New strings for free!!

[s4001]

Kinda sorta.
Note to Joey - I just learned about this. I haven't been doing this on my '68. But I am now.

[antonius]

After playing (guitar and bass) I've always done that to each string a few times before cleaning/wiping, although I've never detuned and done it as much as that. I never really knew if it made much difference, but I guess this proves that it does...

Thomas Risell's bass lessons/videos are great. I get a lot of inspiration from him. He has used a 4003 on some of his videos.

[woodyng]

So....where does the slapped sh*t go?
I may try that with my Laredo later,the strings have been on there 2-3 years. I don't tend to gunk up my strings much anyway,but it's such a simple thing to try,so why not?
That 'ray looks just like the one i bought in a memphis pawnshop for $200,it's even the same vintage. Possibly? It was a sensation at a guitar show i took it to,i had several dealers following me around,making increasingly higher cash offers. I really liked it,but when the ante got to $1k,i crumbled. (This was probly around 1981-ish ).
Kind of a pity,i never played another MM i liked as much.

[rickenbrother]

Scott mentioned me because he knows how ridiculous I think it is to remove strings and boil them or put them in a long tube filled with alcohol or some other crazy method some people have come up with. I'm all for whatever involved the least amount of futzing around with strings. If this method works, I tip my hat to Thomas Risell. I've be making my strings fresh the past few years by wiping then down with Naphtha.

I think the trick no matter what method is to not wait until the strings are too dead. There comes a point to when new strings are needed you want the zingy fresh sound, especially if the strings have rust or corrosion.

[Badanovski]

Unfortunately this is a temporary fix. Iv'e done this a few times just before a gig when I was low on money. The effect doesn't last very long. The older the strings are the more wear you get on the underside & the intonation gets iffy. Still it's a bright iffy.

[woodyng]

So-i went ahead and did this to my Laredo,it took about 5 minutes. I had just used it at practice last night,and upon playing it anew,I did think maybe it was a tad brighter,but what i really noticed was that the strings seem to be more "alive",and freely vibrating,than before.
I would be afraid to try to pull this stunt with my 60's Maxima flatwounds,tho!

[johnallg]

I don't think this would work with flatwounds because they don't have the crevices to hold the grime. I'd think an easy test would be to try a dead set of Rotosounds. They go dull so easy it should be apparent if it helps.

[rickenbrother]

Well, I tried this today with strings on 2 Ricks and a Precision. The difference was not all that noticeable. I tried slapping the s*** out of these strings so many times, that I think they wanted to get even and slap the s*** out of me!
I'll stick to wiping down the strings with Naphtha on a soft cloth in a well ventilated room.
I don't feel the much need for string cleaning of flatwound strings. I did that once with a set of D'Addario Chromes and regretted it because they went back to that new bright sound they have for a couple of weeks.

[cassius987]

Notice the weird ADSR changes in the "after" clips? It's not pleasant; it's like a prolonged re-tuning as the string vibrates through the AD phases into SR. Maybe it's just variance in his technique but I noticed it right away and then when I watched his technique in action it seemed liked something that could definitely stretch the core and cause that kind of sound. It's the same thing I hear when a string is twisted.

Joey's use of naptha seems the most sensible to me. If I could use my lab materials safely I would consider methanol since it is so good at removing keratin, but I bet naptha is similar. I used to do denatured ethanol in a tube but it leaves a funky odor, even though it does improve the sound. Boiling tap water seems like a poor choice to me as the heat and transition metals in the tap water will probably do more harm than good to your strings.

[FretlessOnly]

All he's doing is tuning the strings down and then up to pitch. I did this 30 years ago and noticed the effect which was very temporary. Nothing to see here, folks; move along.

[rickenbrother]

Joey's use of naptha seems the most sensible to me.

I was using Isopropyl Alcohol 91% to 99.99% depending on availability until JH suggested Naphtha. The alchohol works well, especially if you don't wait until the strings lose too much of the new sound. However Naphtha work much better.

I put a thick sheet of plastic between the strings and the fretboard, then loosen one string at a time to clean them.
I use the plastic because I don't think accidentally spilled Naphtha or alcohol is good for unfinished fingerboards like in the 4004Cii and I don't want it removing the wax I've applied from finished fingerboards of 4001/4003s.

[jps]

Naphtha won't damage anything, not even the unfinished fingerboard. Many people use naphtha to get an idea of how a naturally finished piece of wood will look like, just wipe it on and the beauty (or not) of the wood comes out, then the naphtha evaporates and leaves nothing behind.

Naphtha can also be used to get your Jimi Hendrix on.

[rickenbrother]

Naphtha can also be used to get your Jimi Hendrix on.

I'll pass!