Trick ...how to get new strings in 10 minutes....

[Lfalex v1.1]

He uses Cleartone strings.
I've used Elixirs for a while now, with pretty good results.
I'm a fingerstyle player exclusively, so don't suffer from the coating wearing off from plectrum abrasion.
The set on my Warwick 5-string have lasted in excess of 18 months now and still sound OK.

[stingrayPete1977]

I have owned 2 pre EB Rays, Marlowes easiest solution would have be to turn the treble knob about half a mm to get all the zing back, all it did for me was make me miss my pre EB babies

[xilddx]

[quote name='witterth' timestamp='1380670656' post='2228887']
are they likea
are they like Elixir strings Nige? (I Have the same issue) in that I can "Kill"a new set of strings within minutes like Painy says because of acidic sweaty fingers (yuk,sorry) I have however found that Elixir strings have lasted for a year on my acoustic guitar, and still sound bright. do you know if they work so well for bass guitar? I like that zing of new strings!!
[/quote]
Much nicer than Elixirs mate, which I found to feel a bit rubbery and plasticky, and a bit flaky. I forget the Cleartones are coated, they are bright and snarly, and I've had no problems at all using picks. They also keep their brightness for a long time. They feel smoother than normal stainless rounds.

[51m0n]

How much do those Cleartones cost, and where from Nige?

[Lord Sausage]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1380664604' post='2228811']
Listen mate, you need to do what I do. Use coated strings (I use Cleartone and they last for f***ing ages) and play wearing a pair of black silk gloves from Jasmine Silk. They look a lot better than you do standing with an old pan by the Aga explaining to your mrs that proper Italian spaghetti is supposed to look like that.
[/quote]
I was wonderimg where you got those gloves from. I have developed eczema on my fingers that comes and goes and guess what helps inflame them.....So i need to start using gloves to play.
I think the ESP i bought came with cleartones. They are good if it's the same ones. Is the company owned by one of the everley bros?

Edited October 2, 2013 by Lord Sausage

[xilddx]

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1380736906' post='2229822']
I was wonderimg where you got those gloves from. I have developed eczema on my fingers that comes and goes and guess what helps inflame them.....So i need to start using gloves to play.
I think the ESP i bought came with cleartones. They are good if it's the same ones. Is the company owned by one of the everley bros?
[/quote]

http://www.jasminesilk.com/silk-gloves-liner-black/p30

I deal with this guy, great service http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cleartone-6445-Nickel-Plated-EMP-Treated-Bass-strings-45-105-/370627957370?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item564b25d27a

Best of luck with the eczema mate, I have it too.

[Lord Sausage]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1380737277' post='2229833']
[url="http://www.jasminesilk.com/silk-gloves-liner-black/p30"]http://www.jasminesi...liner-black/p30[/url]

I deal with this guy, great service [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cleartone-6445-Nickel-Plated-EMP-Treated-Bass-strings-45-105-/370627957370?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item564b25d27a"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item564b25d27a[/url]

Best of luck with the eczema mate, I have it too.
[/quote]Nice one! Cheers!
It is them strings.

Yeah it's a pisser the eczema. Gotta keep on going tho.

[xilddx]

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1380738092' post='2229855']
Nice one! Cheers!
It is them strings.

Yeah it's a pisser the eczema. Gotta keep on going tho.
[/quote]

It sure is, mine's managed pretty well with high strength steroids, I've had it all over, all my life. Hope yours f***s off and leaves you alone mate.

[Lord Sausage]

Thanks mate.
I get it just on hands, fingers and one knee bizarrely. I have to use high strength steroid in the morning and Tacrolimus in the evening. It all started from an allergic reaction to some detergent. Never had anything like it til about 2yrs ago. Got epic bad a year ago.

[51m0n]

No five string sets from him though

[4 Strings]

Let's see how long it lasts. Just given mine the slappy treatment and was laughing out loud at the change!

They were pretty well dead before and only half dead now so, hopefully, I can remember how they sounded after a good practice on them this evening.

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1380737277' post='2229833']
[url="http://www.jasminesilk.com/silk-gloves-liner-black/p30"]http://www.jasminesi...liner-black/p30[/url]

I deal with this guy, great service [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cleartone-6445-Nickel-Plated-EMP-Treated-Bass-strings-45-105-/370627957370?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item564b25d27a"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item564b25d27a[/url]

Best of luck with the eczema mate, I have it too.
[/quote]

Might get a set of these for my Rick, it sounds nice with rounds, but they are a bit rough, and i've got used to flats, and all the rounds I've used die too quickly under my acid sweat. Also it doesn't get used much, so a new set every time it comes out of the case seems a massive waste of money.

I get filthy sweat rash between my fingers after very hot gigs, not eczema, would be interesting to see if gloves cured that or made it worse.....

Cheers Nige, good stuff.

[Marc S]

I used to use an old trick to revive dead strings....
You keep all your old dead strings, then when you have a sufficient number,
boil them in white (clear) vinegar, for 10 mins

This really does work - the vinegar, being acidic
breaks down the sweaty, greasy bits of skin and other muck that have accumulated in the windings
The boiling action helps, by making the metal expand, and allowing the vinegar into the core

As with other methods though, this is only a temporary measure,
but I did find it worked well. And bottle of vinegar is much cheaper than a couple of sets of strings

A word of warning though - your kitchen will smell a bit!

And DON'T USE BROWN VINEGAR!
It's brown because it has sugar in it - that will make the strings sticky & horrible!

EDIT: Takes a bit longer than 10 mins too....

Edited October 3, 2013 by Marc S

[51m0n]

Soak them in meths works a lot better than vinegary water and boiling, no heat cycle, no water trapped in there where you cant dry it out oxidising and weakening the metal.

Thing is the frets knacker the strings so you can never get back what you've lost completely.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1380573999' post='2227430']
Ha! A bit of a trick. When you remove a string it regains a touch of resiliance (for about 2 minutes) Also, the area where it's been " fret worn" is different when the string are removed (or loosened completely so where it touches the fret is a little fresher. But the string has still changed it's molecular structure from vibrating thousands of times so what is old cannot be new. It'll just be revived for short time and go dead by the end of a set.
[/quote]

I agree, I am sure that the strings won't remain bright for long. But I doubt "the molecular structure" of the string has changed one bit

[mcnach]

[quote name='Pete Academy' timestamp='1380657355' post='2228650']
It's witchcraft.
[/quote]

you got it!

either that, or it's pentapeptides and DNA...

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1380572520' post='2227389']
Love that guy
[/quote]

Me too

[leftyhook]

[quote][/quote]
I have done something similar for years. Can't be arsed to run through a Level 42 set list :OP I just pull the strings from the middle of the fingerboard and let them 'snap' down. Several times for each string. you see the dry 'gunk' flying off the fingerboard as the string cracks against it. you are shaking crap out of from between the string windings where cloth cleaning usually can't get to. if your strings are years old, it will barely be noticeable. New strings? naah... but brighter, yes.

[tonyquipment]

Slap the sh*t out of the strings...

MarloweDK

Will have to try this!

[Raslee]

If I slap the sh*t out of my strings on my reggae bass I'll get busted by the sniffer dogs.....man it's the sh*t that gives me my rasta tone anyhow 😎

[tauzero]

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1380793536' post='2230544']
No five string sets from him though
[/quote]

The Cleartones? Stringbusters.com have 4-string sets and single .130" Bs.

[51m0n]

Yeah, thats not economically viable, I can get DRs cheaper!

[Jonnyboy Rotten]

"Sweat & Dung kills the strings"

And you haven't "literally slapped the Sh*t out of the strings". If you had you would need a bath and the guitar would need a bath too.

Edited October 4, 2013 by Jonnyboy Rotten

[witterth]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1380706790' post='2229151']
Much nicer than Elixirs mate, which I found to feel a bit rubbery and plasticky, and a bit flaky. I forget the Cleartones are coated, they are bright and snarly, and I've had no problems at all using picks. They also keep their brightness for a long time. They feel smoother than normal stainless rounds.
[/quote]
thanks for that Nigel may well give 'em a go then

[4 Strings]

Ok, last Friday I slapped and pinged the strings, as instructed and the difference was immediate and noticeable. Not as much a in the clip but these are very old strings, probably more than a year old, have been boiled a couple of times, although not for a while now, and were really dead.

Used the bass all weekend, albeit half in anger last night, and they are still brighter. Let's see if their slapped condition survives a long rehearsal tonight.