Bass guitar strings last far longer than regular guitar strings. In fact, most sets can last for upwards of a full year. But what if you don’t want to buy a new set?
What if you have become emotionally attached to your bass guitar strings and you want to cherish them for another year to come?
This is because, unlike guitar strings, bass strings are much thicker, and because of the greater thickness, they have to be wound tighter. Boiling your bass guitar strings can do one of the following things to your once perfectly wound bass strings:
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They can cause them to unwind! And not in the traditional sense of uncurling, but in a much more subtle way; by loosening the coils and creating dead spots all along the string. For obvious reasons, dead spots are bad, but if you don’t think so, picture this; you are playing your favorite bass line. You go to transfer from the fifth fret, to the seventh. But nothing happens. You pluck the note, finger it until your knuckles are white, but it produces absolutely no sound.
Awful, huh? This is most players nightmare; a missing note. Well, when you boil your bass strings, you can reassure yourself that you will in fact lose at least one note.
Another issue that is more prominent when boiling bass guitar strings is calcium deposits. When you boil your strings, it is very likely that you are not using a brand new pot. This means that there are microscopic remnants of both food and soap, which in turn create calcium deposits. These can, in turn, erode the cores of your bass strings.
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Bass strings are thicker, which means they have thicker, stronger cores. This also leaves more places for things such as erosion to quicken their pace; in a tighter strings, erosion moves slowly.
In a thick string with more room, erosion will spread more quickly. It may seem like a stronger core is more resilient to rust, but in fact the rust will spread at the same pace, if not a bit faster due to the space given.
All bad things aside, there are some possible positives involved with boiling bass strings; you have a slim chance to renew your strings life for a few weeks, even a month. The cores will erode even if boiled properly in a brand new pan.
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However, they may last a little bit longer if you simply try. We suggest you wait until you have extra bass strings readily available before trying to boil your strings. Never boil new strings; you have a large chance of simply ruining them.
In the end, boiling your strings is a gamble. There are a lot of bad possible outcomes, but in the end the only good possible outcome is a few extra weeks with the strings. Unless you really want to experiment, or you simply can’t front the cash for a few weeks, either keep your strings for those extra few weeks or buy a new set.
If you want to a shortcut to bass playing success, Teach Me Bass Guitar is everything you will ever need. It is the ultimate DVD program that takes you step by step from a beginner to becoming an advanced player. For a limited time, get a WHOPPING 25% off the massive course…Have you ever heard of the old trick of boiling your guitar strings? This method is used more by bass guitar players, however acoustic, lead, and rhythm guitar players have used it as well. This little trick goes back some years in the music industry, especially amongst session's players of old. When you boil a guitar string, it causes the string to expand, and thus allows the oil and dirt to be released from the string.
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While boiling your guitar strings will make your old, flat sounding strings sound much better, they will not make them sound as new. This is an assumption that many make, but after 25 plus-years in the business I can tell you--this is not the case. However, boiling your old strings will make them sound much better, allowing you to get more use from them. Moreover, boiling new guitar strings before you string them on your guitar will help with the stretching process as well as allow better tone and tension.
Boiling your old, used strings can cause them to produce a much sharper, crispier, and springier tone. You will be surprised at the amount of dirt and oil you will extract from your strings in the boiling process. Once you have finished, the water in the pan will show the results. Below I will illustrate the steps and the process; but first, I will list the items you will need and how to prepare the strings.
Step 1: If the strings you will be boiling are new, leave them coiled. If you are boiling old, used strings, coil them tight enough to fit in to the sauce pan.
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Step 2: Fill the sauce pan with water. (Note: Many musicians use regular tap water; however, with the amount of chemicals and minerals that is found in tap water today, I use only distilled water.) Once you have filled the pan with water, place it on your stove with the burner on high.
Step 3: Once the water is boiling, carefully lay in the coiled strings in the water one at a time. (I use tongs to drop the strings in as well as remove them from the water).
Step 4: You should boil acoustic or electric guitar strings for only 3 to 5 minutes. If you go any longer than this, you risk relieving the tensile-strength of the string material. Bass guitar strings should be boiled for 10 to 15 minutes, but no more than 15 minutes.
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Step 5: Once the time has elapsed, remove the strings from the water and lay them on a clean towel (Do not use paper towels). Using the towel, dry the strings thoroughly removing as much water as possible.
Step 7: While your oven is preheating, wrap the coiled strings in the tin foil (Two strings to a foil) and use the fork to perforate the foil several times. This will allow the air to circulate inside the foil, drying the strings thoroughly.
Step 9: Once the elapsed time has passed, remove the strings from the oven and let them stand until they are cool to the touch.
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There are some risks when it comes to boiling guitar strings. One such risk pertains to cheap strings. If you are using cheap guitar strings, you would be better advised to simply purchase new ones. Boiling cheap strings (with their inherently low tensile strength) will make the strings much more brittle, and thus more susceptible to breakage. Also, it is recommended that you boil your guitar strings no more than twice. If you continue to boil strings (expensive or otherwise) the tensile strength will be reduced. Also, another risk to boiling guitar strings too many times is that they will require more tension to stay in tune, possibly causing damage to the neck of your guitar.
The best recommendation is to buy good quality guitar strings, boil them only a few times when needed, and then replace them with new ones. This will keep you and your guitar sounding good while saving you some money.
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