Do you clean your strings - if so what do you use

[Petey]

Do you wipe down your strings after practicing/playing a gig, use a string cleaner or just pack your bass away and leave the strings alone - i'm curious as to what people do & use

[mybass]

Yep, a quick wipe down always after gigs…

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Cliff Edge]

I carried a stolen bar towel in the case for years. Wiped my hands and strings/neck periodically during a gig. 
Still have it. 
Fast Fret on strings between sessions. 

[Skin Lewis]

3 hours ago, Cliff Edge said:

I carried a stolen bar towel in the case for years. Wiped my hands and strings/neck periodically during a gig. 
Still have it. 
Fast Fret on strings between sessions. 

 

Spooky. Same here. Mine was blue, and came from Holland. Nowadays I've ditched the Fast Fret and use a little bit of Ballistol universal oil. Pretty much the same stuff as Fast Fret, but loads cheaper. 1001 other uses too.

[Delberthot]

Always make sure I wash my hands before playing and never wipe the strings with anything

[Saul Panzer]

I just give mine a wipe down with an old dry cotton rag after practice, more to keep my fretboard free of dust and stuff but the strings get a wipe since they're so close anyway.

[Downunderwonder]

Wash hands first. Wipe down strings after.

 

One time I did the old boil thing. Nothing much came out and didn't notice any improvement in sound.

[moley6knipe]

The best method is to build yourself a tube out of waste pipe (push fit is better than cementable pipe coz the meths will rot the cement eventually) and fill it will meths, hook in the top end cap and hang your strings in there for 12 hours or so. Then remove and let air dry.

 

Pros: cleans ALL grease etc off strings so they sound new again (of course won’t fix physical string damage from frets!)

 

Cons: unless your bridge is a top loading “quick release” eg Ibby monorail, hipshot A etc it’s a major pita to unstring! 
 

I built one but don’t use it so much these days as only one of my basses has quick release style bridge.

Edited August 1, 2021 by moley6knipe

[Dan Dare]

Methylated spirit does the job for me.

[Cliff Edge]

7 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

Methylated spirit does the job for me.

There’s never enough left in the bottle for a decent drink afterwards. 

[shoulderpet]

On 30/07/2021 at 03:31, Downunderwonder said:

Wash hands first. Wipe down strings after.

 

One time I did the old boil thing. Nothing much came out and didn't notice any improvement in sound.

The trick is to put them in a container full of boiling water to soak for 10 mins or so,  NO boiling on the stove, tried that before and the strings didn't really sound much better and died very quickly afterwards, I soak them in a (clean) icecream tub full of boiling water and they sound much better afterwards.

 

[Dan Dare]

On 01/08/2021 at 19:43, shoulderpet said:

The trick is to put them in a container full of boiling water to soak for 10 mins or so,  NO boiling on the stove, tried that before and the strings didn't really sound much better and died very quickly afterwards, I soak them in a (clean) icecream tub full of boiling water and they sound much better afterwards.

The hot water does the same as solvents - dissolves the grease. dead skin and detritus that has been deposited on them by your hands. Part of the brighter sound that results from taking them off and boiling them is the fact that the strings have had the tension taken out of them and been re-tensioned. I prefer solvent (meths in my case), because it will also remove the gunk and cleaning them in situ won't stress the strings. Slackening and tightening often them can fatigue the metal and cause breakages.

Edited August 3, 2021 by Dan Dare

[Skybone]

Anyone tried those glasses/screen wipes?

 

Might be good for taking the worst of the crud off.

 

Or switch to Stainless Steel strings and not have to worry about it.

[Reggaebass]

I only use flats and I had a set that had what I think was some residue machine oil on them, I wiped them with the small alcohol wipes and they came up fine, I think because the alcohol evaporated 

[three]

I use a microfibre duster most of the time but take the strings off occasionally and wipe them thoroughly with a duster dampened with surgical spirit.  The surgical spirit appears to lift some of the gunk from roundwounds 

[fretmeister]

I wash my hands before I play (proper old soap that leaves my skin feeling a bit dry) but never wipe down the strings.

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[chris_b]

I wash my hands before playing. I don't have greasy skin or acid sweat. I never wipe or clean my strings. A set of rounds usually lasts a year.

[sky]

do you wipe sitting down or standing? lmao. myself i never wipe my strings or wash hands before playing to be honest