Do you wipe your bass down after playing?

[CamdenRob]

I’ve just read the acoustic bass thread and someone mentioned an acoustic bass being useful to have around the house to pick up for a quick noodle. I was going to respond there but this seems like a new thread 🙂

That wouldn’t work for me as I am not able to pick up a bass for a quick noodle... 😕 Every single time I play my bass. I have a quick hand wash beforehand, and then after I’ve finished I spend a few minutes wiping down the strings, fretboard, back of the neck and all the hardware, quick go over the body too. All with a microfibre cloth to remove any sweat / finger gunk etc. If I don’t do this, the next time I pick up the bass I can feel it’s not clean 😕

Am I alone here or does anyone else do this?

 

[bassbiscuits]

Nope I never do that. I clean it properly whenever I restring it etc - im not into gunky basses.

But unless I’ve been eating something messy I won’t typically wash my hands before playing. 

[deepbass5]

Sounds a bit OCD Rob, in the nicest possible way

I used to always wipe down my bass after a gig before going in the case, but now you mention it, i stopped at some point in the past. Maybe because there are so many idiots about that seem to knock things over on stage, so the sooner i can get it safely away in the case the better.

but it is probably best to clean it first maybe even with those string wipes, that i also stopped using 😄 

[musicbassman]

I find that if I've been working in the garden or similar and I need to wash my hands prior to playing then my hands will be too soft to play for about 15 mins or so after this, especially the vital calluses on 1st and 2nd fingers right hand.

Also I can understand that if you have sweaty hands then you will need to at least wipe your fretboard down after playing. Personally I'm lucky to have pretty dry hands so a quick rub down after playing isn't really necessary (Fnaar, fnaar)  😊

[FinnDave]

My hands don't sweat much, but I always have a bar towel on my amp and usually wipe the neck down between songs. Hate a sticky neck! (Not keen on a necky stick, either)

[Drax]

You're wiping off the mojo!

[Happy Jack]

By and large, my hands don't sweat much, and my sweat doesn't seem particularly corrosive anyway, so no I don't bother.

 

[Sibob]

My hands are not very sweaty at all, and I largely play Precision type instruments (or not boutique basses basically), so no....never clean the basses or the strings lol.

Si

[Lozz196]

I always make sure my hands are clean before playing my basses, I figure on this being the next best thing and easier to put into practice.

[CamdenRob]

Fair enough... just me being weird again then 😂 

[machinehead]

After setting up the PA etc my hands feel grubby so I always wash before playing.

I also wipe down the neck and fretboard at the end of a gig, but not any other parts of the guitar.  So, only slightly OCD.

(Although I'm wary of other players using my bass at a jam in case they've had a pish, (or worse 😕) and not washed their hands.

Frank.

[Reggaebass]

I never clean my ones after playing,    but I’ve got a thing about always cleaning my hands before I pick one up,      sometimes I’ll pick a few basses from their hangers on a Saturday morning and give them a wipe over with fender custom shop spray but that’s about it.

[40hz]

Always wash my hands before playing where possible but never ever clean or wipe a bass down, but then I do a thorough clean on them once a month anyway.

[PlasmaZombies]

I always wipe down my basses after playing just to keep them sweat free. I'm only a hobby player these days so it's not like my basses ever get a tough workout but I like to try look after them.

[4000]

Nope, nothing like that. I wipe my basses down after a gig or rehearsal, maybe for 5-10 seconds? I’ll often give the strings and neck a brief wipe after playing at home, but it’s 5 seconds at best, unless I’m actually cleaning the bass, which is a different thing (and which I don’t do very often TBH).  

[Bobthedog]

Depends, A quick noodle, no. A full on session, always. Once a month or so I will use Rotosound Guitar Polish and give the guitars, if used that month, a full polish, however. Fretboard gets a proper clean when I change strings.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Bobthedog

[Geek99]

Clean ... the ...bass.... no, no idea what you’re talking about. Jameson refused to clean his bass commenting that the funk lived in the dirt. He’d know. And he’s a god, so he cannot be wrong because gods are never wrong. If they were, they wouldn’t be gods. 
here endeth the lesson 

[chris_b]

My bass only gets cleaned if I'm selling it. And me? I never wash either.

[gjones]

I let my brother in law play my bass once and was disgusted by the slime that came off his fingers. It was lathered all over the fretboard as well.  I gave my bass a wipe down as soon as he handed it back to me.  I have friends who also have this problem. 

I, on the other hand, don't have clammy hands and most of my basses are as clean as the day I bought them and my strings last for years.

i dust them occasionally.

We're all different.

 

 

 

[ubit]

When we were playing regularly I would have a beer towel handy and wipe my hands in between songs. I would wipe down the strings and body as well. Just a quick wipe but enough to get the worst off. When I changed strings I would give it a really good wipe. I hate dusty, grubby guitars.

[ubit]

9 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

but I’ve got a thing about always cleaning my hands before I pick one up,  

I have started using gel before playing to try to extend the life of my strings. I like new strings and find that they go dull so quickly with my sweat or at least hand moisture.

[oldslapper]

I’ve noticed that my leather strap needs more cleaning after a gig than my basses (which gets a wipe down). If I leave it in the case then it gets nasty 😷 

But I’m not as clean as you Rob, you must smell lovely 😊

[MacDaddy]

I always try to have clean hands before playing. Especially before a gig, it's noticeable when you wash your hands after humping all the gear in and setting up, how dirty they have got.

Afterwards the occasional wipe down with Fast Fret.

[Delberthot]

13 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I always make sure my hands are clean before playing my basses, I figure on this being the next best thing and easier to put into practice.

Exactly the same as me. If my hands are clean before I begin playing then my bass will still be clean when I've finished playing.

As per others I will clean the bass when I change strings and lemon oil the fretboard once or twice a year. I hate gunky, filthy basses. It's not the first time I've bought a used bass and completely stripped the hardware (saddles removed from the bridge etc) and soaked it all in sugar free cola to remove the grime

[lownote]

It's a tricky one.  I guess it's the frequency and necessity of the habit.  My sax teacher sometimes swabs out his horn during a practice session as well as after px or gigs.  Anal or what? But if you are that's cool, just seems a lot of faff to me.  I only clean my sax when the sound starts to bubble through the spit lake in the bell. My basses get a wipe over if they look or feel gunky.  Being fretless dirty frets isn't a visual issue, and one being a white bass, ditto. 

Many years ago I was at a party in the Caribbean. Suddenly the bassist in the local calypso band offered me his bass to sub him for a bit.  Quite new to the bass I was overawed and grateful he thought that much of my nascent abilities. I was a slightly less overawed when I found out he'd had the runs all day, hence the need for a time out.   

Edited June 3, 2020 by lownote12