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Hollowbody smells... Help!

YCBass

YCBass

Aug 29, 2007
2,837
448
SoCal
#1
Hi,
Anyone know a safe way to remove the smell from inside a hollowbody bass? I bought a 2nd Ibanez Artcore and there is a musty wood smell inside the F-holes (I know, I'm laughing as I type this)... How can I get rid of it without affecting the wood inside in a negative fashion? My other bass smells like nothing - I want that to happen!

Thanks!
 
#5
Water will add moisture to the wood and increase the mildew issue. Acetic acid is not strong enough to handle this issue.

The desiccants will rob the wood of moisture, complicating the problem.

There is no way to actually kill mold. IPBC will make the environment inhospitable and CH-T will prevent reproduction. A benzene base group is needed to control odor.

Are you sure that the aroma is from mildew and not the formaldehyde of the ply?
 
#7
Baking soda will absorb oder. It is pretty harmless, but how to get it in the bass... and get it back out again... that is an engineering problem I can't wrap my head around this morning. Maybe a porous bag with pores smaller than the diameter of a grain of baking soda? Good luck.:hmm:
 
#8
I'd try camphor. Get the edible type from your friendly local Indian/Pakistan/Oriental market.

I don't think it would kill the mold. I've seen camphor-bearing wood go moldy.

But, then it winds up smelling of camphor?

To just get rid of the smell, I'd suggest ozone. Borrow an ozone machine from a friend or make one. Blow ozone into the holes.

~
 
#11
Maybe try a few drops of tea tree or eucalyptus oil somewhere inside? You'd have to be careful not to let it get anywhere it could soak through wood and destroy the finish, but it seems to be pretty good at killing nasty scents...
 
#12
Thanks for the suggestions everyone... Now where to start.

I've left the bass in the case with the lid open and it's helping... It's not one that I need to play all the wait so I can afford to wait it out. Fortunately the smell is only there when you actually put your face close to the holes, otherwise you wouldn't notice it in playing position... Well, maybe sometimes.

I don't think it's mold, I don't see any discoloration or anything weird looking in there, from as far as I can see anyway. And yes Mr. Tom Clement, mold in SoCal doesn't make sense to me either.
 
#17
Vinegar will definitely get rid of the odor, even moreso than baking soda, but the problem sounds like mold. Is there a way for you to access the inside surface? Just getting rid of the odor without getting rid of what appears to be mold might be akin to putting a band-aid on cancer...
 
#19
Hi, mikeyswood- My mistake- I didn't mean to imply that vinegar should be used on the bass itself, only that vinegar will remove the odor. I use a cup of vinegar in the area where I keep my trash cans and it erases, or at least reduces significantly, all offensive odors. Cleaning the surface will require some research, I suspect.
 

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