Cleaning bass strings instead of buying new cables is easy and saves money. Bass strings are so expensive, twenty dollars for a good set, and they still wear out so fast. And the importance of a fresh set of string can not possibly be too much in a device that is so dependent on the elusive X-factor known as the “tone.” Every musician is always chasing tone, and bass players are always on the thin edge between “muddy” and “no bottom,” as they try to argue that a complete walk of the sonic spectrum. So if you play bass and are tired of shelling out twenty bucks every couple of weeks, do what I do; Clean strings for free.
First of all, I’m sure most of you have heard of boiling strings to get new sounds again; do not do it! Boiling strings could make the strings sound brighter for a few hours or a few days at most, but in fact what you’re doing is killing your strings, like headhunting cannibals do to their victims in a Hollywood movie. Boiling strings can change, ever so slightly, molecular balance of metal and create some very undesirable side effects.
The best way to clean the bass strings is to immerse them in mineral spirits (paint thinner) overnight. It’s a bit smelly, but mineral spirits gently clean around the band, inside the winding, top and bottom. You do not need to rub or anything, just let them sit there in a small bucket. The day when you take strings of spirits, wipe them off with a cloth that you do not need or are going to be used constantly to clean your strings. Let the strings to dry in the air for another hour or so. All by spirits quickly evaporate as mineral spirits are very volatile and flammable.
When you put the strings back on your device, you will be surprised at how amazing they sound. Sometimes even better than new. The new clean strings keep the tone for a long time and best of all, after a few weeks you will be able to clean them again, unlike boiled strings, which weaken over time.
So this little tip for cleaning the bass strings will save you money, it will not cause you a lot of time, and will make you happy to be a bass player you will not be constantly wondering strings as you’re following the tone – and admit it bass players; you’re all fanatical tone.