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I'm looking for something different.
Suggestions?
Warnings?
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02-22-2020 10:14 PM
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Been using Fast Fret for 35 years, absolutely harmless to your fretboard or guitar finish. I don't have sweat or acid problems with my hands/fingers, and I don't wait until I've got disgusting crud built up on my neck/frets/strings, so I can't vouch for it as some miracle fix. It doubles the life of my roundwound strings vs not using it. Makes them feel more slippery, in a good way, no drag.
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I've been using this for years with good success:
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Dunlop ultra glide 65. Maybe it does something, maybe not. It seems to keep things going a little longer. Doesn't make you play faster or anything like that, though. Just helps to keep things clean.
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[QUOTE=cosmic gumbo;1010987]Been using Fast Fret for 35 years, absolutely harmless to your fretboard or guitar finish. I don't have sweat or acid problems with my hands/fingers, and I don't wait until I've got disgusting crud built up on my neck/frets/strings, so I can't vouch for it as some miracle fix. It doubles the life of my roundwound strings vs not using it. Makes them feel more slippery, in a good way, no drag. <br>
I can see why players use this - especially if they do have perspiring fingers. For me, it is more of a lubricant and less a cleaner. Definitely leaves a residue/build up if over used. I prefer D'andrea string cleaner - highly effective and no trace left.
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I don't use anything but an old flannel shirt, but I wipe down the strings after every session.
I use Dunlop 65 for the body every so often.
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I recently tried this, the MusicNomad string cleaner.
I liked that it could wipe all six strings at once. But it arrived dry. I have some "fuel" to add to it but frankly, I haven't been able to tell any benefit from it.
I started with Fast Fret (which Cosmic Gumbo mentioned above). I remember when it came a metal can. The last time I got some, it was in a thin plastic tube and seemed to dry out too soon.
Is it me?
Could be. Sometimes it is just me. But other times it is not. "It's hard to tell, it's hard to tell / When all your love's in vain."
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I use a 4 inch square shag carpet sample after each playing - the fibers get all around and under the strings and also clean the frets and finger board. About once a week I draw an "X" on the carpet sample with ChapStick.
When the plain strings lose their shine, I cut an inch square of ScotchBrite pad, place it under a string, fold the sides up, pinch it gently from above, lifting it a little so as to not touch the frets, and slide it up and down the length of the string until the crispy feeling resolves into a slick feeling.
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I use TI Flat wounds now so I just wipe down the strings after playing and make sure my hands are clean before playing. Back in the day/decade, I would eat food sometimes while practicing but that was with my solid bodies and cheap strings.
Would using string cleaner even make a difference with flat wounds?
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just plain old isopropyl alcohol on a cloth
grab the string w/the cloth and run it up and down a few times
the squeak can annoy some people so I try to do it away from themLast edited by wintermoon; 02-23-2020 at 04:45 PM.
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I spray my guitars down with a mist of reload, which is a very nice ceramic coating detailer. Then when I am done shining up the guitar, I take the same micro fiber cloth that I wiped the guitar down, which is still a little damp and I place it between my thumb and fore finger and reach under the string with the fore finger and slide the cloth all the way up to the nut. Go back and forth a couple of times on each string and than hang the guitar in the wall case. My strings last for 2 years or so and my guitars all look brand new.
Joe D
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[QUOTE=blackcat;1011005]
When it gets hot/humid here in summer I slide a piece of cut-up cereal packet between strings and fretboard before applying the D'andrea product on a cloth. Always avoid handling food before playing as mentioned elsewhere here and sometimes use a touch of talcum powder on finger tips a la Jeff Beck ( there the similarity ends!)
Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
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get a small box of iso alcohol pads..in any drugstore..just takes one pad ..up and down each string a few times...removes all the gunk..and the alcohol evaporates..try to get the highest % you can..70 is ok but 91% & 99% even better
one box lasts a long time..and you can keep a few pads in your guitar case if out and about
highly useful!!
cheers
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I just pour a little alcohol on a cloth and wipe each string down. But I sorta wrap the cloth all around the string as I wipe up and down, and not against the fretboard. I clean/treat the fretboard only when I change strings.
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Sounds like NA, Woody 'n me (Woody 'n you?) are in essentially the same boat
ps agree the 91% better, thats what I use, less water, a string's enemy
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Fast Fret gets wiped off after it's applied. I've tried to over apply or over use, never any build up unless you don't wipe it off. I might use it close to 100 times on a set of strings before they get changed. Originally Posted by blackcat
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Do you do this every time you play? Originally Posted by Max405
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I like Fast Fret too. When it first came out it had a wooden handle, metal can, and the stick of product was at least twice as long as today.
I can see why they shortened it, mine lasted years before drying out lol.
They did use a plastic can in the past but now they're back to metal. The handle is plastic, but also has a cover to slow evaporation. (oh yes, gumbo posted a pic above lol...) Even tho they make it with less product today it still lasts quite a long time.
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Finger-Ease.../dp/B0002GW3Y8
i occasionally use this stuff with a rag , it's good/fine
dont touch your eyes after using it ....
It's slightly irritating ....
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I'm still on my first can of Fast Fret, 25 years later.
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Yes about the squeak! Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
I recently tried this, the MusicNomad string cleaner.
I liked that it could wipe all six strings at once. But it arrived dry. I have some "fuel" to add to it but frankly, I haven't been able to tell any benefit from it.
I started with Fast Fret (which Cosmic Gumbo mentioned above). I remember when it came a metal can. The last time I got some, it was in a thin plastic tube and seemed to dry out too soon.
Is it me?
Could be. Sometimes it is just me. But other times it is not. "It's hard to tell, it's hard to tell / When all your love's in vain."
I had exactly the same issue. Then I had a brainwave 2 years later and levered the felt out and swapped it around. Voila! it was moist, and worked!
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I use alcohol and a napkin. I only do this when the strings are losing their zing. I loosen the string, and run the napkin with a wet spot of alcohol. Move it up and back fast quite a few times. You will see black on the napkin. Brings the strings back to maybe 80% new. Seems like you might only get away with it about 3 times. I like a string that sings so after that, its time to buck up.
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There are classical players who swear by boiling their strings...
On the acoustic forum I used to frequent the consensus seemed to be that things like Fast Fret only promoted the build-up of gunk inside the string, and I can see why.
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I think I'm one of the few that clean neither their cars nor guitars.
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