How do you care for your instrument?

[Phil-osopher10]

As the title says. what are your words of wisdom for caring for your bass?

[Ou7shined]

It's important to say "I love you" at least once a day.... and give them a wipe down with a clean cloth after you've given them a good seeing to.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1008791' date='Nov 1 2010, 05:54 PM']It's important to say "I love you" at least once a day.... and give them a wipe down with a clean cloth after you've given them a good seeing to.[/quote]
Works for the missus as well

[jjojjas]

errr..
I dust it when it gets dusty.
thats about it.

[phil.i.stein]

[quote name='jjojjas' post='1008821' date='Nov 1 2010, 06:17 PM']errr..
I dust it when it gets dusty.
thats about it.[/quote]
same. + a string boil or meth bath and a new set when they (or I) feel uninspired or dull.

[Lozz196]

I generally wipe it clean of dust/grime when I notice it to be looking grubby. I always fast-fret the strings either before a practice or gig, and when I change the strings, on my rosewood necked basses, I polish the fretboard with lemon oil.

Periodically, say once a month, I also check the nuts on the jack, and the tuning pegs, and the tone/volume controls, check the screws on these as well, and also check the screws on the tuning pegs, and the strap-buttons.

[Cat Burrito]

I wax mine fairly frequently which makes me look like I care on the surface... the reality is I have to do this as I took it apart once, poured nitro mors all over it & stripped it back to the wood. I bet it didn't thank me that day! Other than that I rub a cloth over it whenever it looks a bit tarnished & ensure it is always well set up.

[Doctor J]

Play the living bejesus out of them, that's how they know I love them.

The odd clean and oil every now and then, then another beating.

[The Burpster]

Clean the strings after every use, and polish when they need it - otherwise leave alone.

[skankdelvar]

Tune it up every few months, evict crusty meths drinkers on an ad hoc basis.

[Mr. Foxen]

Make sure it is too ugly for anyone else to want to play it.

[BigRedX]

I play them as often as I can.

[Dom in Dorset]

I keep it in a locked climate controled case , it's got tinted glass to prevent colour fading , it's bullet proof , bomb proof and radiation proof. the whole thing is kept in a vault 500M bellow ground in a concrete bunker with 24 hour security.
The ones I play are just put in a case when not in use.

[JTUK]

I am less concerned about dings but don't want to invite them. I will just get then refinished if it bothers me..but they are working basses and I'll be more paranoid if blemish free anyway.

I use a subtle light wood polish and I have an oil for the neck, but mostly when I change strings, I'll run the bass down with a clean dust cloth and blow out dust from the the bridge.

The only things I am really concerned about is temp changes and never leave basses in a shut/locked case or leave O/N in a gig bag.

[Musky]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1008798' date='Nov 1 2010, 06:06 PM']Works for the missus as well[/quote]

[Schnozzalee]

[quote name='Musky' post='1009125' date='Nov 1 2010, 10:59 PM'] [/quote]

Haha, I thought that was wicked too! I tend to sh*t on em and rub w*** into the strings so nobody wants to 'give it a go' at band practice

[thisnameistaken]

I wipe the neck and fingerboard down with warm water, then scour the brass frets a bit with a nylon pan scrubber to put some shine on them, then I wax the body and buff it, then I put fresh strings on.

[Circle_of_Fifths]

Check intonation weekly and at the same time check neck straightness.

Clean and re-wax weekly on all my gear and Son-Of-A-Gun (like Armour-All, but better) treatment to all my cabs, combos and hard cases.

Test impedance and resistance in all my cables after each gig or jam. I test max voltage output from the p'ups or on-board preamp at the jack about twice a year. Record readings.

About every six months or so, I take off the pickguards and wax underneath them.

Yeah - just a[i] little [/i]obsessive.

[Chris2112]

Clean with a cloth and keep them tidy. If the fretboard needs a rub with oil I'll do that too.

[Fat Rich]

I try not to bump the Status basses into things, gave them a quick polish for the first time in about 10 years and they're still in really good shape apart from some wear on the bridge pickups where my thumb goes. No adjustments ever necessary apart from an occasional battery change.

I don't do anything to the Fenders apart from adjust the truss rods when required, as James Jamerson said "the dirt keeps the funk" and I need all the help I can get.

Edited November 2, 2010 by Fat Rich

[crez5150]

Had a mistake for a Halloween ball..... White Make-up all over my Graphite Kingbass..... Spent 3 hours cleaning it....

[Delberthot]

Whack the crap out of it. Change the strings every 4 or 6 months. Lemon Oil the fretboard once a year - assuming I have the bass that long.

Taking it out of the gig bag is the last thing I do when setting up for a gig and the first thing I do after one is put it back in.

[El Bajo]

I think about cleaning it down, changing the strings, oiling the fret board. Then realize the hour spent doing that could be used practicing. So basically its filthy, and the strings are dead.

[Bassman Sam]

Buy it a new set of strings for Christmas and a pro setup when I can afford it. It also likes the taste of Pledge.

[Dave Vader]

If something falls off, i like to screw it back on.
That's about it. Though when even my flats sound dead, I rub them with WD-40, works a treat.
And I constantly fiddle with the setup on all of them.
Oh, and I would like to wipe the sweat off after every gig, but I keep forgetting, so my pickup screws are rusted chunks of filth, no fun when I change them out for the next great idea...