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Double Bass The Inside Of My Bass STINKS

B

BassAxe

Jul 22, 2002
377
1
56
Culpeper, VA
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#1
Actually, I think it smells just fine, but my wife is a mom for the third time. Women often become sensitive to smells during and long-after pregnancy.

She can't stand the smell of the wood, varnish, glue or some combination. I tried taking it down to the basement to practice, but she doesn't like the kids going down there. I can't supervise them down there when I am practicing. She resents that she then has to watch the kids all by herself and I'm am going off on a personal tangent here...

Anyway, has anyone tried to de-scent a bass or mask its smell?

I have been considering all kinds of ideas, but I'm hoping someone has had successful experience with this before I actually try something.

Thanks.
 
#2
BassAxe said:
Actually, I think it smells just fine, but my wife is a mom for the third time. Women often become sensitive to smells during and long-after pregnancy.

She can't stand the smell of the wood, varnish, glue or some combination. I tried taking it down to the basement to practice, but she doesn't like the kids going down there. I can't supervise them down there when I am practicing. She resents that she then has to watch the kids all by herself and I'm am going off on a personal tangent here...

Anyway, has anyone tried to de-scent a bass or mask its smell?

I have been considering all kinds of ideas, but I'm hoping someone has had successful experience with this before I actually try something.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Clothespin over the wife's nose? :D
 
#4
I agree with Ken Smith - more information is required.

That being said, however, from what you've told us, it sounds a lot more like an issue having more to do with your wife's frustration than the fragrance of your bass. When my late wife used to launch on such issues, it was my clue to sit down face-to-face and try to bring the underlying/unspoken issues to the surface; the issue under discussion was usually little more than a symptom - the tip of the iceberg.

Sorry to play amateur psychologist uninvited. Good luck!
 
#8
Thanks for the feedback, so far.

1. Sorry about rambling on about personal stuff. Yeah, I was venting a little. Some of my favorite colognes, incense, shampoos, etc. make her sick, now.
2. I haven't updated my profile in a long time.
3. It's a second-hand new bass. The previous owner never got the hang of playing upright and sold it. It's my first upright. It's cheap and I'd rather learn from accidents with this one than something more respectable and expensive. It suits my needs just fine, for now. I'd post a link to pictures but I doubt you'd be able to scratch and sniff the image on your monitor, so what's the use? :hmm:
4. We have searched from Wal-Mart to eBay and can't find a clothespin which looks right on my wife. Some people can't wear yellow. Some don't look right in a thong. My wife just doesn't have the look to make a fashion statement with clothespins on her nose.
5. I agree with her that the smell from the bass is rather strong. It's a chemical-ish varnish and glue smell.

So currently my plan is to get a large quantity of baking soda. I think I saw a gallon-sized bag for $10 at Costco. I'll pour that in, shake the bass all about, maybe seal the F-holes with tape, let it sit for a day or two, then maybe reposition it so the baking soda lays up against a different area of the interior. Getting the baking soda back out will be messy, but I don't think the sound of the bass will be affected by residual baking soda.

If anyone has a better idea or knows that baking soda is not a good thing to put inside of an upright, please let me know.
 
#9
The pong, if its a chemical pong, is probably coming from the varnish. Baking soda won't fix that. I wouldn't put baking soda in the bass. Maybe it wouldn't do any harm but I don't know what it would do in the long term to the wood or the glue.

Work out if the smell is coming from the inside or the outside. Maybe you could try sponging the varnish with a little warm water and dishwashing liquid to remove any polish residue that may have been put there by previous owner. Doesn't sound like the finish will be the sort of finish that wouldn't take kindly to being sponged. Maybe a bag of activated charcoal inside the bass on a string ...
 
#10
If you bass has a sprayed finish, it could be outgassing.
I don't think traditional varnishes have a bad odor.
Some mass produced basses have synthetic spray on coatings
that could smell of the thinner or the polymer itself.
Storing it inside a a bass bag could be effective, if she smells it
when you are not playing. Maybe even a couple black garbage
bags or a bag from the dry cleaner would help. You could throw
a could charcoal briquets inside to help vacuum up the odors.

Leaving it somewhere warm in this configuration would speed
up the outgassing process. If you are lucky, the outgassing
will decrease over time.

If it is a spray on finish, you might be able to rub it down with
a mild solvent without hurting the finish. But you would risk
damage with a real varnish, it disolves in alchohols, etc.
You could try a commerical polish cleaner, but it might smell too.

Good luck.
 
#11
Maaaven said:
If you bass has a sprayed finish, it could be outgassing.
I don't think traditional varnishes have a bad odor.
Some mass produced basses have synthetic spray on coatings
that could smell of the thinner or the polymer itself.
Storing it inside a a bass bag could be effective, if she smells it
when you are not playing. Maybe even a couple black garbage
bags or a bag from the dry cleaner would help. You could throw
a could charcoal briquets inside to help vacuum up the odors.

Leaving it somewhere warm in this configuration would speed
up the outgassing process. If you are lucky, the outgassing
will decrease over time. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Bass farts? :) An interesting cover, "Really honey, it was the bass!" Yeah, like that'll work.
 
#12
I've had my Shen for eight years, and when I open my bass bag it still smells like "bass". Mostly varnish, with a little wood smell plus a little funk from the bag that's been repeatedly soaked and filthy... I really don't think there's much you can do about it, it's just a part of the instrument.
 
#13
Here, I believe, is the answer to my concerns. This comes to us courtesy of Christian "Natureman" Heins.

"You and your sensitive wife are victims of Outsourcing. You are lucky she is so sensitive for she is your canary in the coal mine. Practicing in the closed-up basement with your new Chinese doghouse may be bad for your health until you can de-gas the instrument.
Remember why these things are being made new in the orient: One reason is no environmental controls to protect the workers. Solvents, adhesives and finishing chemicals used there are not even available in the U. S. A. because of their toxicity. Since the basses are made fast and are new, all of the outgassing of these chemicals takes place in your home with you, your canary and your children the beneficiaries (victims).
To speed-up the process and make your practice sessions safer, I recommend storing your bass in a well ventilated room. Directing a box fan at the F-holes on slow speed should speed up the degassing process but you must ventilate to the outdoors to rid the air of the aresols.
The process may take a few weeks or more before you notice any significant change. Remember an older bass has had many years to vent. Be patient, it will work."

Thanks, Natureman.
 
#14
BassAxe said:
So currently my plan is to get a large quantity of baking soda. I think I saw a gallon-sized bag for $10 at Costco. I'll pour that in, shake the bass all about, maybe seal the F-holes with tape, let it sit for a day or two, then maybe reposition it so the baking soda lays up against a different area of the interior. Getting the baking soda back out will be messy, but I don't think the sound of the bass will be affected by residual baking soda.
Click to expand...

Wow, good luck reselling that bass when the time comes to upgrade to a better instrument...

-MP
 
#17
I wish my bass smells like wood and varnish! I got mine from upton a month or two ago and the thing smells like fish. Those guys must've been eating a tuna dinner before working on my bass cuz I tried cleaning the strings and fingerboard (where it smells) with cleaner and it still smells all funky...:confused:
 

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