Today’s post is going to be about how to boil guitar strings. This is a question that actually shows up quite a bit and it’s an actually pretty interesting method of reviving old guitar strings and stretching new ones. If you boil your guitar strings you can squeeze a little bit of extra life out of them. Taking care of your guitar strings is vital if you want to be a good guitar player.
Why Boil Your Guitar Strings?
As guitar strings become more used and outdated they tend to get really dirty and the sound they produce starts to become of a lesser quality. The reason why you may want to boil your guitar strings is so that you can take old strings and bring them back to life for a little bit longer.
Often guitarists will also take new strings and boil them. This causes the strings to expand and will make them stay in tune longer. This is because over time strings like to expand but if you boil them you are already expanding them so that you won’t have to worry about it in the future. This just help your keep your strings in tune longer.
Many guitarists who are learning how to play guitar will often be unsure as to whether this is actually worth your time and effort. I’ve done this a few times and it actually does work but it might be a little bit too much of a pain for some to handle.
I’d recommend that if you have the money then just buy new strings when your old ones need changing. If you can’t afford to buy new strings all the time then you can consider boiling your older ones.
For those of you who want to learn how to boil your guitar strings, I have made a little step by step guide. It’s not a hard process to do and it is fairly easy. Anyone can learn how to boil their guitar strings as long as they follow these simple rules.
- Get a pot and boil the water. Allow the water to get to the point where it is boiling and you are good to go. There are no exact temperatures required here.
- Once you get the water to the point that it is boiling, you will want to put your strings in. If your strings are brand new, just leave them looped together and throw them in.
- Let your strings sit for a few minutes; I usually put them in for 1-2 minutes and then take them out. Be sure to use tongs so that you don’t burn yourself during this process.
- Once you take your strings out you are good to go! Let them cool down and then restring them on to your guitar. It’s as simple as that really.
As you can see, it’s not a hard process at all, the only thing about it is is that some people don’t believe that boiling new strings really helps keep your guitar in turn. It really works and it helps brings old strings back to life for a little bit longer.
If you have a few minutes then I recommend you boil your new strings as soon as you buy them. Then you won’t have to worry about them stretching later on. It’s a good habit and practice to get into.
Well, now you know how to boil your guitar strings. If anyone has any comments or if you do it a different way let me know. Check back on this blog for more free guitar lessons and other tutorials about guitar playing.