I gave the tape-on-a-string-thing a try.
I have removed surprising quantities of ebony shavings( I had a new fingerboard fitted), and a fair bit of somebody's hair. Not mine, as I've only had this bass a few months...
Nice...
I used to clean out the inside of violins with rice. Put some in, shake it around and shake the instrument upside down until it was all out. Can't imagine trying that on a bass.
I once caught hell from a bassist for cleaning out the inside of his bass. The top had to come off and it had accumulated a lot of dirt, maybe even a gum wrapper or two. He told me he wished I hadn't cleaned it because he liked thinking that some of the hairs on the inside might have come from his teacher who had owned the bass before him.
