Pinch Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Hello all, been a while. Put on new strings after NGD yesterday (will post Epi LP PlusTop Pro review later). Spent a bit too long mucking about with intonation (I still firmly believe that it wasn't so much syphilis that was responsible for all that insanity in the Olden Days - I think it was people trying to intonate early variants of the guitar), and now there's a lovely shade of light red(dish around the 12th fret on G, B and A (and no prizes for guessing which string was the culprit ) How much corrosion is too much? I don't want to damage frets on a brand new guitar, but I feel that putting on a new set a mere five hours after I just put a new one on is, if not excessivethen at least highly un-economical. Thoughts? ("You're nuts" is an acceptable answer, btw.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 It's not the sweat as such but adverse symbiotic bacteria causing this through their metabolism. Some moons ago I posted in another topic that a guitarist bandmate of mine kills six fresh strings within ten minutes of playing. During that short period they go audibly flat through mass growth due to corrosion buildup and need retuning several times. Oxygen and acid anions add to the strings, and ten minutes later they are black. The process comes to an end, so they stay in tune, but they sound definitely dead. :( Note that always I myself restring the guitar and so the strings still have been new and shiny before he started playing them. His main problem seems that he always washes up ovenware, dinnerware and cutlery by hand without using gloves. This affects the composition of the skin bacteria layer significantly. Avoiding skin contact to any cleansers including skin cleaners and shampoo is the way to go. If hair washing takes anything besides pure water, wearing gloves in recommendable. For cleaning hands a W/O ointment prone to phase inversion into an O/W emulsion through adding of lots of water is best. This makes it completely washable using water only. I do this exclusively since many years and don't have to deal with callused skin or fissures. The only stuff I put on my hands on purpose is an emulsion I have prepared in a pharmacy made of the following ingredients: Urea pura 3.0 g Aqua purificata 30.0 g Glycerinum 15.0 g Kalium sorbicum 0.2 g Unguentum cordes 51.8 g This is a W/O ointment for skin care basically but I always use it before washing my hands three or four times a year when water only won't do. It removes diesel, engine oil and gear oil smell as well as brake dust and rubber abrasion. Clearing up and settlement of the symbiotic skin bacteria may take several months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 16, 2016 Author Share Posted February 16, 2016 Interesting. But I won't ruin the frets in question if I play these out for a few more weeks, will I? They're not black on there, just a tad copper-y. Edit: NGD topic posted for those interested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 It's not the sweat as such but adverse symbiotic bacteria causing this through their metabolism. Some moons ago I posted in another topic that a guitarist bandmate of mine kills six fresh strings within ten minutes of playing. During that short period they go audibly flat through mass growth due to corrosion buildup and need retuning several times. Oxygen and acid anions add to the strings, and ten minutes later they are black. The process comes to an end, so they stay in tune, but they sound definitely dead. :( Note that always I myself restring the guitar and so the strings still have been new and shiny before he started playing them. His main problem seems that he always washes up ovenwear, dinnerware and cutlery by hand without using gloves. This affects the composition of the skin bacteria layer significantly. Avoiding skin contact to any cleansers including skin cleaners and shampoo is the way to go. If hair washing takes anything besides pure water, wearing gloves in recommendable. For cleaning hands a W/O ointment prone to phase inversion into an O/W emulsion through adding of lots of water is best. This makes it completely washable using water only. I do this exclusively since many years and don't have to deal with callused skin or fissures. The only stuff I put on my hands on purpose is an emulsion I have prepared in a pharmacy made of the following ingredients: Urea pura 3.0 g Aqua purificata 30.0 g Glycerinum 15.0 g Kalium sorbicum 0.2 g Unguentum cordes 51.8 g This is a W/O ointment for skin care basically but I always use it before washing my hands three or four times a year when water only won't do. It removes diesel, engine oil and gear oil smell as well as brake dust and rubber abrasion. Clearing up and settlement of the symbiotic skin bacteria may take several months. Cap, you are a mine of information! This solves the 'rusty fingers' syndrome I encountered during my years as a milling machinist. Some people would corrode steel material & often tools also, just by handling them. I was not one of them (I always use a long handled brush to wash up with). Thanks for explaining that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Interesting. But I won't ruin the frets in question if I play these out for a few more weeks, will I? They're not black on there, just a tad copper-y. Edit: NGD topic posted for those interested The frets of the MIM Fender I lend to my bandmate seem to be rather resistive. No corrosion up to now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 It's not the sweat as such but adverse symbiotic bacteria causing this through their metabolism. Dang, cap. You're a virtual encyclopedia of esoterica. I always wash my hands just before playing, and I've never had issues with string or fret corrosion. I always thought this might be the reason why. So, even an antibacterial soap doesn't solve the problem for those who are prone to this problem? Amazing... Now tell me. Why does my wrist watch always stop within an hour after I put it on, then start back up after I take it off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Hello Capmaster! I am speechless. You are truly a natural wonder! Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Dang, cap. You're a virtual encyclopedia of esoterica. I always wash my hands just before playing, and I've never had issues with string or fret corrosion. I always thought this might be the reason why. So, even an antibacterial soap doesn't solve the problem for those who are prone to this problem? Amazing... Now tell me. Why does my wrist watch always stop within an hour after I put it on, then start back up after I take it off? No esoterics here. I also don't have a clue about the fads of your wrist watch. Use of disinfecting cleaners has to be fairly restricted, or it will affect the vital bacteria and insects living on us as our commensals. They create an acid protection shield and combat adverse bacteria and fungi before they are able to enter the human organism. Our skin is populated by about ten billions of friendly microorganisms, and about hundred billions of them live on our mucous membranes, that is respiratory system, intestinal tract, and genito-urinary system. Their mass is about 2.5 to 3 % of the entire human body weight. Any disinfection has the only goal to kill or inactivate transient microorganisms without affecting the resident ones. However, long exposition can severely deteriorate the protective shield. Using detergents for washing and cleaning things or parts of the body will mainly harm the skin protection of our hands. Using shampoo without gloves is one of the worst things one can do to her/his hands. Hello Capmaster! I am speechless. You are truly a natural wonder! Cheers... Bence Not at all. The pharmaceutical profession leaves their mark. It's all about dealing with invisible friends and invisible enemies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 1455657551[/url]' post='1741627']No esoterics here. I also don't have a clue about the fads of your wrist watch. Use of disinfecting cleaners has to be fairly restricted, or it will affect the vital bacteria and insects living on us as our commensals. They create an acid protection shield and combat adverse bacteria and fungi before they are able to enter the human organism. Our skin is populated by about ten billions of friendly microorganisms, and about hundred billions of them live on our mucous membranes, that is respiratory system, intestinal tract, and genito-urinary system. Their mass is about 2.5 to 3 % of the entire human body weight. Any disinfection has the only goal to kill or inactivate transient microorganisms without affecting the resident ones. However, long exposition can severely deteriorate the protective shield. Using detergents for washing and cleaning things or parts of the body will mainly harm the skin protection of our hands. Using shampoo without gloves is one of the worst things one can do to her/his hands. Not at all. The pharmaceutical profession leaves their mark. It's all about dealing with invisible friends and invisible enemies. Amazing. Never heard this stuff before. I know when I worked at the railroad, my hands were always very dry and the skin around my finger tips split and was very painful. I used hand lotions but it really didn't help much. Tried lots of products and washing them in sea salt, rinsing and putting this hand lotion helped the most. After I left th railroad I haven't had any more problems with my hands. Now I get very itchy on my legs and back in the winter. Summer is fine. But maybe that's why I have some string issues after a few weeks. I tend to try and play a couple of months before I change them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 Update: for people like me, and Capmaster's buddy, whose strings turn black far too soon, I really can't say enough good things about Gorgomyte! I like to get at least 3-4 weeks out of a set, for several reasons. One is that strings aren't free. Another is I don't really like the feel of a brand new set - too slinky. Then, of course, changing strings all the time is a bit of a hassle. Plus, it's always the unwound strings that go black on me, and changing an entire set after a week, knowing full well the bass strings are fine... Bit of a waste. At the same time, I don't want crusty strings scratching up the frets. Gorgomyte, of course, is designed primarily for fret and fretboard cleaning and conditioning, but when the thinner strings start looking meh, I cut out a tiny square of Gorgomyte, pinch the string with it, and run it up and down the string a few times. Repeat with the other two thinner strings. You can literally feel the courseness go away. Cut out a tiny square of an old t-shirt, and buff out the black residue (I usually pinch the string with a piece of paper towel, run it up and down, then buff out any black residue on the 'board with a piece of cloth. If you've ever tried Gorgomyte, you'll know you get black dirt residue if it as much as touches the fretboard). The string still won't look brand new (at least not always), but it's much smoother and good to go for a bit longer. Takes two minutes, strings last at least twice as long, and saves money... and time. The piece of Gorgomyte needed is no bigger than a pinkie fingernail, so it's cost effective, to say the least. Works for me, at least. Gorgomyte's great for any hardware corrosion btw - cut out a tiny square, and just wipe it off. There you go. Helpful tip of the day :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Update: for people like me, and Capmaster's buddy, whose strings turn black far too soon... I'm like you and Caps buddy, except it's only one out of currently...thirteen guitars. They are in my basement, which can be close to 60% humidity at times. I generally keep it close to 50 and my guitars are just fine. My telecaster will black up really fast if I let the humidity get to high for too long, because the case doesn't seal up well. Has nothing to do with my sweat, and might be part of your strings problems? rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 1455640439[/url]' post='1741503']Hello all, been a while. Put on new strings after NGD yesterday (will post Epi LP PlusTop Pro review later). Spent a bit too long mucking about with intonation (I still firmly believe that it wasn't so much syphilis that was responsible for all that insanity in the Olden Days - I think it was people trying to intonate early variants of the guitar), and now there's a lovely shade of light red(dish around the 12th fret on G, B and A (and no prizes for guessing which string was the culprit ) How much corrosion is too much? I don't want to damage frets on a brand new guitar, but I feel that putting on a new set a mere five hours after I just put a new one on is, if not excessivethen at least highly un-economical. Thoughts? ("You're nuts" is an acceptable answer, btw.) I think if you're getting syphilis from your guitar something is really screwed up...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Hi Pinch - I was experiencing rust iand blackening ssues all the time before switching to Elixir Polywebs, and have not experienced any in the 2 or 3 years since the switch. I guess it could be happenstance, but I'm betting on the Elixirs - if problems persist may be worth a quick experiment of trying them? They last a loooonnnng time too (but don't rub them down cos it messes with the coating). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Here is what I do, after playing I clean the guitar, and after that I clean the strings with GHS Fast Fret. Keeps them fresh and shiny. Sometimes I apply some before playing, I kind of like the feel of it especially for sliding, and they get that new feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 Will look into it. Thanks, guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Update: for people like me, and Capmaster's buddy, whose strings turn black far too soon, I really can't say enough good things about Gorgomyte! Gorgomyte is just mineral oil on a piece of cloth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 It's definitely mineral oil based, but put some mineral oil on a yellow rag and press down on a fret for a second. Will look about the same. Repeat with Gorgomyte, and it'll be blacker than Lemmy's lungs. I think there's more to it than mineral oil on a cloth. But hey - that's just me. I've found it works wonders for corrosion on any metal, so I use it. Whatever works. I've actually never cleaned a fretboard with it yet, though. Heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 ... Repeat with Gorgomyte, and it'll be blacker than Lemmy's lungs. Whoa, that's some serious stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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