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View Full Version : Extend string life n' get a brighter sound !!!


DarkAngel
August 24th, 2000, 01:15 AM
Hi everybody !!! Wanna get a tip from an "extreme" beginner ??? Here it goes :

I'm using YAMAHA SL strings (0.009-0.042) on my Pacifica, and I've noticed that after playing my guitar 4 while (1-2 weeks, 2-3 hours a day), a white "skin", sort of light glue covered the strings, and some picked notes sounded as if muffled !!! I first thought my strings were dead ! But looking at it closely, i found that the white "glue" was in fact due 2 sweat and skin oils, and if u spend long hot nights playing like i do, with a temperature of 45° like we have in Tunisia (North Africa), u'll get at it !!
So i took a soft cloth, half dry and the other half wet with 60° alcohol, and i loosened the strings, then wiped them carefully with the wet half of the cloth, then with the dry half. After that, i cleaned all the frets (only the metal part, be carefull, alcohol can damage ur fretboard, especially if u have a rosewood one like i do !!), and then i also cleaned the same way my picks, and ... OOOOH MIRACLE, my Pacifica P312HB came back to life, and the sound was ... GREAT !!!!
So, clean strings, frets, and picks with alcohol before or after playing, and wash ur hands with soap and water before playing, and u'll get the best from ur axe !!!!
This will give u longer string life, avoiding corrosion, brighter sound, and the satisfaction to have ur axe clean and shiny !

StoneDragon
August 24th, 2000, 10:34 AM
Good tips.

Since I hate the feel and sound of brand new strings, I've been using the Dr. Frankenstein alchohol rub method for years... as in bring them back to life.

OmniAxiS
August 25th, 2000, 08:07 PM
WOW your from tunisia? ive played that jazz peice! =) Night In Tunisia. =) i have the same exact guitar as you but this weekend im getting a new one =) its gonna be totally cool. thanx for the cleaning tips. i know exactly what your talking about.

Gazaridis
November 22nd, 2000, 11:39 AM
What kind of alcohol do you use? Vodka, Gin, JD, rubbing alcohol or white spirits, meths or summin' else (OK, so I dont think some of the above are alcoholic, but I've never tried drinking meths before... and I don't intend to)?
http://www.zentao.com/ubb/smilies/explode.gif

StoneDragon
November 26th, 2000, 02:54 PM
Plain old rubbing alchohol does the trick... but I remember reading an interview with Billy Sheehan (Bass - David Lee Roth Band, Mr Big) where he was talking about sweating so much during a gig that he had to have his roadie dowse his strings with Brute aftershave several times a night.