How do you Clean your Strings?

[uk_lefty]

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1492683425' post='3282244']


That's interesting. You actually put stuff on the strings and so guarantee your strings are cleaned each session. I'd heard briefly about Fast Fret but passed over it.

Is it like silicon polish or summat? I wont ask about the hair product I but can imagine how it could easily happen in some scenarios.
[/quote]

Fast fret is... I dunno! I rub it over my strings to get rid of any rough or sticky feeling before I play, makes it easier to slide around the strings quickly and makes them feel consistent. I don't think it cleans the strings as such though so that's what I use the alcohol based solution for which I've had for years and not needed to replace. I think it's made by planet waves but not sure, been going around ten years!
I have been told not to get fast fret on the rosewood though so I keep it on the strings only. Some shops even refuse to stock it!
With regards hair stuff I used to use loads of hair gel in my youth So if I had scratched my head or whatever sometimes some of the hair stuff got on the strings via my fingertips and made the strings sticky

[bassjim]

Just another option but not a magic wand....
If you, one string at a time, loosen them off till they are flapping about but still attached to the bass, then pull and snap em against the fret board really hard for about 30 sec maybe a minute.
Re-tune and viola. New strings. All the micro finger muck ingrained is forced out of the micro cracks.
Personally I just get replacement cheapo Rotos on. Might try the cheap Warwicks next as they seem to be along the same cheap end value string that I actually so far prefer.
If times are hard then any string cleaning is better than none but I find the results don't last that long whatever you do. Boiling them tends to weaken them and they snap easily. I used to do it a lot when younger though but mainly because coming in around the 80s it was a slap fest and new strings worked best.

[ambient]

I've never really seen the point, apart from occasionally wiping them with a clean lint free cloth. I'm probably just lucky not having excessively sweaty hands pr something. I do play a lot, recently maybe 9 hours a day. I use D'Addario nickels, and they seem to stay bright sounding. I do make a point of washing my hands before playing.

Cleaning won't help to repair physical damage caused by the frets, which I've always thought was the main killer of strings.

[timhiggins]

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1492702720' post='3282554']
Just another option but not a magic wand....
If you, one string at a time, loosen them off till they are flapping about but still attached to the bass, then pull and snap em against the fret board really hard for about 30 sec maybe a minute.
Re-tune and viola. New strings. All the micro finger muck ingrained is forced out of the micro cracks.
Personally I just get replacement cheapo Rotos on. Might try the cheap Warwicks next as they seem to be along the same cheap end value string that I actually so far prefer.
If times are hard then any string cleaning is better than none but I find the results don't last that long whatever you do. Boiling them tends to weaken them and they snap easily. I used to do it a lot when younger though but mainly because coming in around the 80s it was a slap fest and new strings worked best.
[/quote]I do the loosening and snapping thing too and it actually works ! not for very long but it does work ,for some reason each time you do it the E string zing duration shortens at which point I give in and buy new strings 😊

Edited April 20, 2017 by timhiggins

[40hz]

I second washing your hands before playing, this small act can go a long way in prolonging the life of a string. Once they're dead though, I don't faff about anymore (used to boil them), a new set just goes on. Easier!

[Thunderbird]

[quote name='timhiggins' timestamp='1492706532' post='3282606']
I do the loosening and snapping thing too and it actually works ! not for very long but it does work ,for some reason each time you do it the E string zing duration shortens at which point I give in and buy new strings 😊
[/quote]it cannot be doing the frets and finger board much good though basically the snapping just forces crud from the strings windings

[lowdowner]

Really? Clean strings?? Wait until they fall apart (does this ever happen) and then shell out the £20 for a new set. £20 every 18 months is a few pennies a day.

[NancyJohnson]

How do I clean my strings? I don't. Life is too short, my friend.

[MoonBassAlpha]

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1492702720' post='3282554']

If times are hard then any string cleaning is better than none but I find the results don't last that long whatever you do. Boiling them tends to weaken them and they snap easily. I used to do it a lot when younger though but mainly because coming in around the 80s it was a slap fest and new strings worked best.
[/quote]
I don't agree that boiling weakens strings, I think it is the 're-stringing that does for them.
When I had my Hohner Jack bass as my only bass, I boiled the strings multiple times, but being double ball ends, there is no flexing of the string, and I never broke a string in about 15 years. I had a very aggressive style then too.

[bazzbass]

wash your hands before you play

wipe down the strings after you play

[timhiggins]

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1492715056' post='3282694']
it cannot be doing the frets and finger board much good though basically the snapping just forces crud from the strings windings
[/quote] Neck/fret impact is no different from playing a robust slap line its just the loosening that de-cruds strings

[steantval]

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1492752672' post='3282845']
wash your hands before you play

wipe down the strings after you play
[/quote]

Usually go for a pee before I start playing and in between sets, so that covers the washing of hands before playing.
At the end of the gig I usually wipe down the strings and bass with a small golf towel.

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='steantval' timestamp='1492781417' post='3283199']
Usually go for a pee before I start playing...
[/quote]

I saw the first part of this sentence and began to worry where it was leading!

[Coilte]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1492717601' post='3282715']
How do I clean my strings? I don't. Life is too short, my friend.
[/quote]

Well...the string's life certainly is so....

[SpondonBassed]

[quote name='timhiggins' timestamp='1492706532' post='3282606']
I do the loosening and snapping thing too and it actually works ! not for very long but it does work ,for some reason each time you do it the E string [u]zing duration[/u] shortens at which point I give in and buy new strings
[/quote]

Zing Duration eh? I'll have that as the name of my next band ta. That or Zing and the Durations.

[alembic1989]

Easiest and best way I've found is to use naphtha.....lighter fuel. Put a few drops on a clean cloth ..loosen strings a little, and wipe each string along the entire length by pinching each string with the cloth and wiping lengthwise...a few wipes and the strings are squeaky clean.

[Bobthedog]

I do not either. I replace my strings every three months or so; or in the case my recent DR Fatbeams, after a week! (Yeuch! on my Roscoe / BT 2 and Blue Rock combo)

I do keep my hands clean and wipe the bass down after each use, however.

[JapanAxe]

If I've had a particularly sweaty gig, and if I remember, then I give my (flatwound) strings a quick wipe with a micro-fibre cloth. Taking strings off and submitting them to cleaning procedures of dubious value is just too much hassle.

[mike257]

[quote name='timhiggins' timestamp='1492758173' post='3282879']
Neck/fret impact is no different from playing a robust slap line its just the loosening that de-cruds strings
[/quote]

Well, it's far less damaging to your reputation, to be fair

[thebigyin]

I never ever clean them even after eating crisps or other greasy foods i just don't wipe them clean and my strings have been on my Bass for years plus i use a foam mute at the bridge....just me....i don't buy new strings either i would simply buy a set of used strings too...often complimented on my Bass tone in the past....i just hate the brightness of new strings...a friend of mine changes his strings for every gig....WHY....what a waste of hard earned cash.