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String Lube: Good Idea, or Bad Idea?
- Thread starter BassDaddy77
- Start date
Same here.
I’ve been using Dr Ducks for years.
Keeps the neck and fingerboard looking and feeling great, and I love the feel of the strings when I put it on.
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I only play with flat wounds. When they are not doing their thing, I go to KFC...yah, I know, I am old school and proud of it!
Are people really saying they use, and that others should consider using, the body fluids of a dead animal on their strings???
Remind me never to touch your bass.
...there is little difference between dead or alive animals, purists (or vegetarians) could use vegetable oil! 
Are people really saying they use, and that others should consider using, the body fluids of a dead animal on their strings???
Remind me never to touch your bass.
please explain to me what "dead animal" butter comes from
I don't want to get into this particularly in this thread, but of course the mother cow isn't dead (I forgot the butter quote was there). It's the offspring required to enable her to lactate that don't fair too well.....
Either way, it's still gross as butter will go rancid
That IS its purpose.
And how can you go for 40 years knowing about a potential solution to a problem you have without risking the $10 to see if it will actually solve your problem?
Fast Fret tins, with some added cushioning, make excellent containers for pinky slides. The inevitable corrosion on the tin amplifies the mojo. And, when you're using a bottleneck, who needs fast fret
Cool groove!
How about Snake Oil? Anybody ever try that for string lube? I suppose it's not vegetarian either, but it might work in a pinch.
Are people really saying they use, and that others should consider using, the body fluids of a dead animal on their strings???
Remind me never to touch your bass.
But guts are so much fun! (SEE DB FORUM)
The problem isn't what to use on your strings, the problem is you haven't played that thing. Shame on you! - Unless you just bought the thing from someone who neglected it, and you're gonna play it, in which case, never mind....
I've been gigging for over 30yrs and my taste in my #1 has changed many times. I played them all and I kept them all. On occasion I like to revisit my past without a string change. Shame on me.
We approach things differently (my basses from my early gigging 45 years ago have been donated) but that’s OK - not everyone has to do things the same way. I hope you took my reply as good natured ribbing.
I'm late to the party. Sorry. I didn't read all 6 pages of the responses and barely got through one. But here's my take...
The question was posed, "Do string lubricants leave gunk in the strings"? My throughts? IT DEPENDS. Read on.
The one thing that gunks up strings that are NOT lubricated is DEAD SKIN as well as oils. Dead skin peels of due to friction, right? So, wouldn't it be logical that lubricant reduces the amount of dead skin that lodges in the windings of the strings?
Also, the question must be asked if the way you apply lubricant makes any difference to the accumulation of lubricant? IN MY CASE, I use Finger-Ease which comes in a spray can, BUT I DON'T SPRAY IT ON. I use the applicator from a spent XLR8 lubricant which provided a lot of sponge, but very little lube. I spray/inject the XLR8 sponge with Finger-Ease and then wipe it onto the strings.
I also find that using Finger-Ease reduces inadvertant string noise that is almost unavoidable.
But all that being said, I have found that an ultra-sonic cleaner can get all that gunk out of the strings easily and refresh them quite well.
That's all I got (yeah, right :0 ).
The question was posed, "Do string lubricants leave gunk in the strings"? My throughts? IT DEPENDS. Read on.
The one thing that gunks up strings that are NOT lubricated is DEAD SKIN as well as oils. Dead skin peels of due to friction, right? So, wouldn't it be logical that lubricant reduces the amount of dead skin that lodges in the windings of the strings?
Also, the question must be asked if the way you apply lubricant makes any difference to the accumulation of lubricant? IN MY CASE, I use Finger-Ease which comes in a spray can, BUT I DON'T SPRAY IT ON. I use the applicator from a spent XLR8 lubricant which provided a lot of sponge, but very little lube. I spray/inject the XLR8 sponge with Finger-Ease and then wipe it onto the strings.
I also find that using Finger-Ease reduces inadvertant string noise that is almost unavoidable.
But all that being said, I have found that an ultra-sonic cleaner can get all that gunk out of the strings easily and refresh them quite well.
That's all I got (yeah, right :0 ).
Oh boy, wait until you find out what leather jackets are made ofAre people really saying they use, and that others should consider using, the body fluids of a dead animal on their strings???
Remind me never to touch your bass.
Easy. I've only been back on bass for 2 years, after a 38 year hiatus on lead guitar. Before that, when I was on bass, I played with a pick.
