|
a_arnold -> RE: String Cleaners (Sep. 30 2010 2:37:20)
|
If the strings aren't worn through, the main thing that deadens them is accumulated dirt and oil from your fingers. I used to wash my strings when I was younger and playing a relatively cheap guitar. A really good guitar can make even old strings sound good. But here is the recipe for washing:
(1) Take the bass strings off.
(2) Put a teaspoon of ammonia and a few drops of liquid soap (they also sell ammonia with detergent in it already) in a coffee mug of hot water tap water (I never tried boiling) and let the bass strings soak for 15 mins.
(3) Stir/swirl it a bit to shake loose the dirt, then pour out the liquid
(4) pull/scrub the soapy strings through a cloth rag or washcloth while squeezing tightly through the rag. Rinse. (I let the tap run over the strings so the cup overflows for a few minutes.)
(5) dry. I spin them around my head to whip the water off them. THen dry them by coiling them up and resting them on a lampshade above the bulb.
Put them back on. They stay in tune better because they are already stretched out, they sound almost-new for a while, and the bass strings can be made to last almost as long as the trebles this way.
But, like Doit, I change them for new a few days before an important gig -- HOWEVER! I always keep a set of used washed bass strings in my guitar case. I've been paranoid ever since I had a D string break on me 10 minutes before going onstage in front of 700 people. My only choice was to put on a new string and it kept going out of tune during the performance. A cleaned, old string sounds good and stays in tune better in a situation like that.
|
|
|
|
