It's freakin' awesome man...I'd like to steal it from him since he doesn't play bass... but what kind of friend would I be then?

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Its funny because I dont play bass but I'm better than you at bass.

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Shut up man, you've been playing for 4 years now! This is my one year anniversery! Cheers to me!

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Yeah, boiling your strings is a great way to get that lovely warm sound of new strings. It doesnt pay off though because it only seem to last for 7-8 hours of playing, and then you'll have to do it all over again. But if you own a hohner jack bass like me, wich requires very expensive double ball strings, then it's definetly worth it yes.

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Im about to try boiling my strings. I use Everly strings which in my opinion are better than Dr, elixir and Warwick Black labels (Yes, Ive had them all.)

Everly B-52 Bass Rockers are awesome. They arent as expensive as the others either. If you cant get your hands on a set Warwick Black labels are the next best thing. Everly's carry the "new string" feel alot longer then the other strings and they dont break/rust/corrode for years (I've had my set on my 4 string for 2 years now. Well....maybe 2 and a half. I think it's 3 years in september...but that's not the point.)

www.everlymusic.com

Go check them out.

My friend has says that his strings were slightly rusted and he said that he was just gonna boil them. This wouldn't work, would it?

It couldve.. has he done it yet?

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no he's outta town right now. But if he gets right on it could it make the strings sound all tasty and crisp again?

I think it wouldn't be worth the trouble with a guitar since they break so easy and guitar strings aren't that expensive, but I wouldn't mind trying it. If anybody tried it tell me how it worked

I've been using this trick for over 20 years, now, and you can't go wrong with it. When I boil my strings, though, I add a bit of vinegar in the water, it really helps clean them. I've also heard that soaking them in windshield washer/antifreeze will do the same thing, but I don't think I'll be trying that one anytime soon.

My strings cost me just over $60 CDN per set, so I generally don't replace them THAT often. But when I do, I always boil the old set and put them away in my case, as a set of spares. That way, for recording and big gigs, I'll buy new strings for the perfect tone, but if I ever break a string at rehearsal or whatever, I can just reach in my case and pull out a "new" string.

As for doing it to guitar strings...if you were paying $60/set I'd say give it a try...but you're paying $6/set...just don't order that extra beer and buy some new strings dude...

Cheers

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I should do this more often, i dont know why i dont, i used to do it all the time, im just worried that boiling them loosens the tension and they could easily uncoil..

I just put fast fret on them after gig or band practice, then they go back to sound new, ill have to try the whole 'boiling' thing again..

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I had a thought that this might work really well for the Floyd Rose SpeedLoader system. The strings are VERY expensive but rarely break because of the inherent low friction design of the system. I'm going to try and boil a set and see what happens. Check out my site if you happen to own a Floyd Rose guitar and want to check out the ultimate resource on these guitars.

Marco
Floyd Rose Club
floydroseclub.com

There's already a thread about that here in the Bass Zone.

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Yeah, this thread is older..

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oops

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I boiled my strings last week and my strings are like reborn.

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The thread title caught my eye because I've heard this for guitar strings for about 35 years. One thing you might try since it seems they don't last long after boiling is to hit them after you think they've dried with a blow drier or set them someplace where they can evaporate totally and quickly. Water might make the internal string weaker and rust faster causing the breakage. You might even try using rubbing alcohol or peroxide instead of water. It would probably clean the dead skin off and not leave a residue. No need to boil. Don't get it near the finish of your instruments until you're sure they're completely dry. Just some thoughts.

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A Peroxide solution is probably not a good idea. Any corrosion of the string is likely to be due to oxidation (like rusting) by the oxygen dissolved in the water. Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidising agent and will probably exacerbate the problem. Water is not so much an issue during the actual boiling since gases are less soluble in hotter solvents, but if the strings are cold and wet for a long time this might be significant.

Drying your strings rapidly and thoroughly is a good idea though. Rubbing alcohol will dry faster than water, so rinsing off the water on the strings with rubbing alcohol or some other volatile solvent mixture would also help somewhat. This does seem a bit over the top though, I think the damage from sweating on them during a practice session is probably greater than that caused by them being damp after boiling.

Boiled mine, with a hint of white venegar. Got a cloth doused with rubbing alchol (not made of cotton, of course) and rubbed the cloth on my strings(so they dry faster).

The results were flourishing. They sound a lot better, especially for their age(over a year).

Boil your strings!

Yeah, the bassist in my band boils his. They sound OK after but die away pretty quick. Stop being tight arses and just buy new ones!