Anyone ever try one of these string cleaner tools?

[Marko5657]

Anyone ever try one of these string cleaner tools?

ToneGear The String Cleaner Tool for Bass: Shop Accessories & Other Musical Instruments | Musician's Friend

[FunkMetalBass]

I've never tried it.
It doesn't look like it would fit on a 6-string bass, but it's a simple enough concept - rub a sponge soaked with denatured alcohol up and down the strings. It's the same thing I do with a clean rag.

[scottbass]

Yes. I use it dry after a gig - once up and down. Works great to get your perspiration off the strings to prevent corrosion from starting. Once a month or so I clean my strings using some spray on string/fret/fretboard cleaner. I then run that tool up and down the strings once to soak up the excess.

By the way, the yellow stuff is terry cloth, not a sponge.

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by scottbass

Yes. I use it dry after a gig - once up and down. Works great to get your perspiration off the strings to prevent corrosion from starting. Once a month or so I clean my strings using some spray on string/fret/fretboard cleaner. I then run that tool up and down the strings once to soak up the excess.

By the way, the yellow stuff is terry cloth, not a sponge.

Wow, it looks just like a sponge in the picture. Thanks for the clarification.

[stflbn]

Sponge will fray and rub off... cloth doesn't do it as bad.

[Marko5657]

I just got mine; it’s not sponge, and looks pretty durable.

I have a feeling it’d be better at getting the underside of the strings.

[Darylw425]

That's the idea - it helps clean under and around the strings easily.

It does that, but it doesn't have any formula to clean or prevent corrosion. There are other options out there.

[darkstorm]

Looks like a perfect type help tool for those who sweat a lot from hot bars etc. Prob could use it on sixer if one did it from each side.

[hover]

I dunno, I don't need an apparatus to get between me and a string wipedown. Looks like another "solution" looking for a problem.

I bought a 5 pack of shamwows for a dollar. Cut them in fours. That and a squirt from a visene bottle filled with 95% Isopropanol in my gig bag takes me a minute to wipe and clean my strings after play. Don't think I'll be running out, ever.

[raykramer]

Be careful using isopropanol. That can really dry out the fretboard and cause some damage.

I have a bass string cleaner, and I like it because it works without solution. Better at preventing dirt build up than getting rid of major deposits, but if you use it after each time you play, it does a good job

[hover]

Indeed. I only squirt it on the sammy, so it rarely hits the board, but yes, as it is anhydrous, it could pull moisture.

Occasionally, I "fast fret" the strings to keep them smooth and that provides a bit of a barrier too, both for the string's core and the fretboard.

Ron