How to get new strings in two minutes

[jazzyvee]

 
 
Jazzyvee

[David Houck]

It did seem to make a difference.

[JuancarlinBass]

Same here... somewhat brighter strings on a neck-thru peavey that (I don't know exactly why) tends to darken strings quite fast...

[bigredbass]

I dunno . . . . this guy would tend to completley ignore metal fatigue, the windings shifting against themselves, any number of physical/mechanical processes as to why they go dead.  Honestly, he seems like one more of these YouTube musicians who make lots of videos, but never any gigs (down the list, he has a few videos of 'grooves' in all these obscure scales, a sure sign of too much time at home).
 
If all you had to do was 'slap the **** out of them', Stanley Clarke or Louis Johnson would have quit buying strings twenty-five years ago.
 
J o e y

[cozmik_cowboy]

Hmmm - ...sweat and, um, dung make them go dead.... so you fix it by slapping the s**t out of them; don't know what he's doing to his strings, but dung buildup is not a problem I've had much trouble with.........  
 
And he learned it from guy who learned it from a guy who, faced with broken strings, tied them together with little knots.
OK, show of hands - who here has ever tied a bass string - or even a guitar string - back together?  Freakin' hilarious!
 
Peter

[JuancarlinBass]

Well, it depends on where the string breaks. But I have done it a lot of times. Specially at the headstock (tying the string with another broken string to make it reach the tuning peg if it has broken above the nut, or sometimes -if length allows- relocating to other tuning pegs -I had to do this on my fretless once when my 3rd string broke at the peg- to be able to use them through the gig). On guitars, sometimes the ball end has untied -or the string has broken right there- and had to redo the tie or even add some string to be able to use it through the gig...

[hankster]

I've definitely done it.  G-string on my Les Paul bass broke above the nut, just below the tuning peg post.  Unwound the surplus (of which there was more than enough, since the Gib is short scale), tied a knot, rewound, finished the gig (went to bed, got up, went to the music store, and bought two sets of strings).
 
I can't say I have done it a lot of times, though.
 
R.

[hydrargyrum]

I've tried it.   I wouldn't say I was successful. Like Hankster I now keep spares instead.

[elwoodblue]

I had to use a Low E guitar string when the A broke
on my med. scale Exploiter . It barely reached, but with a delicate touch I was able to finish the gig.
It sounded really cool.
 I've never tied a knot at a gig, yet

[bigredbass]

Broken strings.  In my Back Pages, when I played four-strings with the mighty Fender 355 Heavy triangle picks, invariably I'd break a D or an A, which resulted in channeling my inner Tony Levin via the three-string method . . . . . I did this three or four times before finally being convinced to bring a spare set:  I hated to change just one.
 
Then I learned it would get louder if I turned a knob or two, and I quit breaking strings !  Of course, as I dodder off into curmudgeonhood, this type of foolishness no longer occurs, but somehow it was fun at the time . . . .
 
J o e y

[bassilisk]

My friend sent me this link. I can only say that unless I'm using the last set of strings on planet Earth all of this string reclamation voodoo (boiling, alcohol wipes, this...) is past silly.
 
I've selected all of my basses for playability and tone, and all are the best I can afford including a few true Blue Chips.  
 
Why in the world would I try to get another few days out of a dead set of strings on a bass that cost real money? I don't get it.
 
I remember reading an interview with Anthony Jackson where he said he changed strings after every take in the studio. I'm not at that point, but as soon as I feel the tone is getting compromised they're gone. I think this is nonsense - like putting regular gas into a Lamborghini.

[jazzyvee]

I've only ever boiled guitar strings a few times and that was when I was a teenager but then they just went pitted soon after so i never continued the idea.  I've not even tried this method that I started the thread on. I tend to change my strings really as soon as the crispness goes. I have tried to keep some strings on one of my basses for a long time to see if i would like the mellower tone but it just sounded dull.  I like crisp tones. I'd like to get a string endorsement deal them I'd change them more than I do now. You guys in the states are fortunate that your string prices aren't like ours here which is probably why bass players here look at more options to keep their strings useable.  
 
Jazzyvee

[rustyg61]

Bass Brights really work to keep the new string sound. I'm going on 5 gigs with the same strings when I used to get maybe 2 gigs before they lost the new string brightness. http://www.bassbrites.com/

[cozmik_cowboy]

I'd like to get a string endorsement deal them I'd change them more than I do now.
 
Singer-songwriter friend of mine used to have a deal with GHS; he changed strings every set.
 
Peter

[jacko]

I've had the current set of black beauties on my Sig dx for around 18 months - still sound great to my ears:-)
 
Graeme