General Music Chat

i think it depends on what you're using the string ease for.....some use it because it's supposed to reduce finger squeak. never got into it myself.

as for cleaning...i'm of the WD 40 camp. and been doing it for a good 20 yrs or so w no adverse effects. i spray a little bit on a terry cloth washcloth and run it individually down ea string. tastes great AND less filling!

i've also recently started using CAIG DeoxIT D5 the same way and i LOVE the way it leaves the strings feeling.

as far as not using products w petroleum and silicone on instr....my understanding is that's a precaution against any possible future repairs as that might not play well w glues. (that may or may not be right)

i've always been lucky about not producing the chemicals that are hard on strings.

Just be careful what you use if you have a nitrocellulose finish on your guitar. (Gibsons - except the cheaper LP models, Martins and higher-end Fenders).

Used to use it. Fingers would get sweaty and I'd seem to slow down. Found a brand of starter fluid that cost 1/10th as much as used that for a while.

Ultimately, I just learned to deal with it. Baby powder is another alternative but a little messier.

cheers
Talbot

I used Fast Fret a few times about 20 years ago, wasn't crazy about it and stopped using it. NO particular reason, just wasn't crazy about the fell of the stuff and it seems it made it more difficult to bend notes, strings slipping out from under my fingers.

Haven't used anything since then, I just use a damp cloth to clean guitars with. After a gig I keep a piece of an old worn out t shirt in each guitar case that I wipe the strings with, about once a year I'll clean each one up with a damp cloth. Around bridges I use a camera brush and Q tips, those get all the built up grunge out of the small places.

Other than that, just a little contact cleaner when knobs get noisy is it. In summer if I sweat on the guitars, I'll wipe each one down before it goes back in the case. My hands don't sweat, but my forearm leaves the top of the guitar literally dripping in hot weather.

A drop of 3 in 1 oil in the tuner posts once a year or so, graphite from a #2 pencil in the nut slots to help keep it from going out of tune so bad when I use the whammy bar.

Also if you have a guitar with a finish on the back of the neck that makes it seem sticky, or your hand won't slide up the neck well, go over it lightly with some 0000 steel wool. Doesn't take much, I've only had to do one of mine, worked great after that.

Probably the reason the formula was changed from oil-based to lithium-based is that oil is know to slowly dissolve some plastics.
I found this out the hard way, when I used WD-40 spray on something.
A few hours after I'd wiped it off, the finish was all pitted and scarred.
Lithium is for plastic, oil is not.

I have used Formbys Lemon Oil for years. Then one day I was in a store that didn't have it and I bought some Old English Lemon oil. Both make the neck and fingerboard super slick and are a wood treatment as a side benefit. I also wipe the strings with a rag that has a little on it and it appears to give them a bit more life. Perhaps not for everyone but I will never use anything else on my guitars. And when I run out of Old English and if Formbys is handy I may use that again. Either are perfect for my needs.

I've never applied anything to my strings and I don't see starting now, either. Hadn't even heard of this stuff until I had been playing for years. Maybe the super dry climate here alleviates any need for it. Idk.

I think string ease is fine. Silicone lube is pretty inert stuff.

Sometimes my strings feel sticky and fingers don't move well on the neck 1st set. I had an old-school jazz teacher a long time ago and he would use a little sweat from his forehead or the bridge of his nose. In a pinch this works for me to get into the groove with my instrument. Especially just before a lil Texas Blues.

If I do this during the gig I will give the strings a good cleaning the next day with orange oil so we don't get a problem with greasy buildup.

Whatever gets your mojo going...

Jook - Yep, Billy.

I've used the fingers to the forehead trick for so many years I never even think about it any more. Just scratching my bald head does it too...I wipe down the strings out of habit, limits the grunge.