Cleaning Bass Strings to Make Them Last Longer?

[the.ronin]

I came across this interesting piece of advice on making nylin guitar strings last longer – basically to clean the bass strings. My sense from the author is that it not only makes the strings last longer but actually helps in the tone.

Curious to hear anyone else’s take on this approach or if it’s standard practice?

The bass strings on a classical guitar often go dead before the trebles. The strings are usually not worn out. The windings are dirty. Remove the bass strings only. Loosely coil them and place them in a large basin, bathroom sink or whatever. Submerge them in room temperature water. The water can be lukewarm but NEVER HOT. Hot water will cause nylon guitar strings to play out of tune.

Add about 1/4 cup of ammonia to the water and let the strings soak for about fifteen minutes. More time won't hurt them. The ammonia and water mixture breaks down crud that has built up between the windings on the strings. Put a washcloth in the water and pull each string through it a couple of times. Rinse the strings under cold water. Pull them through a dry towel and put them back on your guitar.

The cleaned basses often sound better than they did when new. They don't squeak as much and they don't need to stretch out like new strings. The washed strings also work well for recording because they are somewhat smoother since they have been played in and they have a lively, clear sound.

source: http://classicalguitarbuilder.com/ne...uitartalk.html

[Bob Womack]

Yeah, a friend went to record in Nashville and had a fairly famous bassist on the sessions. While they were chatting the bassist said on his Precision Bass his bass strings were about fifteen years old. Every few years he'd take them off and boil them for a while (they are steel), wipe them down, and put them back on. He liked the sound of the old, broken-in strings better than any new ones he tried.

Bob

[texasdw]

...not to be argumentative, but classical guitar strings just aren't that expensive. No way for me to justify this kind of time to salvage an extra few weeks out of a set as the nylons age.

To each his own I suppose.

[BuleriaChk]

I agree - way more trouble than its worth. Besides, on my guitar the strings become indented at the fret positions, which won't be fixed by any cleaning....

Originally Posted by texasdw

...not to be argumentative, but classical guitar strings just aren't that expensive. No way for me to justify this kind of time to salvage an extra few weeks out of a set as the nylons age.

To each his own I suppose.

[Paikon]

i ve done it, doesnt worth the effort.
my advise is keep the fretboard clean, wash your hand before you play and wipe the strings when you re done,EVERY TIME, EVERY TIME
that way the string will die from old age and not from dirt and if you think that your treble strings are still alive you can replace only the basses
you can buy basses separately.

[Garthman]

Originally Posted by Paikon

. . . my advise is keep the fretboard clean, wash your hand before you play and wipe the strings when you re done,EVERY TIME, EVERY TIME that way the string will die from old age and not from dirt and if you think that your treble strings are still alive you can replace only the basses
you can buy basses separately.

Excellent advice.