Should you oil strings?

[Dickie_uk]

Just curious...

I've got some 3 in 1 oil.

[4-string]

Only if you prefer them dead.

[rtslinger]

NO you will kill them. Dunlop ultra glide 65 string cleaner and conditioner works great 10 bucks tops

[pacojas]

is this trick question?

[Dickie_uk]

Originally Posted by pacojas

is this trick question?

No I'm serious honestly!

I take it though that the common opinion is NO!

[stflbn]

The common opinion IS no.

[TinIndian]

Most definately, unequivocally, emphatically, NO. If you are looking for something to ease up on your fingers try some of the fingerease or fretease stuff. Straight up oil will kill your strings in a heartbeat.

[kander]

One trick I've used is to wipe the tips of my fingers along my forehead and nose. Some good ol' fashioned face grease allows my fingers to fly across the strings.

[dalkowski]

Not to mention the unholy mess you'll make of your instrument and everything you touch.

[tylerwylie]

Originally Posted by kander

One trick I've used is to wipe the tips of my fingers along my forehead and nose. Some good ol' fashioned face grease allows my fingers to fly across the strings.

Bahaha I love it.

[4-string]

Originally Posted by kander

One trick I've used is to wipe the tips of my fingers along my forehead and nose. Some good ol' fashioned face grease allows my fingers to fly across the strings.

Threads like this tend to turn out rather badly, one suggestion more gross than the other. Next someone who believes the Jaco myth will suggest chicken grease.

And some people don't understand why many if us prefer buying instruments brand new...

[Phalex]

I do, but I like thud rather than sparkle.

I use WD-40, Hoppes #9, and more frequently GHS Fast Fret. They all clean and lubricate well. (I like the smell of the Hoppes #9 the best)

[Keplaffintech]

I use wd-40, it doesn't seem to dull the strings, its not really an oil though.

[cassius987]

Originally Posted by kander

One trick I've used is to wipe the tips of my fingers along my forehead and nose. Some good ol' fashioned face grease allows my fingers to fly across the strings.

Maybe we should try to synthesize squalene and sell it alongside fast fret polishes.

[pedroims]

Me ? No...You ? sure let me know how it goes

[Roscoe East]

Originally Posted by kander

One trick I've used is to wipe the tips of my fingers along my forehead and nose. Some good ol' fashioned face grease allows my fingers to fly across the strings.

My Dad taught me to lube the ferrules on fishing rods that way! Not sure there's any part of a bass that I'd want to slather that crap on though.

[staindbass]

Originally Posted by 4-string

Next someone who believes the Jaco myth will suggest chicken grease.

i forgot where i heard the story so i dont have any source to name. i worked with a producer who worked with him, and i was lucky to hear some stories, but im not positive that was one of them. the story was he used to do a voodoo ritual before he went onstage with a fried chicken bone he kept in his guitar case. he was really just lubing his fingers with the grease. do you have any proof its not true? if its not true i wont tell the story.

[4-string]

Originally Posted by staindbass

do you have any proof its not true?

Do you have any proof it is?

Anyway, telling the story is fine. Another thing is applying it, AND passing it on as advice to others. That happens, too.

FWIW, I don't believe that story one second. Eating some fried chicken before he went on stage is one thing, but bringing a chicken bone for some voodoo grease? Not even Jaco, disturbed and troubled as he was, would do that.

[groooooove]

the oils on your fingers, skin, and in your sweat, is what ruins strings in the first place.

[Blueszilla]

I can't stand any oils/grease on my hands or strings, I like to use baby powder. I apply a very small amount to my plucking hand index/middle fingers. Works great for me.