Members Mackin Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 What ? Does this actually work ? [i read about it in the wikipedia article on Eddie Van Halen] I boil the strings so they stretch, because if you just put them on and clamp it down, the strings stretch out on the guitar. I just take a pack and let it boil for 20 minutes in the hot water. And then I dry them in the sun, because otherwise they rust. But I only use them one night anyway, so who cares if they rust? Is it only because of the temperature ? When they cool down, do they retract to their original lenght/tension ? Has anyone tried it ? Thanks for looking ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members almightycrunch Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 I wouldnt do that, proper stretching works just fine, and boiling them will deaden them with corrosion that will be unavoidable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 I have not tried it. Matter of fact the only time I have heard of any string boiling is from bass players. Some bass players boil their old strings to take the crud off, thus getting more use out of them. I usually stretch out new guitar strings by hand. Takes mabye 10 min or so mabye less. Seems to work great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mackin Posted June 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 Okay ! Thanks guys...Do you know other ways to stretch strings prior to installation ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted June 13, 2007 Moderators Share Posted June 13, 2007 Okay ! Thanks guys...Do you know other ways to stretch strings prior to installation ? Nah, install them and then grab em with a hook of a finger and pull the {censored}er:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members almightycrunch Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 I use my first two fingers underneath the string and my thumb on top of the string, for better control and feel you know, its all in your finger's right??? LOL I responded to a similar thread a few days ago, and said that I had also read in a book somewhere that one solution to string stretching was to actually "tin" the ball end wraps to prevent them from cinching down under tension, I have never done it, dont even know that I would try, but was mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ripping Rudy Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 This is likely a case of Eddie lying on purpose to screw with people. He has admitted that he often did this in the old days so people would not know how he pulled off all his sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonny guitar Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 When I was a teenager I boiled mine when they became dead and it brought them back to life to get another 1/3 -1/2 of the original preboiled life....worked great at getting all the deadening oil out of them and making them sound new again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonny guitar Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 When I was a teenager I boiled mine when they became dead and it brought them back to life to get another 1/3 -1/2 of the original preboiled life....worked great at getting all the deadening oil out of them and making them sound new again. I still do it with flatwounds cuz I don't like the sound of the new ones so older is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willhaven Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 I stretch my strings by holding with my left hand starting at the 1st fret and pulling up a couple of inches a few frets down with my right. I move up a few frets and repeat until I'm almost at the bridge. I retune and repeat until you can barely hear the string coming out of tune. I also restring one string at a time. Boiling bass strings is a pretty good solution. It seems to work particularly well with steel strings if I recall correctly. My old bassist had pretty oily fingers and the boiling solution was good for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrperson Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 yeh i boil my acoustic strings and it does a great job tis a gd way of having spare strings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KillDozer Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 I used to do it when I gigged a lot. It did seem like it took less time to stretch the strings out to where they'd hold a tuning. Now that I'm just a bedroom guitarist I never do it - I just stretch 'em till they hold a tuning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mackin Posted June 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 This is likely a case of Eddie lying on purpose to screw with people. He has admitted that he often did this in the old days so people would not know how he pulled off all his sounds. LOL That's possible... but in the article he was talking about pre-stretching the strings before he clamped them down on his floyd rose trem, which is a pain to tune quickly [not that I know much about floyds] unless you do it one string at a time ? By the way, Thanks to everybody for their contribution ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FFStratophile Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 Boiling works. I prefer it to stretching because there's no risk of string breakeage. As he said, after boiling, let them dry in the sun, that way they won't rust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willhaven Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 I've only ever broken ONE string after 15 years of stretching nearly every set I put on a guitar. It was with my Parker. I didn't have enough string on the post (locking tuners) and I was pulling the string against the edge of the string hole. Now I just give a little more slack and make sure it pulls against the post instead. About half of my string sets get replaced due to sheer grunginess, not breakage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikesr1963 Posted June 13, 2007 Members Share Posted June 13, 2007 I put that in the file with all the special crap he use to say this guy did to his amps. Turns out his amps were stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cbh5150 Posted June 14, 2007 Members Share Posted June 14, 2007 I personally prefer them grilled (charcoal, of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rock-lobster Posted June 14, 2007 Members Share Posted June 14, 2007 mmm... steel pasta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sun Devil Posted June 14, 2007 Members Share Posted June 14, 2007 Funny! I tried that one back in the 1970's; it pre-dates EVH. "Someone" back then in an interview claimed that boiling strings made them last longer and stretch better. Can't remember who, but it was one of the big shots back then. So I threw a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinkys in a Pasta pot, cranked up the heat, and..... ... "RUSTED COOKED STRINGS":eek: USELESS ! ! ! WORTHLESS !!! That being said: EVH has said a lot of things that turned out later to be a red herring of sorts. Basically a case of not wanting other guitarists to cop his set-up; so he would admittedly blow smoke in interviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted June 14, 2007 Members Share Posted June 14, 2007 I've found that stretching doesn't just stretch the string, but it makes the wraps around the peghead tighter as well. I don't even bother tuning all the way to pitch until I put a good stretching on them once, tune to pitch, stretch, retune and after that they are in tune for quite a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted June 14, 2007 Members Share Posted June 14, 2007 Boiling is some sort of old nasty way of killing people and it works for strings too. They used to kill people by stretching them too. Just change your strings regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted June 14, 2007 Members Share Posted June 14, 2007 I actually boil my pickups too. It gives them a really clear sound and makes them really sparkly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 's mel gibson Posted June 14, 2007 Members Share Posted June 14, 2007 How about boiling them in oil? Like 'deep fried'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Inspector 71 Posted June 14, 2007 Members Share Posted June 14, 2007 I use the tuners to stretch them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matter-Eater Lad Posted June 14, 2007 Members Share Posted June 14, 2007 EVh was so full of {censored} then. He purposely made stuff up about things he did to throw people off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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