String potions and lotions....

[imwjl]

Hi,

A person at music store who has been very helpful tin general ells me she swears by the products to put on strings that are supposed to improve performance. I have never done more than replace strings when they break or do not sound nice. The stuff she advised was in a small canister with what seemed like wax and a brush.

Where I'm going here is wondering if these products will help my wife's complaints about squeaks, if they give you the equivalent of coated strings, or if they are really for electric guitars and an aid for shredding???

I would think these products have to have some sort of oil, and I'm not sure that would be good for the fretboard etc...

I guess the Cleartone strings on my new guitar would be my first conscious trial of coated strings. They seem nice, but so does my first new guitar in 30 years. I've used D'Adario (spell?) for the most part because they've always been around.

Comments welcome because my method and mode of buying what strings the store has in stock has worked for 40 years and I thought practice was the real path to any significant gains. I also do not want to put anything on my all wood guitar that might harm it.

Thanks.

[drathbun]

Hi,

A person at music store who has been very helpful tin general ells me she swears by the products to put on strings that are supposed to improve performance. I have never done more than replace strings when they break or do not sound nice. The stuff she advised was in a small canister with what seemed like wax and a brush.

Where I'm going here is wondering if these products will help my wife's complaints about squeaks, if they give you the equivalent of coated strings, or if they are really for electric guitars and an aid for shredding???

I would think these products have to have some sort of oil, and I'm not sure that would be good for the fretboard etc...

I guess the Cleartone strings on my new guitar would be my first conscious trial of coated strings. They seem nice, but so does my first new guitar in 30 years. I've used D'Adario (spell?) for the most part because they've always been around.

Comments welcome because my method and mode of buying what strings the store has in stock has worked for 40 years and I thought practice was the real path to any significant gains. I also do not want to put anything on my all wood guitar that might harm it.

Thanks.

I am guessing she is talking about Fast Fret by GHS. I use it all the time. It is a small stick with a round fibre end that you stroke across the strings before and after playing. It makes the strings a little smoother to the touch. I believe it contains mineral oil. It works and a stick lasts and lasts.

As to whether there is less string squeak, the answer is NO! My wife has the same problem with string squeak... makes her teeth hurt! The only improvement I've seen is with coated strings. Elixir polywebs hardly squeak at al but I can't bear the slippery feel. The nanowebs are a happy medium. Cleartones squeak just as much as regular strings. The best way to stop string squeak, while you're playing, is to play properly! :) I guess string squeak is considered bad playing style. I just make sure my wife isn't around when I wipe down my strings before or after playing.

[sgarnett]

Personally, no way! Sometimes, I'll even rewash my hands partway through a practice session if they feel at all sweaty or sticky. Strings that have had some sort of dressing applied feel nasty to me. A clean string is a happy string.


I'll second the Nanowebs. They squeek less than most strings, but don't feel slippery like the original Polywebs did. You still need to pay attention to technique with them, but they are more forgiving (and less shrill when they do squeek).

I think it's fair to say that most guitar builders, whether large factories or individual luthiers, recommend against using any kind of dressing.

A tiny bit of pencil lead in the nut slots (sometimes) is the only additive a guitar neck needs :)

[ducktrapper]

New strings are best. Clean strings next. Just buy coated strings and leave that goop alone.

[canoe65]

New strings are best. Clean strings next. Just buy coated strings and leave that goop alone.

I agree with 'ductrapper'.  I use Elixir (Custom Lights) and I still wipe down the strings after I play.

The last thing that I'm going to do is spray something on them.  I'm afraid that these string 'treatments' are going to 'goop' them up and dull the sound.

[maxferry]

I've only tried one thing, an idea I got from reading ads about "Nut Sauce". I was never able to find any of it and didn't want to order online, so I tried some of this high-tech teflon-hybrid lube that's made for spot-lubrication of firearms.

I'd had the nut replaced on my Strat with a graphite nut from "String Saver"...unfortunately they just never got the slots right and even after taking it back a couple times, the strings bind in the slots and throw the Strat out of tune, especially if I use the whammy bar or bend notes with my fingers. I tried putting a drop of this gun lube into the slots and on the saddles before restringing and hey, it worked! I now use this stuff whenever I restring the Strat and it stays in tune no matter how much I play with the whammy.

Whether this is of any utility on an acoustic I don't know...never had those kinds of issues with any of those, and I still use only rubbing alcohol on the strings themselves. I think anything else would just build up and deaden the strings.