Double Bass Gut String Maintenance

[Chef]

Sorry if this is newbie sounding stuff, and I did look in the newbie post-its...
Is it recommended to "oil" gut strings, and if so, what do you use? How often? The one guy I know in town that recommended anything said olive oil...? Also, do I need to do this to my metal wrapped e and a guts? Thanks, Alan

 

[moped10]

Hola- newbie shmewbie, you won't get flak from me... there's too much mud slinging on this forum already- As for your question; I use all plain guts- I use olive oil- When the strings start to look less transluscent and are noticably dry, first trim off any "hairs" you might have, then put a bit of oil on a clean rag and swab them down- When I do this (about once every two weeks or so), I do it at night and let it sit all night, then wipe them down again with a dry rag in the morning- I don't have the steel wrapped A and E, but have heard that you should only have to oil them if you notice the steel wrap starting to unravel- Then take them off the bass and soak them overnight in oil- The gut underneath will swell a little bit, making the steel wrap tight again and less prone to unravelling-

 

[AMJBASS]

You might notice with olive oil that it gums up over time. It might be better to use canola oil or walnut oil. You will find that it is mostly the plain gut strings that need to be oiled.

 

[moped10]

You might notice with olive oil that it gums up over time

I have noticed this, that's good to know I can avoid this with a different type oil-
Off topic; I see you (Adrian) use a Roland cube-I've been using one of those, when I have to be amplified- It's a great little amp, huh? I've played through more powerful (and expensive) rigs, but keep coming back to the little orange Roland...-

 

[Chef]

Canola oil=grocery store,
Walnut oil=...???

 

[AMJBASS]

I think Lemon Oil will work the same as Walnut...you can find that almost anywhere.

The Roland Cubes are great little amps! They aren't really hi-fi, but they get the job done and sound good too!