To clean or not to clean......

[Bodeanly]

I wipe the strings after every use. When I change strings, the rest gets a decent once over.

 

[japhy4529]

YEARS?!? Wow!!! Round-wounds get dull sounding to me and I am playing everyday (either practice or playing at church). I am just not a fan of coated strings, so not sure if I could go longer without changing strings. I love the Zingy Fresh Round-Wound sound, like Nev375 said.

Same here. I like me some fresh round-wound strings... I can't stand when they get dull.

When I first purchase a bass, I wipe it down completely as I generally buy used and don't want to deal with OPF (Other People's Funk). After that, I wipe the bass down every time i use it until the "new" wears off, then it's 1-2 times/month or so (depending on how much they get played). I apply lemon oil to the fretboard around every other time I change the strings.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I used to really love that zingy high end, but these days not so much.



As to "YEARS?!?", the more basses you have the less each one gets played. And yes, Some of them have flats.

 

[edencab]

shouldn't you just leave them alone, play and not bother.....basis of the Road worn look.....people pay big $$ to have it done on purpose

 

[PeteBass51]

Depends on how much IPA I slop on it.

 

[Ed Bass]

Wipe down all the time. Micro-fiber towels are awesome. Only takes a couple of seconds, I keep all my guitars clean and shiny. Meguires Detailer and microfiber cloths.

 

[jazz Bass 74]

I'm reminded of the famous quote from "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" about Jamerson's bass. Although Jamerson would occasionally polish the body,he would never touch the gunky buildup on the fingerboard, famously noting, “The dirt keeps the funk.”

 

[Frankjohnson]

Can we add a another choice? I clean my basses when I change the strings, so once a month..

I have three basses that have 9-10 year old string on them......
maybe I should wipe it every other string change?

 

[Neveragain55]

I noticed some of the basses for sale have dull tuners, pickguards and bodies. I wipe my basses down after using them to ward off the effects of sweat (salt) and body oils to the chrome and finishes. I also occasionally wax them.

It may be my mania but I like to see a bass look bright and shiny. I realize that it is a matter of taste and bass hygiene but I wonder how many don't think about cleaning their basses.

I don't wipe any of them down right after, but I do periodically clean all of them all the time.........

For me it's a "pride in ownership" thing, I take care of everything I own, and I keep everything I own clean.....

 

[Kmonk]

I wipe my basses after every use. When I change strings, I clean the fretboard, body, neck and hardware. I also oil the fretboards on my basses which have ebony or rosewood fretboards.

 

[hintz]

I always wipe everything down on my bass after any playing, once a week I do a super thorough cleaning with qtips, doctor ducks axe wax, and polishing the frets!!

I do this because I have very corrosive sweat(and I sweat alot when I gig/rehearse), and being in a tropical climate mold/rust happens double time quick here...

really its for functionality, I've had mold form on my frets, bridge, etc, and never had issues elsewhere!! I too love that zingy roundwound tone, but I compromise and use coated DR Black Beauties as they last longer than any other I've tried, but I still on a weekly basis scrub the hell out of my frets/fretboard and just loosen the strings!!

 

[Facu.DSR]

I'm afraid none of the 3 choices fit in my situation. I have a black bass so I try to clean it often since it gets easily marked with finger prints. However, I do not clean it every single time after I've played it. Usually I wipe it the day before a gig, and then right after I've played at the show to make sure the strings don't get rusty too soon because of the sweat.

 

[covermego]

I usually wipe when I'm finished. I don't think anyone notices.

This.

 

[GIBrat51]

I do a wipe down every time I play and I do a good clean and polish when I change stings.

This, pretty much. Except for a couple of basses and a guitar that stay out all the time, all my instruments get rotated out for a month's playing, which works out to about once a year (which, for the banjo, is more than enough, AFAIC). Any thing that needs doing, gets done then.

 

[No Malarky]

For my main 2 working ones I give them a wipe down after every practice or gig and change strings when I think they need it. As far as my collectable stuff - they never leave home and when I do play some of them they get a quick wipe and back in the case they go.

 

[hertmntpizza97]

My new basses are kept new. My vintage stuff stays vintage (old dirt kept on for that tone)

 

[noahw1]

If it was an unusually sweaty gig I will wipe the bass down when I get home or the next day. Other than that I will only wipe it down every month or so or if the body feels a little grimey. The neck gets a little more attention.

 

[Bassist4]

i wipe the strings and neck after every use and clean the body maybe once a month or every few months depending how much i sweat...

 

[rojo412]

I clean mine as needed. The relic look is not my bag, but I'm not polishing the damn things every time... life's too short.
When they need love, I use old, worn out (but clean) undies as rags. They were good enough for my jewels, so they are good enough for the basses, too.

 

[orange joe]

Wow I am surprised by how many wipe down their bass after every use.I clean the fretboard when I change string if. I feel it needs it other than that my 2 main basses stay pretty clean.I always wash my hands before I play.my basses have gone from the case to my hands and back ever since they were made and they are kept in a smoke free studio.I will clean them if I feel they are dirty but that is rare.