henrywillard Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 (edited) My sister has asked me if I want any little bits for Christmas, & I could do with some new string cleaner! Unfortunately the string cleaner I have always used by Pirastro has been discontinued! That stuff was amazing! Has anyone tried and/or have experience of using any of the following: - Pirastro String Oil - (Is this just for gut strings?? I could never quite work out what the difference was between Pirastro String Oil, & Pirastro String Cleaner?) - Petz String Cleaner - Nature Works String Cleaner - Gewa Old Master String Cleaner - Royal Oak String Cleaner Any reviews/recommendations appreciated! Edited December 1, 2018 by henrywillard Inserting links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 I’m not sure but I use almond oil for my guts, so it’s probably the same thing (maybe). For the low steels I just let the funk grow free...🤢 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilp Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 I use medical swabs. Isopropyl alcohol. You can buy them for peanuts on Amazon in boxes of 200, when I clean my strings I use one to clean the strings over the fingerboard and one to clean off the rosin, otherwise you just end up spreading the rosin the length of the string. I keep a few in my gig bag, so much easier using a disposable swab than a bottle of something and a cloth. Give it a go. NOT suitable for guts.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 As neilp says above, I wouldn't use alcohol swabs on gut strings - it would dry them out... I'm interested to hear what others think is best from the products above, or something else they use? I did have a bottle of cleaner a violin specialist shop sold me, which was for cleaning Rosin - not that I bow much at all That seemed pretty good, but I have now lost the bottle and can't even recall what it was called... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrywillard Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 I forgot to mention, I'm using Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Weich's. (not gut's). I emailed Pirastro & they confirmed that their string oil is for gut's only. I just found the Pirastro String Cleaner so good at making my strings feel smooth again, & removing light grime build-up from finger oils etc. I'll probably take a punt on the Royal Oak, Gewa Old Master and Nature Works at some point. Try out all three & see which I like best! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 I asked Presto what they would recommend for cleaning the Nylonwound Lights that I use, and I got a reply which said it was OK to use alcohol on the strings, but don't get it on the spirit varnish of my instrument. I didn't have the heart to tell them it was plywood sprayed with cellulose. Think I might try drinking the alcohol and rubbing the strings with the bottle to see how that works 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 Vodka. Works fine. But someone here advised me to keep it off the fingerboard ( dries the wood out apparently), proper turpentine or lemon oil less risky if drying out is a concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philparker Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 I know this doesn't answer the question, but we had a very knowledgeable rep from D'Addario give a presentation on strings at a DB Wksp I attended. The company had carried out various experiments on the effects of different substances used to clean strings. They cross-cut the strings and those having been cleaned with alcohol were damaged to the core. He had pictures on a slide show to refute the findings. It was far more severe than I expected! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 1 hour ago, philparker said: those having been cleaned with alcohol were damaged to the core. Gut core I can imagine won't like alcohol, but steel? ? I wonder what the mechanism would be ... shall ask the metallurgist at work. Or maybe d'Addario do a nice line in profitable cleaning agents .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 2 hours ago, philparker said: ...had pictures on a slide show to refute the findings... Are you sure..? To refute VERB [WITH OBJECT] Prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false; disprove. May I suggest 'uphold' as being more credible in context..? Just sayin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philparker Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 8 hours ago, Dad3353 said: Are you sure..? To refute VERB [WITH OBJECT] Prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false; disprove. May I suggest 'uphold' as being more credible in context..? Just sayin'. Yes, well spotted, I got that word well out of context! Perhaps I should have used the word 'validate'? Anyway, I was impressed that they thought about this issue and experimented etc. but I can't remember what the final recommendation was although I do remember not having to Change my method of wiping with a lint-free cloth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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