Hi guys

I was wondering what do you use to clean the stick? I normally use lemon oil on my tung oiled bass but is this cool with the stick?

Hi Steve,

I always used Watco Teak Oil when I had my Rosewood Grand. I took the strings all off and worked it in using an old t-shirt and a bit of elbow grease. The plus-sides are - your Stick looks AND smells like new.

Paul

Would Formby's Lemon Oil be cool?

Here's the wiki from our Stickist.com forum:

http://www.stickist.com/faq/doku.php?id=cleaning

I've only ever used the Watco, and that was on my rosewood instrument. Both of my current instruments (an XG and an NS) are graphite.


Paul

Seeing this post reminds me that I have needed to change my strings for a while now. I think that I have been putting it off out of fear mostly that it won't be up to par when I am finished. I am still on my first set from SE.

I also can't seem to get my hands on any of this teak oil that you guys are using; none of the stores in my immediate area have any.

Steve

I mentioned the removal of all the strings to facilitate the cleaning and treatment of all the wood surfaces on the instrument. As Yuta Chapman is quoted in the Wiki entry for cleaning, you don't want to get any of the cleaning/treatment material on the strings.

The Watco treatment requires that you let the oil set on the wood for a while to soak in, then you rub off the residual oil.

This is something you only want to do once a year at most. Otherwise, it is best to change the strings one at a time as you have indicated.


Paul

That makes sense. I have had my Stick for a year now and the surface between frets is looking sort of dull. I just have to find the oil.

Thanks a lot

Steve

It's fairly easy to find at any home improvement store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc., in the U.S.). I picked up a pint of Watco Teak Oil 4 years ago, and haven't used any noticeable amount out of the can (granted, I don't use it on my instruments anymore - Graphite and all...).


Paul

For you first time string changers, quick story...
I got my stick in around august a few years ago, and immediately started learning all the crimson tunes I could, as i would be playing an all crimson show in mexico that december. I guess I put new strings on like in oct-november. It never occurred to me that there would be the option of having a string wound to the end, or with core sticking out at the end. Apparently my stick came with a string wound to the ball, and my first set I ordered was not wound to the ball.
So I take off all my strings, put on the new ones, and my 7th string is flat across the board. others are different as well, and I freaked! I didn't know what I did wrong, but I knew I had to have a fixed Stick for my travels. So in my hysteria I sent it off to SE extra fast shipping and then eventually came to realize what had happened.
Shipping a stick is expensive...
Make sure you guys look at what type of string your action is set for...

Why clean a Stick?

A Stick never looks dirty, it just looks...played a lot. And that's waaaay cool!

I never clean my Stick, just play it a lot.



Olivier