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Boiling Strings


tangodown87
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Hi all,

im not the most clued up player with technical stuff but im just looking at getting the most out of a set of strings and ive come across people who boil their strings?

is this worth doing? does it give much of an extended lifespan? or can it damage my bass?

if anyone knows anything about this, would really appreciate your help!!

thanks

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Much better off soaking them in meths for a couple of days, has at least as much effect and doesnt expose the core to water, so far less likely to start it oxidising.

I have a few sets of DRs that are over 3 years old now and still sound like they are about a week old, I just rotate the sets in my tube of meths and keep a set on that are fresh enough to keep me happy.

Saved me an absolute fortune....

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yeah, you have to take them off your bass before you boil them :)
there's several topics about this, I've tried it but it's a lot of hassle and the strings go off again PDQ, oh, and use a pan with a lid, it's not very pleasant getting whipped across the face with a red hot bass string, believe me :)

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[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1321885979' post='1444031']
I'm about to do some this afternoon as well.

It's been a long time since I done it but NBD came with 3 grubby strings so pulling out one of theold packets .

As for the water. As far as my basic science when. It's the oxygen that makes things rust (Oxidization) but when you boil water it takes out some of the oxygen content.
[/quote]

Not really - any water left in the core of the strings will still be made of two Hs and an O.

Fortunately, the string is (edit: usually) stainless steel and won't rust.

Edited by bremen
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I've found boling to them can add a bit of Ing back, but it doesn't last as long and they do seem to break more easily afterwards.

Best results I had for putting the zing back in was, IIRC, some switch cleaner (like you buy form Maplins) although it may have been Isopryl Alcohol.

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It isn't the evaporation of the meths that kills it, it absorbs atmospheric water and can rust strings if you leave them in for ages. With the increasing amount of methanol/alcohol in petrol, there is trouble with it rusting the tanks in classic cars that are left with a tank of fuel for periods.

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[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1321915459' post='1444486']
It isn't the evaporation of the meths that kills it, it absorbs atmospheric water and can rust strings if you leave them in for ages. [/quote]

+1

White Spirit works too, & has the advantage of not absorbing moisture. 2L of turps & a tupperware pasta box from Poundland makes for a good bosh tank.

Pete.

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+1 for meths. I recommend making one of [url="http://www.tunemybass.com/strings/bass_string_cleaning_tube.html"]these[/url].
In addition, I'd thread a short length of drinking straw/tubing over the headstock windings to straighten and bind which makes getting the strings into the tube much easier. Also, run the strings through a clean cloth/piece of kitchen roll as you withdraw them from the tube so you don't splash meths about. Works a treat :)

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