donslow Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 (edited) Probably a stupid thing to ask but here goes anyway...... I’ve a set of flats on my only bass that are well worn in and sounding magnificent so looking to keep them where they are! Have recently changed over the neck on my bass and noticed the silks are coming off of the strings, is there something that can be done to re-silk or at least cover the ends up so as not to damage the machine head posts they are on?! does loose / missing silk make ANY difference to ANYTHING at all or should I just tune up and forget about it? many thanks for any advice / help in advance Edited May 17, 2019 by donslow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 Silks on flats are generally, but not always, are wrapped into the top binding of the string, which I guess stops the silks from moving or bunching up. So there is no way to re-wrap the string with silks AFAIK. If there are bald patches of missing silk it makes no difference, just trim any fluffy bits if it suits. Original flats never had silks and worked just fine. As long as you don't use the strings on different basses too many times as the grounded down top layer of flats can start to break apart or unravel, which will impact the strings ability to stay in tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted May 29, 2019 Author Share Posted May 29, 2019 On 23/05/2019 at 17:17, Meddle said: Burn it off with a lighter and replace with heat shrink tubing. oddly, I had considered this also but concerned as to how it would affect the string... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 10 hours ago, donslow said: oddly, I had considered this also but concerned as to how it would affect the string... I wouldn't do this, the silks are made of nylon, heat it up and you will end up with a clump of polymer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 3 hours ago, Meddle said: I've done it many times. You only need to burn off the 'hair' coming off the nylon. The heat gun I use to shrink the heat shrink tubing isn't close enough or dwelling on one point long enough to ever create a 'clump of polymer'. I was referring to removing all silk from the string will result in a clump of polymer. If you simply want to remove a few bits of fluff, give it a trim with some precision scissors - no need for a lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.