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  #16  
Old 03-02-2019, 08:05 PM
tippy5 tippy5 is offline
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Sometimes small dents on the underside of old strings contributes to them deadening.
Maybe get out a magnifying glass and see if you find evidence of fret indentations, ruining the string wrap?
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  #17  
Old 03-02-2019, 11:14 PM
Atomnimity Atomnimity is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tippy5 View Post
Sometimes small dents on the underside of old strings contributes to them deadening.
Maybe get out a magnifying glass and see if you find evidence of fret indentations, ruining the string wrap?
Could probably fix that with solder.......
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  #18  
Old 03-02-2019, 11:43 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Originally Posted by Rev Roy View Post
Interesting experiment. And even more interesting - at least to me - is the idea that your hand chemistry quickly dulls all uncoated strings except John Pearce. Interesting because many of us even without toxic hands - me included - find that JPs are the first to die on us. I’m lucky if I get 10 days out of JPs, which would otherwise be my favorite strings.

You are one blessed dude if JPs are long lasting for you. They’re great strings.
Roy, John Pearse strings last much longer than any other uncoated strings for me, too - that's a large part of the reason I became such a fan so quickly. They last me much longer than uncoated D'Addarios, Martin or GHS strings, the GHS strings being my main strings of choice prior to discovering the John Pearse brand.

I typically get at least a month out of John Pearse 80/20's and six weeks out of the phosphors.


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  #19  
Old 03-03-2019, 09:50 AM
Sonics Sonics is offline
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It does work, but the effect only last a few hours. The boiling process loosens the crud which embeds between the wire wrap. As a kid I did this a lot with bass strings. Which were, from my perspective of have NO income, incredibly expensive.

I use to disappear into the kitchen for 20 minutes which pleased my mother. She actually thought I was developing an interest in the culinary arts and wanted to help. I told her I could handle it and she never found out...otherwise I wouldn't be here and you would be reading the post above!
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  #20  
Old 03-03-2019, 09:54 AM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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Originally Posted by Steadfastly View Post
I wonder what it is about the process that makes him swear?
He's a banjo player
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  #21  
Old 03-03-2019, 09:58 AM
Steadfastly Steadfastly is offline
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Originally Posted by jschmitz54 View Post
The swearing is part of the cleaning process. If you don’t swear by them the process will not work. Who knew.
Maybe he got his fingers in the boiling water. That would make some people swear. I know I would swear................to never do that again!
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  #22  
Old 03-03-2019, 10:13 AM
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ljguitar ljguitar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
Roy, John Pearse strings last much longer than any other uncoated strings for me, too - that's a large part of the reason I became such a fan so quickly. They last me much longer than uncoated D'Addarios, Martin or GHS strings, the GHS strings being my main strings of choice prior to discovering the John Pearse brand.

I typically get at least a month out of John Pearse 80/20's and six weeks out of the phosphors.


Wade Hampton Miller
Hi Wade

I think your experience with Pearse strings lasting that long is unusual.



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  #23  
Old 03-03-2019, 10:16 AM
Monsoon1 Monsoon1 is offline
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It's not the worst idea i've come across.
It's probably why piano strings last so long... no perspiration crud.
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  #24  
Old 03-03-2019, 10:28 AM
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DenverSteve DenverSteve is offline
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Originally Posted by 1Charlie View Post
...To be clear, the time commitment alone probably makes this a fool’s errand. But in a pinch, with no new strings in the house, it actually works.
Copy that good buddy. That's why I keep a drawer full of string sets of my favorite strings. There's really no reason to every run low OR out with the interned able to get you strings in 2-3 days for good prices. Stock up before you need more.
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  #25  
Old 03-03-2019, 11:03 AM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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Originally Posted by Monsoon1 View Post
It's not the worst idea i've come across.
It's probably why piano strings last so long... no perspiration crud.
They also don't press against frets, or get picked.
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  #26  
Old 03-03-2019, 11:09 AM
mmann964 mmann964 is offline
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Andrew Pouska from Study Bass suggests soaking strings in denatured alcohol for 12-24 hours rather than boiling them. He says that boiling gives the strings new life, but they go dead within a few days, as the water causes the metal to corrode.

https://www.studybass.com/gear/bass-...-bass-strings/

He even describes how to build a string soaking container using PVC pipe.

https://www.studybass.com/gear/bass-...cleaning-tube/

Since bass strings are expensive, bass players are super motivated to get more life out of their strings!
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  #27  
Old 03-03-2019, 11:26 AM
1Charlie 1Charlie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mmann964 View Post
Andrew Pouska from Study Bass suggests soaking strings in denatured alcohol for 12-24 hours rather than boiling them. He says that boiling gives the strings new life, but they go dead within a few days, as the water causes the metal to corrode.

https://www.studybass.com/gear/bass-...-bass-strings/

He even describes how to build a string soaking container using PVC pipe.

https://www.studybass.com/gear/bass-...cleaning-tube/

Since bass strings are expensive, bass players are super motivated to get more life out of their strings!
That's my next experiment. The beauty is that the alcohol could be used over and over.

Or I could just drink vodka and play dirty strings.
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  #28  
Old 03-03-2019, 11:30 AM
1Charlie 1Charlie is offline
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Next time, I am going to boil just the wound strings. Seems like it would do more harm than good to the unwound. And with just four strings to remove, boil and restring, the time commitment is 1/3 shorter.

BTW, Day 2 and both sets of boiled strings still sound nice and fresh.
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  #29  
Old 03-08-2019, 02:00 PM
1Charlie 1Charlie is offline
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And now for an update.

Nearly a week later, the boiled strings are still sounding pretty good, despite some pretty regular playing. Not brand new, but good enough that I am not yet ready to reach for a new set.

Yesterday, I removed the dead wound JP 600's on three more guitars, and boiled them with a little dish soap squirted in the water for good measure.

Same result. Brighter, more toneful, with greater sustain. Like a new set that has been played in a bit. Very nice.

Next experiment will be to reboil a set of wound strings that has gone dead again. Can they be brought back to life again and again?
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  #30  
Old 03-08-2019, 06:33 PM
RogerPease RogerPease is offline
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A buddy of mine would, one at a time, slacken the wound strings and detach them at the bridge end.
He would twist each string a couple turns in the direction that tightened the windings and reattach the string.

He swore it gave the strings new life for a few hours before they went totally dead.
You could try that in addition to the boiling...

Never tried it myself.
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