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Location: Madison, WI | I like my strings fresh. I think they sound best immediately after they are put on the guitar, and gradually decline from there. I was one of the first people to be sent a proto-type of the Elixir strings when they first came out (I was in high school at the time) and have been using them ever since, BIG improvement. In any case, even with the Elixirs, I have always changed my strings with great frequency.
Recently I came to the revelation that if you wash your hands IMMEDIATELY before playing EVERY time, and if you wipe down your strings with a dry flannel IMMEDIATELY after playing EVERY time, this extends string life greatly. The problem is, one may not always have that opportunity. I play ina lot of gospel groups, churches, and even secular bands I've played with have always held hands and prayed in a circle immediately before taking the stage. Even if I washed my hands right before show/service time, suddenly I've acquired someone else's sweat and oils. Or I may have to run offstage to grab a dirty wire for someone else, etc. My point is that having clean, dry hands immediately before playing is not always possible.
Someone suggested the anti-bactieral hand sanitizer. You know, the stuff you rub on your hands like liquid soap, but dont wash off-- as you rub your hands it evaporates and/or dries. Many establishments have taken to putting this stuff in bathrooms instead of hand soap. In any case, I thought, great idea! I can buy a bottle, keep it in my case or gig bag, have it on stage with me and use it every time I touch the guitar. I can have a bottle home, keep it with me, so every time I want to pick up the guitar while watching TV, etc, I wont have to get up and wash my hands. By jove, that's brilliant!
So, I mosey on down to the nearest grocery store on my way to church, and pick up a store brand bottle for $1.50 (active ingrediant is the same, and I dont care how it smells, so let's get the cheap stuff). I read the bottle and "may be harmful to wood finishes, fabrics, and some plastics." WELL, I says!
So my question is: is it likely that it will damage the finish on the guitar, or the coating on the strings? I dont want to marr or damage my guitar (it looks gorgeous), nor do I want to defeat the purpose of the cleaning in the first place!
In conclusion, Ovations rock. |
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Location: NJ | That stuff's predominantly alcohol, so I'd just wait until it evaporates from your skin before handling the guitar. . .
Personally, my hands don't feel "clean" enough to play when I use that stuff. Germ-free??
. . . m-m-m-m-maybe, but I'm not afraid of giving my guitar a cold, I wanna handle it with "clean" hands.
I always bring a couple of clean, white hand towels in my gig bag. After I'm done setting up, I'll hit the men's room, scrub & thoroughly dry my hands before I handle the strings to tune/play. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | While that hand cleaner will kill 98% of the germs it will leave behind a residue of dead germs, debris and skin. These are the very things that the remaining 2% of resilient germs like to feed on.
The hand sanitizer should be a secondary alternative to washing with soap and water. |
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Location: Scotland | It's highly unlikely that any detergent inteneded for humans will have any affect on a polyester guitar finish or a string coating
The two main causes of string deterioration are body chemistry and metal fatigue. The latter comes from playing; the more you play and the harder you play, the faster the tone will die. Clean hands or not, in almost 30 years of gigging I've yet to find anything to effectively combat acidic sweat. Coated strings work up to a point, but I personally don't care for their tone. My solution is to buy my strings wholesale and change them every gig. If I had time I'd change them between sets. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Before I gig...
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| Devo. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I really expected to see something from Jeff more along the lines of bodily functions.
I have tried one hand cleaner that left a residue on the neck (of the guitar, Jeff). It didn't hurt it, but it took awhile to wipe off. I went back to soap and water. |
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Location: south east Michigan | In this case I guess I'm blessed to have dry skin. My hands don't sweat. I used to dred letting someone borrow my baseball glove. It would always come back soaked. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
I really expected to see something from Jeff more along the lines of bodily functions You can't tell from the picture, Mark, but the suit comes with a catheter and a bag you strap to your leg. |
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Location: Cicero, NY | Originally posted by Jeff W.:
Before I gig...
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Location: Midland, MI | I work in a hospital and the only place we have hand sanitizer is in little bottles that Employee Health handed out so people wouldn't infect other people's phones (which makes little or no sense to me) on some people's desks.
Perhaps there's a reason that surgeons use soap and water when they scrub. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Jeff, have you tried to use that catheter for a string tube, yet? |
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Location: NJ | He did.
Then he cut it up and sent the pieces to HalJordan . . . |
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| Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
I have tried one hand cleaner Now that is truly Zen. Is it easier or more difficult than one hand clapping? |
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Location: Madison, WI | And it may have been easier to wipe off with both hands.
To be clear, I wasnt suggesting the hand sanitizer in place of washing one's hands before playing. I was hoping for an option to be able to remove sweat and oil from my hands between the last chance I ha e to wash them, and when I pick up the guitar. Something I can keep on stage with me. My primary question was whether or not it would damage my strings or my guitar . . . the general consensus seems to be "no".
Here's a website that seems to think it's a good idea:
http://www.ringmusic.com/tips/stringcare.html |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | I prefer the resonance I get from dirt. :)
When I was a kid my perspiration (girls don't sweat) was so acidic it would eat strings and break in a week.
Maybe it's being older, or the improved eating habits over the years....or I just don't rock out much like TGODs, but it's no longer an issue.
Leo Kottke likes dirty old strings. Nuff said? |
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Location: San Bernardino, California | Try some damp paper towels in a plastic bag. |
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Location: Madison, WI | Originally posted by BruDeV:
Try some damp paper towels in a plastic bag. I'm not sure if this is a serious suggestion or not . . . but someone else had suggested "wet wipes" in a small resealable container. The main problem with both of these is that, once you've wiped your hands, what do you do with them? Assuming you're on stage, wearing nice clothes, etc. I suppose I could keep a small trash bag behind the amp . . . not crazy about it but it's another good idea.
Anyhow, I tried the sanitizer. It didnt seem to damage anything, and did get clean the oil off my hands, but, and this could have been my imagination, it seemed to make me sweat MORE. ?
Regardless, whoever said that there is no substitution for washing your hands . . . I agreed with them then, but I second it now. |
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Location: San Bernardino, California | Usually I have a couple of damp ones and a couple of dry ones in a plastic tray that has compartments. I also put picks, capos and such in some of the compartments. Being lazy, I mostly put it on top of one of the amps. |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by BruDeV:
Try some damp paper towels in a plastic bag. Tried it. All I got were crumpled up plastic bags with wet paper towels in them. My hands still weren't clean. |
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| At my gigs between numbers my lovely assistant Darlene Yamamoto, wearing only a waspie and fishnet stockings, carries on to the stage a bowl of mineral water, warmed to body temperature and infused with rose petals, and gently washes and dries my hands. While this is happening my other lovely assistant, Shania Twicenitely, wipes down the neck of my guitar with cashmere and chamois leather.
I find this works much better than anything else that has been suggested here. |
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Location: closely held secret | You forgot to mention your wife gently wiping down the back of your head with a roughly hewn 2x4. |
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Location: Cicero, NY | ...also twicenightly... |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Which would sound better on the back of Schroeder's head--a 2x4 thwaakk or the ping of an aluminum baseball bat? |
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Location: Upper Left USA | The simple "crack-ooze" of a duck egg should prove satisfying enough! Eh? |
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| Can't get aluminum baseball bats over here and she wouldn't risk splinters off the rough hewn 2x4.
No, she'd LOOK at me. Know what I mean? REALLY LOOK at me.
My blood runs cold just thinkin' about it. :eek: |
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Location: Southern California | No, she'd LOOK at me. Know what I mean? REALLY LOOK at me.
My blood runs cold just thinkin' about it.
:eek: Hence the expression, "if looks could kill..." (failing that, how 'bout an aluminum cricket bat?) |
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Location: Cicero, NY | Originally posted by schroeder:
No, she'd LOOK at me. Know what I mean? REALLY LOOK at me.
My blood runs cold just thinkin' about it. :eek: Wow - she's good. I felt that HERE! |
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Location: Madison, WI | Originally posted by Weaser P:
Originally posted by schroeder:
No, she'd LOOK at me. Know what I mean? REALLY LOOK at me.
My blood runs cold just thinkin' about it. :eek: Wow - she's good. I felt that HERE!
Wait, no I dont.
Although if I follow the earlier suggestion with the camois leather and such I'll have one of those. This is really getting complicated. I should have picked an easier instrument. |
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Location: Spain | I think youll find aluminium cricket bats were outlawed after a very short time . They did to much damage to the balls !!!! |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I found that not washing my hands after eating a greasy hamburger, or better yet, an orange, has more effect on string life than sweat.
Yes, I have been paid in hamburgers. |
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Location: Mexico City | I have a big problem when it comes to playing the guitar (and actually when shaking hands with other people): my hands sweat like hell! Do you recommend anything else besides washing them every time before playing for extra care?
In the other "hand", I don´t think you can´t keep your guitar from getting some dirt while playing. It´s like trying to keep a new car safe from scratches and dirt (or an ipod...). But I agree with taking at least a few precautions for giving a longer life to your guitar and strings.
Thanks!
Luis
Mexico City |
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Location: Madison, WI | Wash your hands as much as possible before you play (and if you get any breaks while playing), and wipe down your strings with a soft cloth (I use flannel) as soon as you put the guitar down.
The jury is still out on the hand sanitizer. You can try it too, if you like! Doesnt appear to do any damage. |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | I've found that eating spare-ribs and guitar playing just doesn't work.............for what it's worth.
KFC is pretty much a no-go too. |
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Location: Norman, OK | Odd how this thread digressed from Schroeder's beatific description of how it's done in Kent England, to greasy burgers and chicken (via baseball and cricket bats).....
I love this board, :D
Mike O |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I'm sure there is plenty of material here to write some psychology book. |
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Location: NJ | Why?? . . . did someone mention their Mother?? |
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Location: closely held secret | Now, why would you think that?
Clifford, do you have some unresolved issues with your mother? |
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Location: NJ | No, but it's the Freudian Way . . . |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | .....To say one thing when you mean yourmother.
I mean, another.
...................................
On topic, for a moment. (sorry) :p
I think the overuse and uneccessary use of ani-bacterial products have contributed to the growth of superbugs in our/your health system.
Better to just clean your hands with soap and water than over-use germicidals. Use it when it's needed. |
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| Originally posted by fillhixx:
Better to just clean your hands with soap and water than over-use germicidals. Use it when it's needed. Very sensible. You can tell this guy comes from somewhere with British in the title.
BTW - I've got several friends who've spent time in BC and Vancouver and they all think it is pretty close to heaven on earth. I tried to drive over to check it out once, but I got water in the carburettor. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by schroeder:
I tried to drive over to check it out once, but I got water in the carburettor. British cars don't run even without water in the carburettor.... |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Mostly they just don't even run. |
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Anti-Bacterial Hand Sanitizer