How do you boil bass guitar strings?

Question

There were many reviews here on yahoo answers saying that you could boil old bass guitar strings to remove all the grime on it. I loved the previous string I had put on my bass, and I want to try it out. What are the EXACT procedures of boiling it?

what i need: how long (time, as in seconds)
if i should make it cold after it is boiled
etc. etc.

thank you!

Answer 1

I like boiling mine in vegetable stock, and serve with a nice crusty bread.



I've boiled a lot of bass strings before, and it helps a little. I've also tried cleaning them with Mennon Skin Bracer aftershave. I don't know if it really cleaned the strings, but my guitar case sure smelled great! I got that tip from Billy Sheehan.



Getting the dirt and grime out from between the strings is good. But, there is physical damage that occurs to the strings as a byproduct of playing, and no amount of boiling will fix that.



If you do boil your strings I'd just leave them in the pot for 20-30 minutes. Do not shock them with cold water afterwards. Just allow them to cool on their own, and make sure they're dry before you put them back on your bass.



Finally, you might want to use distilled water for this. I'd never thought about until now, but I can see that if your water is very hard how you could just deposit more minerals (crud) in the strings by submerging them in the hard water.



Greetings from Austin, TX



Ken

Answer 2

Boil Bass Strings

Answer 3

Actually, you can boil bass/guitar strings when they are new. I haven't heard much about boiling bass strings to revive their sound, as I don't play much bass. But I do know that if you boil guitar strings and dry them completely, they will be instantly "broken-in" When you first put on new guitar strings, it takes time to break them in. They are naturally tense right out of the factory, and for a day or so, the strings will constantly go flat out of tune. This means the string is gradually loosening up. Eventually the strings will be broken and and will stay in tune, as long as your guitar keeps up. But if you boil your strings, it will relieve the tension in the strings, and will be instantly broken in. I believe it was Van Halen who used this little trick regularly, on all of his strings.

Answer 4

Coil it up and wrap the string through then pop in boiling water for half an hour.

See if it helps ?

personally you cant beat new strings I think.