Aging new flat-wound strings

[Bunion]

Sean Hurley demo with Vaseline 

 

I use coconut hand cream to speed up the process 

 

 

[Dan Dare]

On 13/02/2023 at 15:15, wateroftyne said:

Give them a good rub with a cotton t-shirt to tone down a lot of the initial clank.

 

Wiping them down also gets rid of the gunk that manufacturers coat strings with to prevent them from rusting in the packet. Stops them feeling sticky. I use a little isopropyl or meths on the cloth to get them properly clean.

[Clarky]

On 13/02/2023 at 15:15, wateroftyne said:

Give them a good rub with a cotton t-shirt to tone down a lot of the initial clank.

This is what I do. I have also seen recommendations for carefully bending each string along the length over your fingers, which presumably stretches and loosens the windings - although I would be nervous about causing damage

[StingRayBoy42]

Someone on another thread reckoned the Bass player from the Trampps (?) used Mayonnaise to deaden his flats.

It Mayo may not be true...

 

[msb]

Flats warm up with a little playing time. People used to mention a bucket of fried chicken to hasten the process , I was never in that much of a rush.

[Burns-bass]

9 hours ago, Clarky said:

This is what I do. I have also seen recommendations for carefully bending each string along the length over your fingers, which presumably stretches and loosens the windings - although I would be nervous about causing damage

I’ve always done this. Run the string up from the bridge to nut between my thumb and forefinger. It helps to break it in a bit and stops it from slipping out of tune too often (to me, at least).

 

An hour on some Chromes today and they’re ready for the gig tomorrow. (Blue Lagoon, Bristol if anyone fancies it!)

[fretmeister]

I was bored and I had a set of EB Group stainless steel flats lying about that I had taken off a bass when I sold the bass. They were only on for a week and were still bright and clanky.

 

I used some E45 moisturiser and after 15 mins gave them a wipe with a dry sponge to remove excess and then put them on my ‘Berg TT4.

The TT4 already had a set of the same strings on so I got to compare like for like.

 

The difference was very noticeable. The moisturised ones sound very broken in, that’s something that takes months on these strings.

 

I didn’t expect much of a difference to be honest, but there really is. I can only assume that the cream gets into the windings and deadens it, and maybe the effect is less pronounced on other strings that are polished so much that there really aren’t any gaps, like the Picato flats that are almost as smooth as solid solid wires. Maybe the stickiness of the cream also helps to attract dust and skin and gum up the gaps even more?

 

I really like my TT4 having old sounding strings for big band work, so I am pleased.

Edited August 16, 2023 by fretmeister

[greentext]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

I didn’t expect much of a difference to be honest, but there really is. I

Amazing! 

 

Thanks for remembering and trying that out alllll this time later and glad its a fix if you are in a pinch with newer flats! 

[fretmeister]

I did it again….I have a 5 string Ibby and the new B string has a fair bit of that excessive overtone problem that I find very annoying. I have often put a tiny bit of foam under the strings at the bridge for just that string, just to knock them down a little. They are steel roundwounds.

 

So I’ve tried the E45 on just the B string to see if it would help and it has. The overtones are still there, but they are knocked down quite a bit.

 

 

[fretmeister]

56 minutes ago, greentext said:

Amazing! 

 

Thanks for remembering and trying that out alllll this time later and glad its a fix if you are in a pinch with newer flats! 

I give it a week before someone starts doing comparisons of different creams! 😂

[msb]

Duck Dunn was said to buy a bucket of fried chicken when it was time to change strings.

 

sorry , double post , but the earlier one was back in February

Edited August 16, 2023 by msb

[Lozz196]

16 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

I give it a week before someone starts doing comparisons of different creams! 😂

Metal-Cream!!

[fretmeister]

3 hours ago, msb said:

Duck Dunn was said to buy a bucket of fried chicken when it was time to change strings.

 

sorry , double post , but the earlier one was back in February

I like fried chicken. I should have done that.

[Damnthatlazlo]

Makes sense. If playing deadens strings and it’s attributed to the oil from your fingers, then applying oil should work. 
 

never tried it. Never been in that much of a rush. 

[Maude]

Hmm I don't know, applying E45 cream seems like a rash decision. 

[fretmeister]

As I have become slightly obsessive about this topic...

 

I have discovered that different string brands react to the E45 cream in different ways!

 

Dr Hi-Beams steel rounds are not as affected as D'addario Pro Steels. I do not know why yet but I have a hypothesis... the Hi-Beams are round core and the Prosteels are hex. I suspect the roundcore means there is less room / fewer cavities for the cream to get in. The outer layer can wrap on a roundcore and make contact with it in more places than it can with a hex where the contact would only be on the pointy bits of the hexagonal shape.

 

Maybe the wrap wire is of a slightly different size too. I can't tell that because I don't have a lab quality tool to measure anything that small.

 

The length of time the cream is left on seems to have an effect up to a point, as does flexing the string a little to open up the gaps and get the cream in. Using plenty of cream, rubbing it in, then flexing the string a little (not actually bending anything) seems to make the biggest effect.

 

I did this because I wanted something that was a little grindier than my Dunlop flats but without any zing / overtones. I can't use nickel as I have an allergy. I wanted really old rounds immediately but without the usual old strings tuning and intonation problems.

 

Now my Sandberg J type has well moisturised D'addario Prosteels on it and it is exactly what I was looking for.

It will be interesting to see how they age further.

 

E45 is based on Lanolin - a natural water repellent found in sheep's wool. So with that seeing into all the gaps and cavities it might even prevent some corrosion over time.

 

I really hope this doesn't turn into a new special interest for me!

[leschirons]

7 hours ago, fretmeister said:

As I have become slightly obsessive about this topic...

 

I have discovered that different string brands react to the E45 cream in different ways!

 

Dr Hi-Beams steel rounds are not as affected as D'addario Pro Steels. I do not know why yet but I have a hypothesis... the Hi-Beams are round core and the Prosteels are hex. I suspect the roundcore means there is less room / fewer cavities for the cream to get in. The outer layer can wrap on a roundcore and make contact with it in more places than it can with a hex where the contact would only be on the pointy bits of the hexagonal shape.

 

Maybe the wrap wire is of a slightly different size too. I can't tell that because I don't have a lab quality tool to measure anything that small.

 

The length of time the cream is left on seems to have an effect up to a point, as does flexing the string a little to open up the gaps and get the cream in. Using plenty of cream, rubbing it in, then flexing the string a little (not actually bending anything) seems to make the biggest effect.

 

I did this because I wanted something that was a little grindier than my Dunlop flats but without any zing / overtones. I can't use nickel as I have an allergy. I wanted really old rounds immediately but without the usual old strings tuning and intonation problems.

 

Now my Sandberg J type has well moisturised D'addario Prosteels on it and it is exactly what I was looking for.

It will be interesting to see how they age further.

 

E45 is based on Lanolin - a natural water repellent found in sheep's wool. So with that seeing into all the gaps and cavities it might even prevent some corrosion over time.

 

I really hope this doesn't turn into a new special interest for me!

My wife's invited a few friends over and TBH,  it's not really my cup of tea and would ideally, like to get rid of them by about  9.30 so, was wondering if you're free on the 26th😂

[greentext]

9 hours ago, fretmeister said:

As I have become slightly obsessive about this topic...

 

I have discovered that different string brands react to the E45 cream in different ways!

Absolutely love the dedication to the cause!

 

Enjoy your updates on string lotion shenanigans 

 

Have you tried Vasiline yet? I watched an interview of Sean Hurley saying he does it some times before a studio session to dull new strings. Another one to add to the list!

[Reggaebass]

On 12/02/2023 at 12:58, greentext said:

I know Sean Hurley mentioned he uses Vaseline to achieve the same thing.

 

Has anyone actually ever tried this and is it worth trying

Just reviving this one as I tried it today, I fitted a new set of labella Low tension flats to one of my jazzes and played it for a while, then I took them off to clean the fretboard and adjust the truss rod, I wiped the strings with Vaseline and cleaned them with a clean cloth and refitted, you can’t feel the Vaseline at all and the difference in tone is considerably noticeable, a much warmer sound but not too dull, it’s what I was looking for so really pleased 

[Bassfinger]

I just play them. I typically practice bass at least 90 minutes a day, so two or three days they're nicely played in. Itsmsuch a relatively quick process it hardly seems worth faffing about with ky jelly or pile cream.

Edited February 17, 2024 by Bassfinger

[Boodang]

On 12/02/2023 at 17:58, greentext said:

I've seen a fair few players reference deadening there new flat-wound strings by using moisturiser or other creams. I know Sean Hurley mentioned he uses Vaseline to achieve the same thing.

 

Has anyone actually ever tried this and is it worth trying? Im totally happy to dead my string by playing as I always have but think this is an interesting approach. Part of me feels weird taking my new strings and slather them in anything.  

 

Here is a link to Danny Sapko Youtube Short on the matter 

 

You’re right, it’s too weird for words. I just buy strings that sound the way I want in first place. There’s plenty of flats out there that don’t need deadening out the packet. If that’s what you want, try the Galli synthesis flats. 

[greentext]

5 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Just reviving this one as I tried it today, I fitted a new set of labella Low tension flats to one of my jazzes and played it for a while, then I took them off to clean the fretboard and adjust the truss rod, I wiped the strings with Vaseline and cleaned them with a clean cloth and refitted, you can’t feel the Vaseline at all and the difference in tone is considerably noticeable, a much warmer sound but not too dull, it’s what I was looking for so really pleased 

That is fantastic, next time I re-string my bass with flats imma do it, for science! 

 

Is it something you think you would do each time you restring, or just a one off to try it? 

[greentext]

5 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

I typically practice bass at least 90 minutes a day, so two or three days they're nicely played in. Itsmsuch a relatively quick process it hardly seems worth faffing about with ky jelly or pile cream.

yh i feel you, I think its more of a quick fix for that deaden sound more then anything, if I broke a string on my flat wounds and had a new set the night before a show, great way to cut off that high end sound of new flats. 

[Reggaebass]

8 minutes ago, greentext said:

Is it something you think you would do each time you restring, or just a one off to try it? 

It was just to try it really, some of my flats are 20 or so years old and sound great, I wouldn’t say it’s taken them to that point but definitely takes the edge off 

[Bassfinger]

23 minutes ago, greentext said:

yh i feel you, I think its more of a quick fix for that deaden sound more then anything, if I broke a string on my flat wounds and had a new set the night before a show, great way to cut off that high end sound of new flats. 

 

When I fit a new set I keep the played in set for just that purpose.