Flatwound lubricant???...

[jchrisk1]

Whatever happened to good old fashioned face grease?

 

[nilorius]

Does it really exist ?

 

[JimmyM]

I wonder if it's different body chemistry or something. I've never experienced this with flats that I can recall - have tried quite a few different sets.

I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

 

[JimmyM]

Whatever happened to good old fashioned face grease?

Yuck! Why people want to make their instruments all skeevy, I will never know.

 

[edro]

On my guitars and basses, when I change strings I grab my mineral oil rag and run it up and down each string a couple of times.... About all the high priced lemon oil is actually cheap mineral oil. 16oz in the constipation section in Wall Mart for under two bucks...more than you'll use in a lifetime...it is food grade so pure... (Don't pull the foil liner off, poke a hole with a toothpick) I put a few drops on a section of handkerchief about the size of a pack of smokes. Wad it up, roll it around to disperse the oil. I do NOT want it wet. I wipe down unfinished wood boards too before I hit the fret space and up against frets with a plastic bristle brush to get the kank off...then paper towel to get all the loose kank.... If a fret space looks wet with one swipe of the cloth, too much mineral oil.... Wiping new strings helps with oxidation and kank buildup....

I have an old metal can Fast Fret when it came out ages back. When the applicator gets dried out, I turn it upside down, dribble a few drops of mineral oil and let it soak in... Just like new after a few minutes.... If you MUST have the high dollar lemon oil, buy a box of Lemonheads candy and pop one in your mouth while using the cheap Equate mineral oil... Same difference... Data sheets don't lie like labels generally do... They all pretty much say mineral oil....

 

[bikeplate]

Roundwound strings

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I have a P with flats (which is extremely unusual and I'm the only bass player on TB that plays one of those). Anyways, I love my Labellas but for some reason, my fingers don't slide on them the way they do on rounds. You would think they would glide effortlessly cuz there's less friction but that is not the case. Skin chemistry? I don't know but I'm putting it out to you guys because I tried doing a search and found nothing. What can I use to lubricate my strings a LITTLE bit without leaving my fingers and fretboard greasy? Thanks in advance!

I bought a pair of the LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass tape-wounds in white a couple of years ago after playing nothing but round wounds since 1985. The problem I had with them was my fingers would slide too easily on them and I would sometimes slide into the next fret. You might try their tape-wounds if those are not the flats you're talking about.

 

[BassLaird]

I put baby oil on left hand, my flatwound strings, and the back of the bass neck for humid day or outdoor shows.

 

[BobDeRosa]

Sean Hurley rubs Vaseline on new flats to accelerate break-in. I assume it might also lubricate.

 

[Corbin]

I use Chapstick between songs. Always in my pocket.

 

[Mike Carr]

Nose grease works for me.

 

[RedJag]

Chromes aren't grabby for you? Man, that first week or two with Chromes is like hell week for grabbiness for me until whatever leftover gunk from the manufacturing process wears off!

Claymore, I don't get that grabbiness with LaBellas, but Zero's point about more surface area with flats makes them all feel more grabby to me than rounds. Not much of an expert on lubricants since I hate them, though I have heard that they're all just mineral oil.

I recall trying chromes and they were grabby at first too. No such issue with the set of Fender 9050l's I just put on.

 

[Iofflight]

My la Bella’s we’re kind of grabby for me too oddly the TI flats are not. I have the La Bellas on one bass and swapped out the rest for TI.

 

[pbassjbass]

I've always just buffed new strings with a towel or tee shirt. If their particularly bad, I'll use some guitar polish on the the cloth and wipe them down.

 

[wraub]

...I will count myself lucky that this isn't a problem for me, and, also, remind myself to only play other people's basses while wearing gloves.

 

[Claymore]

I bought a pair of the LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass tape-wounds in white a couple of years ago after playing nothing but round wounds since 1985. The problem I had with them was my fingers would slide too easily on them and I would sometimes slide into the next fret. You might try their tape-wounds if those are not the flats you're talking about.

I really wanted to try tapewounds but I heard some people saying that it introduced noise (because the strings weren't grounded on account of the layer of tape). Maybe I should give them a shot, though. I have Labella DTB black tapes on my acoustic already and really like the way they feel.

 

[bassbrad]

Pig Feet Grease is what Jamerson used, I hear.

 

[sxaxsx]

I've noticed some grabbiness with Chromes, but I use Fender 9050 flats now and they don't feel grabby to me. Even the Chromes are only grabby for a couple hours of playing and then that goes away for me. One gig/rehearsal and it's gone.

 

[ThinCrappyTone]

I have a P with flats You would think they would glide effortlessly cuz there's less friction but that is not the case. Skin chemistry? I don't know but I'm putting it out What can I use to lubricate a LITTLE bit without leaving my fingers and fretboard greasy?

I don’t know what all this means, but it makes me very uncomfortable.

 

[Claymore]

I don’t know what all this means, but it makes me very uncomfortable.

BTW- You have my favorite handle on TB... by a landslide. I need to thin out my tone and make it crappier as tribute.