To cook or not to cook, that's the question

To cook or not to cook, that's the question (do you cook your strings?)

  • Yes!

    Votes: 1 8.3%

  • No!

    Votes: 11 91.7%
  • Total voters
    12
Negyuh

Negyuh

total winker ;-)
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Again something i ran into clearing up my attick and throwing away old bass strings: do you cook them or don't you, elaboration on the subject is welcome...

as for myself: i used to cook them, sometimes till 5 times per set, nowadays i just throw of a new set of strings.
 
tried cooking, figured out alcoholing them works a lot more better.. when they lose it the first time, just take them off and lightly wipe with a cloth drenched in alcohol, second time is alcohol bath time :) effectively doubles string life but since alcohol dries the string and makes it weaker, I like to throw on a set of new strings after this.
 
I never did that...

May try someday, just to see by myself if it really works...
 
Ahhhh Bass String Soup, a seasonal favorite. What season is the right season for Bass String Soup you may ask... any season where your dead ass broke and are considering ritual seppuku as an alternative to having to play one more note on your tired old dead ass bass strings. A good pot of Bass String Soup can put a smile on your face and give you back that warm fuzzy felling in your belly, by cleaning all (most of) the sweat, dust, debris, dead skin, and god only knows whatever else, out from 'tween the windings of your strings, to make them sound as near to new as you're gonna get, with out actually going out, getting a job, earning a little bit of dam money, and buying yourself a right proper brand new set of bass strings. Yes, Bass String Soup, the soup of choice amoung both the cheap ass penny pinching tightwad and the broke ass starving musician.


But seriously, while yes I have been known to have boiled up a pot of bass strings every once in a while, I can say it is not something I have done since the early 1980s. I find it not really worth the hassle. First, only a couple times have I ever did it because I actually needed to freshen up strings I needed to actually use. But what I did do sometimes when money was tight is... I would take off an old set of strings and replace them with a brand new set, then boil the old ones and carry them in the case as extras in case I ever broke a string. Perhaps it is just a matter of how agressive I can get at times, but I have found that boiled strings have more of a tendency of breaking, so I try not to rely on them. Also, while I do believe they clean the string up quite a bit, they never get back to that brand new sound a fresh set of Rotosounds have and after all, it is that super bright sound a brand new set of rotos have that I am so addicted to. So for me, boiled strings are ok to have on hand as backups, but Id rather pawn one of the drummers cymbals (without his knowledge of coarse) and buy a fresh set of strings, then have to use a set of boiled strings on my bass.
 
string by me are cheap so i never had to boil them when i had no job and little money i still didn't do it.i go around to aptment buildings that were walk ups and offer to mop the hall's for the scratch to buy beer and strings.but if i did boil them i think i would it oil with garlic so they would feel slick with no squeaks when i did slides.
 
I'm using Fat beams. They last very long like elixirs or them coated Warwick strings. No need to cook them besides that playing cooked strings is like sanding your fingers.
 
I 've never bothered to cook my strings, as I have a feeling it will be a very temporary solution...
 
Not sure if it was a joke or not, but thought I would chime back in ... Don't put in oil in the water, not sure if it would make the strings slicker but the oil would penetrate the windings and oil is a dust magnet, so it would make the strings get dirtier faster.

Garlic, by all means, especially if you plan on actually eating the soup, garlic would be a must. But then again, you may want to rethink the garlic idea if you plan on using the strings on your dark lord. Vampyres hate garlic!
 
i figured the oil would keep them from rusting.but your right they would get dusty.but the would taste good.if figured if i used alchol they wouldn't be able to play good and might fall down on the job.i spilled beer on my strings and they didn't last any longer even though they thought they did.
 
I don't know about that but I found rubbing a little methamphetamine on the strings makes them play faster...
 
I used to cook strings with great results, untill I've found the coated strings :-)
 
I have tried making the ol "finger scum gumbo" on occasion and I found that its a bit time consuming (unstringing, boiling, drying, restringing) and the bightness that was restored only lasted maybe 5 hours of playing or so. Also it was a bad idea with silkwound ends (should of thought of that before the roto 66's went in the pot). You get all this wet unravelling crap and when the strings are back on it looks like you put a fuzzy merkin on both ends of the bass.
You're probably better off getting some cheap ebay strings or the generic ones that some second hand shops sell. They are nasty and wont last long but they are cheap and will last longer than the boiled ones.
Coats are the way to go IMHO, they sound new for a little more than normal string but they take AGES to really die. (I bought a new set of DR black beuties for my LX about a month ago thinking they were on the way out but they still havent quite died).
 
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I've cooked strings, but they were hell on my gums.
If I had to cook strings at my age, it'd say alot about what I've been doing with my life not to be able to afford new strings now & then.
If any of you young blokes is struggling to afford strings, you're welcome to the 2 sets of EMP's & 2 sets of Yellow labels I have rotting away in my wardrobe. They're all pre-boiled.

* edit.
Only the truely needy need apply ;)
I wont mention any names, but I've seen stuff I've given away for free, (including shipping) turn up for sale on ebay. But I refuse to lose total faith in human nature. :)
 
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I have never cooked strings.

I never will cook strings.

I cook food.

Besides, I don't change my strings very often.

And it's a pain in the ass.

And I'm lazy.
 
Back in the day when i was really into bright sounding strings (for thumpin' and a pluckin') i used to boil the odd set of strings. I found that the renewed brightness works only for a short period of time compared to brand new strings and for some reason the G seemed more prone to snapping afterward.
 
when the strings go dead sell the bass and buy a new bass with new strings i wish i could aford to do that.made me think of my grandfather when the tires wore out on his car he would trade it in for a new one.he had used cars when he was young and said he never wanted a used junker again.
 
Never really had the need to boil strings but i'm nearly out of uni and i'm getting progressively poorer the closer to graduation so i'm either going to have to find cheaper strings or start boiling off all my old ones!
 
I currently switch between two sets of strings (nickel and stainless). It takes me about 4 minutes to switch between them (even with a broken jan ii). I have the feeling that the frequent switching will impact the strings' lifespan. Should I refrain from switching strings every week?
 
Leronious said:
I currently switch between two sets of strings (nickel and stainless). It takes me about 4 minutes to switch between them (even with a broken jan ii). I have the feeling that the frequent switching will impact the strings' lifespan. Should I refrain from switching strings every week?
Click to expand...

I dont think so. I sometimes do this, but it's usually swapping a set of Yellow Labels, with a set of EMP's, & the EMP's ALWAYS sound as bright as the day they were bought. The yellow labels stand up pretty good too.
 
Leronious said:
I currently switch between two sets of strings (nickel and stainless). It takes me about 4 minutes to switch between them (even with a broken jan ii). I have the feeling that the frequent switching will impact the strings' lifespan. Should I refrain from switching strings every week?
Click to expand...

I would have thought that constantly loosing and tightening the tension of the strings will, inevitably, cause them to snap quicker than normal.

As for boiling strings, I've never tried it. When I restring my Fortress, the old strings go to the Shine, so both basses get 'new' strings...kinda :)
 
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