boiling strings

supermau · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:03 am Post subject:

Now for guitar strings you've got to be nuts. You can get decent guitar strings for less than five bucks!

I guess I'm spoiled, my days of struggling for change are (hopefully) behind me. Knock on wood.

I guess if I were that broke I might try boiling. Still seems like a waste of time to me though. A little rubbing alcohol to wipe 'em down helps too. That way you don't have to take them off the guitar. It evaporates quickly too.

Beowulf · Growing Lion Joined: 18 Jun 2003 Posts: 876

Here's one of my all-time favorite quotes. It's from Fendertalk.com.... courtesy of the ever-knowledgable StratFreak. If you guys have ANY inclination toward Fenders you should join that board.

supermau · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 4:17 am Post subject:

Right!

Stuff like 'Fast Fret' works great too. Just rub it up and down the strings and wipe 'em down pretty good. It helps a great deal.

audiowkstation · Sea Monkey Joined: 21 Aug 2003 Posts: 13

I have worked in the recording studio with many pros. Boiling strings goes back before you cats were in diapers. Yes I boil mine, I have great tone..and the strings are over 7 years old. No bad tone here.

It is not so much the crud..it is a retemperment. 10 mins?...try 1 hr on soft boil...that is what I do. Very slow up and very slow down.

I got a lot of new strings..I like the ones that came on my bass. I boil them once a year. Still very nice, keep in tune and have plenty of transient response and all the wire sound I want, and just what I like.

So there.

I have seen a new set of strings die in one session to never return to life...so I keep these and I am pleased. I doubt I will ever need to replace them for another 5 years. My old bass (65 jazz) had 24 year old strings on it and made plenty of great recordings.

Oh well....that is that.
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supermau · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2003 8:55 am Post subject:

I still call bullsh#t, respectfully of course. Very Happy

I might give it a try once my DR's start sounding dead just to see for myself.

jbellinger87 · Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 8:36 am Post subject:

I just tried this....works an absolute treat!

I did half an hour, varying between slow boil and high...then dried them out in the sun

Put them back on and it was bright as anythin, better than when i bought them. well chuffed! Very Happy

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Rufio · Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 12:13 pm Post subject:

I'm tryin it soon... my strings are dying out, too.
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Rufio · Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 1:53 pm Post subject:

They're boiling as I speak...
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Rufio · Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 2:28 pm Post subject:

It's fun playing on my bass wiht no strings on! Can anyone tell me how to lower the action on a squier p-bass?
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supermau · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 8:13 am Post subject:

You'll need to lower the string guides on your bridge, this will have an affect on intonation. You might want to check your neck relief.

I'd suggest taking it to a service center. They shouldn't charge much for a simple set-up. It's too complicated to sit here and try to explain it.

warwick87 · Tadpole Joined: 02 Oct 2003 Posts: 23

so put your strings in water and just let the water boil all the crap off for like a half hour on slow boil? one string at a time?

gibson_thunder · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2003 4:28 pm Post subject:

I just thow all four of em in a big pot & cook em, adding a teaspoon of salt & a bit of oregano... unless you are using Ernie Balls, they have a very bitter taste, so I like to use some molasses and bake em at 350 degrees for 45 minutes after boiling. Im joshin again, Laughing

but I do boil all 4 at the same time.
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JoEBaSS · Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 7:01 am Post subject:

I have a bunch of those cheapy epiphone strings that I used back when I really didn't give a *Poop*... but now I'm buying DRs, GHS, and maybe one day I'll try some Dean Markleys or what's another good string brand? I'm willing to pay like $30+ for a 5 string set

JoEBaSS · Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 7:02 am Post subject:

for me it would be all 5

Dark Lord Vigo · Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2003 12:18 am Post subject:

I'm gonna try it with the set of Warwick B's I had on my guitar. If I lose an eye it's your fault lol Very Happy

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