How to clean a bass

[arbiterusa]

I know you said rosewood is oily enough but is there a luthier that said this?

Me. I was the finish guy at Santa Cruz Guitars between 1990 and 1995 and finished over three thousand instruments. To be accurate, it’s what the final assembly/setup/warranty/repair guys in the room right next to my paint shop said. And they weren’t wrong. Seen ninety-plus year old rosewood never oiled, perfect condition. Seen ten year old rosewood over-oiled that looked like driftwood. Spilt and frayed.

 

[jd56hawk]

Well, I'm not AL Bundy.

If you change your underwear as often as you change your strings...

Well, I'm not Al Bundy, so...

 

[david osborn]

And now for something completely different.
This instrument has never been cleaned. The control plate and knobs are not original, that's why they look clean.
Anytime I, or anyone else touched this instrument, including Lakland techs that disassembled and measured and examined in great detail everything about this instrument...the owner Joe Osborn was very clear in his instruction and statement " Do Not Clean This Bass!"
It has the funk of thirty years of high density session work on it to this day where it sits in the musicians hall of fame museum, Nashville TN
I asked him once, why don't you clean your bass? He said "I like it the way it is"

 

[Root 5]

Unless you're James Jamerson, in which case you never change your strings or keep the gunk off your fretboard.

The gunk is the funk

 

[vvvmmm]

But please, no gunk in the trunk, thank you.

 

[Panhandle Paul]

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?

Murphy's Oil Soap, made especially for wood, for cleaning. I use a mild solution and wipe off any excess with a damp cloth, then a dry one. Quit using waxes long ago, real lemon oil for dry open pore fretboards ( I usually get real, organic lemon oil from aromatherapy stores, be careful, frugal). I use old, soft tee shirt parts as cleaning rags. Regularly wipe down strings with BD alcohol swabs. Jeweler's cloth for metal parts, ArmorAll for synthetics.

 

[B-Mac]

Cracks me up every time I watch this.
He's probably really proud of himself for doing such a good job too.

 

[Erasmusman]

I heard the guitar scream like a little girl after being rinsed, it must be the right way to clean a bass!