match with singles.

If they still seem a little heavy on your solos, try this, just get some singles (say a 40w and 60w on the high freq. side) and keep the lows at 80w & 100w. It still maintains a good balance and feel.

They should be a good "all around" set up for you, in or out of your band!:)
 
Oh man....can't people just spend the 20 bucks and buy a new set of strings anymore..........yes there are sets of bass strings 20 bucks and under.
Those that would say "but those strings are lame" and so forth............and boiling strings is not lame LOL.
that's my $0.002 (economy)
 
A friend of mine used to jokeingly say, "Boil 'em in bar-b-que sauce." I never tried it but I did wonder if it would work because it will sure shine up an old penny.



It's not worth the trouble to me though, I would just buy some new ones.
 
yes. itll help but for a short time. if you are in the hurry for a live or recording with no "pasta" do it. but for a shot time...............works and yes itll sound +- as new
 
You want them clean..........
Coil strings so they all fit in a flat bottom dish.
Put strings in dish.
Then pour in 4 cups of vinegar
Then mix in 2 or 3 table spoons of baking powder. (caution it fizzes).
When the fizzing totally stops remove strings.
then rinse off with HOT water.
Wipe dry.
That will clean off all the grime.


Easier to keep new set handy for those recording/gigs.
 
Thanks for the advice, TNT. I'm off to get some strings today, so i'll keep an eye out for those gauges. Actually...I may as well order some ball's, thinking about it. I think it actually ends up cheaper ordering off the net these days.

Second day into my experiment, strings are still fine. Did two lessons yesterday, and some studio time....
 
I tried boiling bass strings once when I was a teenager. Didn't find it worth the effort for a second attempt.

The thing I would be concerned about would be, while trying to put the string back on, is having the core break a the point where you made the sharp bend at the tuning post (or the bridge saddle or ferrule, if a string through, etc) if you didn't have it aligned just as you did before...

For me, the best things to help string life (brightness) were in this order of effectiveness:

1.) Stainless Steel strings. Most effective, although a touch rougher on the hands, but nothing that a little bit of time won't get your hands used to.

2.) wash hands before playing

3.) ispropyl alcohol to wipe strings down after playing. (Haven't tried wonder wipes though...likely a better option than the alcohol.)

Or, I just reach for one of those dusty knobs on the front of the amp... :D

The experimenting was always cool though.
 
Forget extremly hot water that makes the metal change on a molecular level.The thing that works the best for string refurbishment 6 or 4 string is a Ultrasonic cleanner!!!.
Ultrasonic cleanners vibrate at an incredible rate and will only take about 50 seconds to clean to brand new state.I use them everyday for cleaning rings and watch bands.Dentists use them as well for cleanning to.

You can buy a home version that will run about $49 to $99 that comes with a special solution.Or make your own solution with 3 parts hot water and 1 part suddsy amonia (availible at any grocery store) and either Mr Clean or Pinesol type cleaner as well.

This makes strings new and your wife will love it for cleaning her Jewellery as well:).

Parker
 
parker1963 said:
Forget extremly hot water that makes the metal change on a molecular level.
Click to expand...

I really, seriously doubt this.

While it is possible to heat water above the boiling point (212 Farhrenheit/100C at sea level, less above sea level) to create superheated steam, you can't do that with anything you've got at home.

Solutions of other materials, like, say, vinegar, will boil at a higher temperature, but not significantly higher.

These kinds of temperatures aren't anywhere near hot enough to change the properties of metal alloys, as I understand it.

If you've got some reference for this claim, please share it.
 
Some really positive advice above. Thanks, guys!:)

Fifth day in (and after about twenty hours of playing.) they are beginning to feel a little jaded again.

The vinegar test is the next test...
 
Yes I have tried it myself as a young poor student, you get the bright sound back but it doesn't really last very long, and one must not forget that while the boling process removes the sweat and dirt from the strings, it does not help removing the 2 major wear effect that an old string suffers and makes it obsolete in the long run and these are:

1) fret markings (you can see if you hold one of your strings once you remove it from the bass there are all the matching indentations where the string has been hitting the fret)

and

2) a string loses it's roundness and it becomes ovalised i.e. the stretching effect over long periods of time causes the outer winidings of the strings to become flatter in the middle rendering the central circumference oval.

What this does in terms of response to the pickups is something I can't explain in technical terms because I am not an expert but to you and me it makes a string produce inaccurate waves, i.e. inaccurate tuning, which is why old strings are difficult to tune, the vibration produced by an oval string results in a false harmonic resonance, you can tune it open but as soon as you fret a note is either a bit sharp or a bit flat.

I hope this makes sense to you, but the moral of the story is, yes you can boil strings to make them sound crisp again to get you through a gig, but you can't fully restore their life by doing so.

pheeew that was hard.
 
adouglas said:
I really, seriously doubt this.

While it is possible to heat water above the boiling point (212 Farhrenheit/100C at sea level, less above sea level) to create superheated steam, you can't do that with anything you've got at home.

Solutions of other materials, like, say, vinegar, will boil at a higher temperature, but not significantly higher.

These kinds of temperatures aren't anywhere near hot enough to change the properties of metal alloys, as I understand it.

If you've got some reference for this claim, please share it.
Click to expand...

The reference i was using was talking to a Goldsmith with many years of experience about this very subject.Goldsmiths use a solution to protect metals that they solder and work on to protect them from firescale and is called "pickleing"and allthough boiling is no where near the temp that their tourches reach his concern was in the thinness of the nickle wrap that is used on guitar strings.He suggested that depending on the actual temp and the length of boiling that there may be some changes that take place that would make the metal more brittle.

I guess i didnt want to type this long explaination out the first time and phrased my post incorrectly but the idea that high heat and time can affect the brittleness of certain metals is viable.I am not a scientist and do not have a background in chemistry but it made sense to me at the time of his explaination.The other suggestion of using the ultrasonic is sound though and i have used it many times and it works.

P.S thanks for bringing this question up in a pleasant manner rather than lampooning me about my knowledge of metal structure my post was made in earnest and only my phrasing of the term molecular level was incorrect rather than using the more correct term of brittleness.

Park
 
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