How to clean a bass

[TemplesOfSyrinx]

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For God's sake wash your bass, it stinks like fish...

 

[No Malarky]

I always wipe my down with a clean, dry cotton cloth after use. That is about it.

They live in their cases.

 

[selowitch]

I rarely change strings since they seldom break and I don’t find I need that “new-string-zing” all that badly. I might change the strings on a bass I use frequently perhaps every 3–4 years, if that. For a bass I don’t play much it’s even less often.

 

[micguy]

I clean my basses about as often as I clean my cats

Do you use the same method your cats do?

 

[Nickweissmusic]

I realized that I barely ever clean my basses. I dust them once every couple weeks, but that's about it.
I used to have a cleaning kit in the form of a sponge that you rubbed against the strings and the neck. It had some alcohol to dissolve patina and then a wax. It did give back some "zing" to my bass, but I also felt that it built wax on the strings. I ran out and can't say I miss it.

Are there cleaning habits that you'd recommend to keep an instrument in top shape?

I keep things simple with 3 total products for any and all finish maintenance. GHS Guitar Gloss cleans and protects any shiny part; metal, paint, or plastic. Unsealed wood gets linseed oil when needed, which isn’t often if you use linseed oil. Satin finishes and quick clean/shine either get my breath, or Martin guitar polish. In all cases I use Costco microfiber cloths or old cotton T shirts, and have 0000 steel wool around for unsealed fretboards.

 

[Pings Bass]

Do you use the same method your cats do?

YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT

 

[RumbleBot]

I had to go for the nuclear option on one of my basses last year. There was an embarrassing amount of build up on the fret board. So much that I had to use EasyOff oven cleaner to get it all off. Probably not advisable and I did it as quick as possible.
I sprayed on the oven cleaner and let it sit only one minute. Wiped everything off with paper towels. Then did a very thorough wiping with a lightly damp wash cloth. After everything was dried, I rubbed in mineral oil.
It did the trick and the fretboard still looks and feels amazing, but I felt nauseous the whole time I was dealing with the oven cleaner.

 

[jdabass]

I think he used steel wool. That's bad for the pickups.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I had to go for the nuclear option on one of my basses last year. There was an embarrassing amount of build up on the fret board. So much that I had to use EasyOff oven cleaner to get it all off. Probably not advisable and I did it as quick as possible.
I sprayed on the oven cleaner and let it sit only one minute. Wiped everything off with paper towels. Then did a very thorough wiping with a lightly damp wash cloth. After everything was dried, I rubbed in mineral oil.
It did the trick and the fretboard still looks and feels amazing, but I felt nauseous the whole time I was dealing with the oven cleaner.

 

[vvvmmm]

So much that I had to use EasyOff oven cleaner to get it all off.

Were you baked?

And was it a roasted neck?

 

[BassFalcon]

I had to go for the nuclear option on one of my basses last year. There was an embarrassing amount of build up on the fret board. So much that I had to use EasyOff oven cleaner to get it all off. Probably not advisable and I did it as quick as possible.
I sprayed on the oven cleaner and let it sit only one minute. Wiped everything off with paper towels. Then did a very thorough wiping with a lightly damp wash cloth. After everything was dried, I rubbed in mineral oil.
It did the trick and the fretboard still looks and feels amazing, but I felt nauseous the whole time I was dealing with the oven cleaner.

Bro, spare yourself the harsh chemicals and use an old credit card to scrape it off next time. They even flex to match the radius. If for some reason that won’t work, careful scraping with a razor blade will do it. Your thumbnail should do an excellent job too. Finger funk is just a mix of dirt, dust, skin oils, skin, and sweat. It’s usually kind of gummy and pasty, it doesn’t solidify that hard, scraping it off will work.

 

[MisterUbu]

a microfiber cloth works 99% of the time, especially since whatever bass I have on a stand tends to get a bit dusty. If it's real grimy I use lighter fluid, but washing your hands before playing usually keeps things clean

 

[Tom Bomb]

The cat who made one of mine, nitro and rosewood electric solid body, told me that, if I must, I could use lemon oil. He promptly gave me a good splash to take home — lasted for aeons. Turns out, bless his cotton socks, that's the trick (unless the monster's really grimy — then it's Battle Stations! ).

Just remember to polish off all the residue. And, reinforcing the wisdom of the thread, once you've got the monster back to a standard you can live with, just keep it clean
​

 

[AboutSweetSue]

I usually just spit on my bass and tell it to shut up when it’s a little dirty. If it gets real filthy I take the hose to it.

 

[MF-Winzlow]

^^^^
What else can you be expected to do?

I wipe...sometimes...

I'll show myself to the door...

 

[arepa_funk]

For folks who use flatwounds, do you keep them on when applying fretboard oil? If yes, I assume the oil doest affect the strings? I've been using a 100% cotton cloth for strings and body and that's been fine so far, but the fretboard is starting to look a little thirsty. Thanks!

 

[Matty Koff]

I’m a big fan of Music Nomad products as well. I started using them when I had a matte finish instrument I wanted glossy and one of their polishes has a mild abrasive, similar to a car wax others are recommending. It did a great job and smelled nice. Now their products are all I use. They work and they smell nice. I’m sure some criticize them as over-priced and ineffective, but I like them and find them to do what they say, and well.

When you can buy the Dunlop 65 kit with 5 total 4oz bottles that each do specific things for $22.49, yeah, music nomad's stuff is pretty over priced.

I had one of those dunlop kits. They're great. If you want to maintain a matte/satin finish I never tried and wouldn't using it but That $22 kit lasted me for years. I ended up losing most of the bottles before I ever came close to running out of it

Part of my reasoning for going with the Music Nomad stuff was even though a 12oz bottle of the gloss finish cleaner was $24 it claims to be a 3 in 1. The F-one fretboard solution claims to be a cleaner + conditioner + oil. One rag for the fretboard and one rag for the body.

I'm honestly hoping their detailer does a nice job of maintaining the satin finish of the one instrument I own that has one on the body.. frankly up til now I've always just used a lightly damp cloth followed by a dry cloth.

Let's face it, though I own 5 total instruments between my guitars and basses, this stuff will probably last me many years and I'll forget about how much I paid for it. I felt pretty satisfied with how it cleaned up my newest guitar that I just put some Super Slinkies on. Took me less effort than the ol' dunlop kit would've if I knew where every bottle was, although that kit was perfectly fine and would last a long time too.

 

[OregonJim]

For folks who use flatwounds, do you keep them on when applying fretboard oil? If yes, I assume the oil doest affect the strings? I've been using a 100% cotton cloth for strings and body and that's been fine so far, but the fretboard is starting to look a little thirsty. Thanks!

On guitars, I usually take advantage of string change time to apply lemon oil if the fretboard needs it. However, my basses get far, far less frequent string changes. So, I just loosen the strings to get them out of the way if the fretboard needs oiling. We're talking maybe once every year or two. Flats or rounds doesn't matter.

 

[arepa_funk]

On guitars, I usually take advantage of string change time to apply lemon oil if the fretboard needs it. However, my basses get far, far less frequent string changes. So, I just loosen the strings to get them out of the way if the fretboard needs oiling. We're talking maybe once every year or two. Flats or rounds doesn't matter.

Thanks! Hadn't considered just loosening the strings before. Makes sense.

 

[backin82]

I use a clean paintbrush to dust my basses when/if they ever look dusty.

I also clean the fretboard about every other string changing (every 2-3 years?). I don't need my bass to *look* super clean, but I don't like the feel of grime, so I try to keep that knocked down regularly.
1. Remove strings
2. Tape over all exposed wood and magnets
3. Steel wool the frets until they are shiny
4. Remove tape and use swab to cover fretboard with light coat of lemon oil
5. Clean other hardware if it's dirty. Sometimes I'll take off the bridge and clean around all the parts with toothbrushes, etc...
6. Wipe down with cotton rag
7. Put on new strings
8. Profit