| Wax should be applied once a year or when ever the bass starts to sound different. Wax choice is important. Commercial wax formulations vary wildly. Some are softer, some are harder. Of the pure waxes, Carnauba is the hardest. Bees wax is relatively soft, easy to apply, and easy to buff. A careful application of bees wax can tame the high mids, producing a more "scooped" sound. Pure Carnauba wax imparts more high end to the sound of the instrument. It will can give a piano-like sound. However, it is very difficult to buff out, requiring six inch lambs wool buffs installed on a right angle grinder running at 1750 rpm. Remember to keep the tool moving or you will burn through the wax and the oil finish. This will necessitate touching up the finish and re-waxing. In rare cases it has been known to ignite the volatile aromatic compounds and catch the instrument afire. It is rumored to have been the source of a conflagration in a club at Sidney about fifteen years ago. So keep the buffer moving. If this sounds daunting, take heart because most commercial waxes are blends of Carnauba and other softer waxes. They offer a good compromise, being relatively easy to apply and buff. These waxes, like Minwax tend to be balanced across the audio spectrum. Think of them as neutral sounding. There are a few waxes to avoid. Butcher's Wax is one of them. It can impart a barnyard-like sound to the instrument, although it is the most popular wax in Nashville. Waxes intended for surf boards (Sex Wax is one of the more famous brands) tend to be slippery when wet. Waxes intended for automotive finishes, while offering some of the best shine, sometimes contain sillycones. These waxes seem to impart an odd sound to a bass guitar, reminiscent of a circus band.
As for your laziness, sloth is unproductive. It is much like reading about the sonic properties of wax.
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Primum non nocere.
Last edited by 202dy : 09-28-2011 at 01:15 PM.
Reason: More hyperbole.
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