Members brikus Posted August 8, 2016 Members Share Posted August 8, 2016 OK, maybe you knew it already, but for those who didn't, here it is, and, no, it doesn't involve boiling the strings. It's actually much simpler. It's shown in this vid: I haven't tried it yet on my bass, but I'm about to, given it has fairly old strings, so be sure I'll report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted August 8, 2016 Members Share Posted August 8, 2016 The guy is full of baloney. Slapping strings isn't removing crud from between the winds. You can get that effect after loosening the strings new or old but not for the reasons he suggested. What happens when you loosen the strings are the winds tend to recompress together like a spring. as they do the winds tend to turn around the core a bit. The entire string may also turn end to end as well. When you retighten them the bottom portion that contacts the frets is no longer in the same place as it was, at least not right away. . Once you stretch the strings to prevent them from going out of tune, they usually will go right back to how they were sounding before so there isn't any magical fix happening here. The strings simply aren't contacting the frets in the same place they were before. Of course I've seen some strings so badly twisted end to end where they sound completely dead. Loosening them and twisting one end and allowing it to unwind so it lays completely flat like a garden hose can make a good deal of difference to the sound. This process is not going to restore beat strings. Its not going to put the temper back in the steel, Its not going to repair the worn spots on strings above the frets, and its surely not going to fix the bends in the strings that occur between the frets. Simply put, Beat strings are beat strings, period. Bass players get 3~4X the lifespan out of strings compared to guitarists so the cost of strings vs the hours used wind up being the same. You can buy decent bass strings as low as $15 a set. Nothing beats fresh strings for good tone. Anything else is just wishful thinking. I can tell you what will happen when you try this. You'll simply wind up having wonky tuning for a few days. Once the tension equalizes and you get the strings to stay in tune you'll be right back where you were with beat sounding strings. Sometimes its even worse because the strings twist end to end. Slacking the strings also straightens the truss so it takes time to resettle back to where it was before too. I do this stuff all the time when I work on them. I loosen the strings to do fret or electronics work. When I tune them back up they have a little extra brightness because they aren't settled in yet. A little aggressive playing and they settle right back to where they were before, if not worse having string buzz and pitch variations at frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brikus Posted August 8, 2016 Author Members Share Posted August 8, 2016 Slapping strings isn't removing crud from between the winds. I personally do not advocate what he's doing, but the thing is the guy never claimed that. It's maybe the loosening PLUS slapping (which you didn't do...) that alters the inner structure of the string, giving it a certain measure of elasticity again... Anyway, the proof is in the pudding, and I have nothing to lose, so I'll give that a try anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted August 9, 2016 I agree. Nothing to lose, might as well try it.Report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UlfHansson Posted August 9, 2016 Members Share Posted August 9, 2016 ... and' date=' no, it doesn't involve boiling the strings.[/quote'] That was my first thought when I read that topic: boiling! Considering the cost/time ratio I'll probably just keep replacing my strings regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brikus Posted August 17, 2016 Author Members Share Posted August 17, 2016 That was my first thought when I read that topic: boiling! Considering the cost/time ratio I'll probably just keep replacing my strings regularly. If this thing works, it's just the matter of a few minutes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 17, 2016 Members Share Posted August 17, 2016 If this thing works' date=' it's just the matter of a few minutes... [/quote'] So, have you tried it yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brikus Posted August 17, 2016 Author Members Share Posted August 17, 2016 So, have you tried it yet? It's actually on my schedule for tonight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 17, 2016 Members Share Posted August 17, 2016 It's actually on my schedule for tonight... Great. Keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brikus Posted August 18, 2016 Author Members Share Posted August 18, 2016 Great. Keep us posted. There. So I've done it. And YES, it works: the strings do indeed sound brighter and more alive. All of them. My low B even had a nice piano-like chime to it. So it DOES make a difference. Regarding the duration of this effect, I can't really say for the moment: I've kept playing for about 40-45 minutes after the operation, without noticing any particular change in the sound. Still brighter than before. After that I went to bed, so it'd be interesting to see tonight how it sounds after a night's rest... OTOH, I don't know if I've plucked the strings hard enough when they were slackened...the dude said one has to "slap the shyte out of them"...dunno exactly how much shyte I've slapped out of them, LOL. They did slap against the fretboard, though. I've loosened and plucked them about 100 times each before tuning back. So maybe plucking harder could have a longer effect, I dunno... All I know is that so far this positive effect has stayed, for at least 45 minutes of continuous playing, which already makes the trick useful if you want to do a few bass takes, or maybe play a short gig. I'll most likely play it also a bit tonight, so I'll be able to tell if the "new" brightness is still there. That's all folks. Stay tuned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brikus Posted August 19, 2016 Author Members Share Posted August 19, 2016 Played my bass some more last night. When I picked it up, the extra brightness was still there, and I also played about 45 mins before going to sleep, without noticing any particular change from the previous evening. So, so far, this trick has been able to "renew" the strings for at least a good hour and a half. At this stage I don't know how long this effect will last, but I guess it will vanish gradually, which will therefore make it hard to really tell how long it takes. Anyway, given it doesn't take long to do and apparently can be renewed (I don't see any reason opposing doing it again ), it definitely looks like it's worth doing. Obviously, this doesn't replace mounting brand new strings, but if you don't have some handy for some reason or if you just want to last a bit longer with your current set, seems like it's the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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