# General Mandolin Topics > General Mandolin Discussions >  Fast Fret Vs. Olive Oil

## David Smith

I have seen threads on other forums discussing the value of using a product called Fast Fret to clean and prolong string life.  Others have suggested using virgin olive oil to get the same results.  Does anyone abide by one method over another and are results noticeable?

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## George R. Lane

I just wipe my strings down after playing and it seems to work just fine. I would think olive oil would leave a residue and smell funny.

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Mike Bunting

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## Tobin

I've never tried olive oil on a stringed instrument, but I do use Fast Fret to clean and oil my strings after playing.  It's got mineral oil in the applicator/cleaner, which is a nice light oil that will not leave a residue.  I've known guys who used olive oil on gun parts and they always ended up with a sticky residue.  For that reason, I probably wouldn't want to use olive oil on my instrument when mineral oil is a viable (superior, IMHO) alternative.  Even if you don't want to spend the money on Fast Fret, you can buy a small bottle of mineral oil for a lot less than olive oil, and it won't smell funny.

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Pick&Grin, 

sebastiaan56

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## OldSausage

For sauteeing your vegetables with garlic, however, I have found Fast Fret to be nearly useless, and recommend olive oil.

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Bill Clements, 

billkilpatrick, 

Bob Clark, 

brunello97, 

Dave Hanson, 

doc holiday, 

Hudmister, 

HurricaneHarrison, 

Jeff Budz, 

lorrainehornig, 

Mandobar, 

Marc Ferry, 

michaelcj, 

nickster60, 

Perry Babasin, 

Pete Jenner, 

Pick&Grin, 

Randi Gormley, 

the_polish_mandolinist, 

Timothy S, 

Tom D, 

Tommcgtx, 

Violingirl

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## mandroid

need a solvent to remove dead skin cells?  ? denatured alcohol . 

[but I oiled the fingerboard so the frets dont come up as the wood swells  in the increased  humidity.]

  I wouldn't want to dissolve that ..  (bore oil for Trumpets was adopted to use)

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## Denny Gies

I never had any real luck with Fast Fret but would not try olive oil either.  Wipe your strings down with a dry cloth after playing.

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## Cheryl Watson

I only use Fast Fret to stop string squeak when I am recording.  I always put a piece of paper under the strings so none of the spray will get on the fingerboard, I use it outside and hold my breath.  That crap is not good to breath in!  Other than that, I just wipe down my strings after I play.  I would not use olive oil because I think that would deaden the strings and get them gunky.  Also, too much oil on the fretboard is not good.  I use a spare amount of walnut oil on the fretboard (with all the strings off, bridge marked) once a year after I gently steel wool (0000) the frets.

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Gary Hedrick, 

Hudmister

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## SincereCorgi

The only reason I can think for using cooking oil on instruments would be to get some moisture back into dry wood, and even in that situation I'd be extremely wary since most of those oils smell strongly and go rancid. (There are some small Italian builders who advocate almond oil "as used in patisserie" for oiling clarinet bores, but it struck me as a very quaint and old-world suggestion... none of the big modern builders advocate it.)

I use Fast Fret and like it, incidentally.

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## Tobin

> I only use Fast Fret to stop string squeak when I am recording.  I always put a piece of paper under the strings so none of the spray will get on the fingerboard, I use it outside and hold my breath.  That crap is not good to breath in!


Huh, I've never seen Fast Fret in a spray container.  Maybe I need to get out more.  I've always seen it (and used it) in a little applicator that's meant to clean the strings and oil them at the same time.  I would not use it if it were a spray.  Or I'd have to just spray it on a rag and then use it to wipe the strings.

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## mandolirius

My experience with Fast Fret is that it actually kills strings after reviving them briefly. I would use it if I had a gig coming up and hadn't find the time to change strings that needed changing. I'd hit them with Fast Fret, which got me through the gig. After that, I'd know the strings had to be changed for certain before the next one.

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## J.Albert

I've been using Fast Fret since it was introduced back in the 80's.

Always worked great for me, never damaged an instrument.

Actually, these days I use "Tibet Almond Stick" -- absolutely the same stuff. Comes in a same-sized can. Doesn't have the "applicator stick" to hold onto. Just peel back and use...

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## Paul Busman

Am I the only one who does NOTHING at all to the strings after playing?

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billkilpatrick, 

Bob Clark, 

doc holiday, 

Flec, 

George R. Lane, 

Hudmister, 

Jeff Mando, 

JGWoods, 

lorrainehornig, 

Pick&Grin, 

Ryk Loske, 

stevedenver, 

Tezzerh

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## JonZ

I use a Dunlop Formula 65 String Conditioner. The product description on Amazon says it keeps your strings "happy and healthy". 

I really don't see what more one could ask for.

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## foldedpath

> Am I the only one who does NOTHING at all to the strings after playing?


Well, I do wipe 'em down with a cotton cloth when it's handy, and otherwise I forget about it. 

A package of strings costs what... five or six US dollars ordered online? Just change your strings on a regular schedule. They're going out of intonation from stretching and fret wear, long before you hear them sound dull. Intonation is why I've never tried to "extend the life" of my strings with some miracle product, and why I change them every 3 or 4 weeks. Or shortly before an important gig. 

No product you can buy will fix what happens to intonation if you leave the strings on too long, because it's a purely mechanical damage to the string length -- differential stretching and denting on the frets -- that puts 'em out of tune. That happens much faster than most people realize, I think, because it doesn't result in the usual "my strings are sounding dead" sound from accumulated gunk and corrosion.

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Bob Clark, 

George R. Lane, 

jshane, 

michaelcj, 

Mike Bunting

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## Mike Bunting

> Well, I do wipe 'em down with a cotton cloth when it's handy, and otherwise I forget about it. 
> 
> A package of strings costs what... five or six US dollars ordered online? Just change your strings on a regular schedule. They're going out of intonation from stretching and fret wear, long before you hear them sound dull. Intonation is why I've never tried to "extend the life" of my strings with some miracle product, and why I change them every 3 or 4 weeks. Or shortly before an important gig. 
> 
> No product you can buy will fix what happens to intonation if you leave the strings on too long, because it's a purely mechanical damage to the string length -- differential stretching and denting on the frets -- that puts 'em out of tune. That happens much faster than most people realize, I think, because it doesn't result in the usual "my strings are sounding dead" sound from accumulated gunk and corrosion.


I'm pretty much in agreement. I change them every 4-6 weeks.

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## mandobassman

> Am I the only one who does NOTHING at all to the strings after playing?


No cleaning for me.  I've had the same set of strings on my mandolin since last December and have never cleaned them or the mandolin.  I just play it and put it away 'till next time.

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## UsuallyPickin

Olive oil on strings .... I have never heard of doing that . Lemon oil on the fretboard ... yes..... Wiping the strings down with a clean cloth.. Yes ... Fast Fret ..... I never had much use for it ..... I change my strings when the lose intonation every couple of months anyway..... If I have an important paying gig coming up I change tham if they are over a month old..... R/

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## mandolirius

> Well, I do wipe 'em down with a cotton cloth when it's handy, and otherwise I forget about it. 
> 
> A package of strings costs what... five or six US dollars ordered online? Just change your strings on a regular schedule. They're going out of intonation from stretching and fret wear, long before you hear them sound dull. Intonation is why I've never tried to "extend the life" of my strings with some miracle product, and why I change them every 3 or 4 weeks. Or shortly before an important gig. 
> 
> No product you can buy will fix what happens to intonation if you leave the strings on too long, because it's a purely mechanical damage to the string length -- differential stretching and denting on the frets -- that puts 'em out of tune. That happens much faster than most people realize, I think, because it doesn't result in the usual "my strings are sounding dead" sound from accumulated gunk and corrosion.


Yup, that's been my experience as well. I have to laugh when I hear folks claim to leave them on for a year with no issues. It helps me understand why some people feel a mandolin is never in tune.

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## SincereCorgi

> No product you can buy will fix what happens to intonation if you leave the strings on too long, because it's a purely mechanical damage to the string length -- differential stretching and denting on the frets -- that puts 'em out of tune.


I have heard this before, and I don't doubt there's some truth in it, but I've never seen a good explanation of why strings would start to sound out of tune due to age and wear. What is the rationale behind this?

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## UsuallyPickin

When the shape ,due to wear, the tension in the metal as it fatiques will cause it to go out of tune faster and be more difficult to tune to pitch...... if you get enough of a worn string on a fret it is going to cause slight intonation problems as well. R/

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## Ivan Kelsall

For keeping my strings clean & giving them a nice feel,i wipe them over with 3-in-one oil on a cotton cloth & wipe it off straight away.3-in-one oil has an anti-oxidant in it which helps to keep the strings free from tarnish. For the fingerboard, when i'm giving my mandolins their twice yearly clean up,i use Teak oil on the fingerboard. Wipe it on using a lint free cloth,leave it for a few seconds & then wipe it off completely. This helps to restore some of the colour to the wood & again gives it a nice feel under the fingers. Olive oil & other heavy oils (especially Linseed) are far too heavy & Linseed oxidises to form a very stick goo. I was told once by a pro.Violin maker, that he used Almond oil on his fingerboards. I tried some on my banjo fingerboard & while it was ok,i thought that it was still a bit heavy & that's when i went over to using Teak oil which is almost like water in it's viscosity,
                                                                                                                                                 Ivan :Wink:

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## Dave Hanson

I've always prefered Dunlop 65 string cleaner, but getting it in the UK seems imposible these days.

Using any vegatable oil seems like a bad idea to me, they do congeal and will go rancid.

Dave H

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## Tavy

If I oil my strings will I be able to play like grease lightening?

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## Bertram Henze

> My experience with Fast Fret is that it actually kills strings after reviving them briefly.


On a longer time scale, I had the same experience with Dunlop 65.




> I use a Dunlop Formula 65 String Conditioner.


see above.

I went back to Dr. Duck's AxWax (NFI) and have been happy with the results ever since. Points to keep in mind, though:
- use it after playing, not before
- after applying it, wait 5 minutes to let it solve the dirt and then wipe the strings down with a dry cloth

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## Eric C.

I just replace my strings every few weeks. My finger tips always turn a nasty greenish black and the strings start sounding a little off after tuning.
However, I've had a set of Black Diamond Mediums on for a month, and I believe I can get one more week out of them.

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Mandobar

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## AlanN

> I'm pretty much in agreement. I change them every 4-6 weeks.


Same here. No oil, no fast fret, nothing. I have a cloth handy, but really only use it in summertime, when hands perspire.

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## David Smith

Thanks for all the input and preferences.

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## bmac

You guys seem to be describing a really humid environment... I have a bunch of stringed instruments and have no problems with rust on any of  them. No air conditioning or humidity controls either. Live in Central NY state.

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Steve Ostrander

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## Shelagh Moore

I don't live in a particularly humid environment but use another product, DR Stringlife, to clean the strings a couple of times a month and otherwise wipe them down with a tissue or rag after each playing session. It seems to greatly extend the string life to me so I do it as a matter of course these days.

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## multidon

I dont know who came up with the olive oil idea but it seems like a bad idea. Many organic oils have a tendancy to go rancid. There are exceptions likr tung oil but olive oil can certainly turn and smell bad. Mineral based oils will not go rancid. The so called lemon oil many usr on fretboards is actually mineral oil with a pleasant lemon scent added. Personally I just wipe the strings off with a cleaning cloth and call it a day.

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## Alex Orr

I just change the strings when they start to sound dead or don't hold tune well.

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## Steve Ostrander

I never heard of using olive oil. Myself, I wouldn't try it. I've used lemon oil (without silicon) on a dry fretboard. 

I use John Pearse String Swipes for wiping after playing. They do prolong the string life without killing the tone, IMHO.

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## Timmando

I usually wipe mine down with a microfibre cloth after use, but I definitely, ALWAYS, wipe them and the neck down after I lend my instrument to someone else. I put a new set of strings on my martin d18 and that day, lent it to a friend in a picking session. After he played it the strings sounded dead. I never play above the 7th fret on the guitar, he was playing all over the neck, alot of bar chording too. It was at a festival, camping, so his hands may have been pretty dirty. I had to change those strings in just a couple days, couldn't believe it.

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## Tim Griffin

I wipe guitar, mando and tenor banjo with Fast Fret after every use and them a dry cloth. It extends string life quite a bit for me.

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## foldedpath

> I have heard this before, and I don't doubt there's some truth in it, but I've never seen a good explanation of why strings would start to sound out of tune due to age and wear. What is the rationale behind this?


It's because a string only intonates perfectly (or as perfectly as your bridge position and setup allow) when it's brand new, and the metal is consistent along the length of the string. 

Unless you're a Classical player, then like me, you probably play most of your notes below the 12th fret. So that's where all the microscopic fret dents and differential stretching occurs, in only one half of the string (or even less, if you play mostly in first position). Since perfect intonation relies on the metal being undamaged and consistent along its entire length, your intonation starts to go out as that mechanical wear accumulates. 

It happens much faster than finger gunk buildup or corrosion that dulls the tone, and it's a major reason why a change of strings sound so good after they're played-in for a day or two. It's not just the clear tone with fresh strings, it's that the notes are in good intonation. 

Mandolin is a tricky beast to get in tune even under the best conditions, due to the short scale and double course strings, so I change strings frequently to eliminate that one variable. If I hear the intonation isn't quite where I want it (and it's never _perfect_), then at least I know I have to look at bridge position or something else, and it isn't the strings themselves going sour.

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## David Smith

Here's a link to the Fast Fret Vs. Olive Oil discussion on another forum
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/gui...showtopic=9312

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## Bertram Henze

> You guys seem to be describing a really humid environment...


Imagine a pub session: 10 hot sweaty musicians crammed around a table with glasses and pools of beverages. Whatever is outside won't matter.
And it is not rust threatening our strings - it is contact corrosion, brought on by two different metals on the wound strings and acid from finger sweat.

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Mandobar

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## bratsche

> Yup, that's been my experience as well. I have to laugh when I hear folks claim to leave them on for a year with no issues. It helps me understand why some people feel a mandolin is never in tune.


One word: *Thomastiks*

...in which case, the above should read "a year _or more_ with no issues" - especially if you have them on multiple instruments you can't play all at once. Four years has been my maximum so far, but that was on a less-often played instrument and my fingers are probably the least caustic ones I've ever heard of.  To the thread topic, I don't clean my strings with any substance, and they're sometimes even known to stay in tune for days on end.  

Laugh all you want.

bratsche

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## Tobin

> And it is not rust threatening our strings - it is contact corrosion, brought on by two different metals on the wound strings and acid from finger sweat.


This.  

Those of you who can play your mandolin and then put it away without cleaning the strings likely have dry hands with a metal-friendly body chemistry.  Some of us have sweaty hands and/or acidic body chemistry.  Not cleaning/oiling the strings will lead to rusty, dead strings after ONE playing session.  Heck, I can even turn a set of strings black after 20 minutes when my hands are really sweaty.  The salt and acids and Lord-knows-what-else in my sweat is just not friendly to bare metal.

FWIW, I have the same problem with touching bare brass.  Or bare silver.  One single touch from my finger will produce a tarnished fingerprint that must be polished back out.

So yes, for some of us, cleaning and oiling the strings after playing (and better yet, intermittently while playing) is not really a choice.  And even with regular cleaning, getting a set of strings to last more than 3 weeks is nigh impossible.

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## EdHanrahan

> ... out of tune due to age and wear. *What is the rationale* behind this?


As a result of the "wear" mechanics & chemistry that others have noted, the _mass_ of the string is no longer evenly distributed; my guess (experience!) is that the mass diminishes more at the first several frets than along the rest of its length.  (Frets are more abrasive than picks, and the fretting area accumulates more sweat and oil from the skin).

Fretting at, let's say, 50% of the string's length therefore causes something *other than* 50% of the string's mass to vibrate.  That's s bad note.

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## KyleG_MandolinMuse

There's something about the chemical make-up of my body that just kills strings - I'm usually good for about two gigs, or a month, whichever happens first, and those suckers are dead. I carefully whipe down the strings with a cotton cloth after playing, pinching each string between the cloth and giving it a nice wipe, but it just slightly delays the inevitable. I've gotten more time out of Elixers, but they just don't sound as good as D'Addario, so I've resigned myself to buying strings by the case. 

A thin oil on the fretboard once a year, yes. As for strings, I think we're all chemically unique, so even though Fast Fret hasn't done a thing for me, I think it help out others.

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## Glassweb

> Personally I just wipe the strings off with a cleaning cloth and call it a day.


I'm with you brother... I just wipe my strings down with a micro-fiber cloth after playing and that's that. Oil on strings? Fuggetaboutit!

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## Bertram Henze

> Heck, I can even turn a set of strings black after 20 minutes when my hands are really sweaty.  The salt and acids and Lord-knows-what-else in my sweat is just not friendly to bare metal.


No prison can hold us  :Cool:

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Mandobar

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## Ivan Kelsall

From Tavy - _"If I oil my strings will I be able to play like grease lightening ?"_ . Chicken fat does it Tavy. Just slide a piece of BBQ chicken thigh up & down the strings a few times & you're ready to go !,
                                                                                                     Ivan

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## Mike Bunting

> From Tavy - _"If I oil my strings will I be able to play like grease lightening ?"_ . Chicken fat does it Tavy. Just slide a piece of BBQ chicken thigh up & down the strings a few times & you're ready to go !,
>                                                                                                      Ivan


Greased lightning. Grease lightening must be a process to make grease weigh less or to make it lighter in colour.

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## Ivan Kelsall

" Inter-metallic corrosion" - A good point Bertram. I think that the way we get away with it on the wound strings, is that the core steel has chromium as one of it's constituent parts, which gives it quite a bit of protection,
                                                                                                                          Ivan

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## dang

> Others have suggested using virgin olive oil to get the same results.


I would never apply a product that can go rancid to my fretboard.  Too much unpredictable chemistry could go on.  Keep with a more inert oil.

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## Bertram Henze

> I think that the way we get away with it on the wound strings, is that the core steel has chromium as one of it's constituent parts, which gives it quite a bit of protection


The very alloy that enhances one steel property can weaken another. We want anti-corrosiveness but also tensile strength - not easy to get both. And when you solved the conundrum for the steel core, you start over with the phosphor bronze winding, and all of it together is still supposed to sound good...! I reckon the degree of sophistication in a simple modern wound string is at least as high as in a Swiss watch.

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## mandolirius

> There's something about the chemical make-up of my body that just kills strings - I'm usually good for about two gigs, or a month, whichever happens first, and those suckers are dead. I carefully whipe down the strings with a cotton cloth after playing, pinching each string between the cloth and giving it a nice wipe, but it just slightly delays the inevitable. I've gotten more time out of Elixers, but they just don't sound as good as D'Addario, so I've resigned myself to buying strings by the case. 
> 
> A thin oil on the fretboard once a year, yes. As for strings, I think we're all chemically unique, so even though Fast Fret hasn't done a thing for me, I think it help out others.


Have you tried different alloys? Phosphor bronze is different from 80/20 bronze, which is different from nickle alloy. I used to kill phosphor bronze in no time. When someone pointed out that not all bronze strings are the same composition I switched to 80/20 and got much better string life. I did even better with mono steel but I didn't like the sound as much.

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KyleG_MandolinMuse

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## Leon Peoples

> Huh, I've never seen Fast Fret in a spray container.  Maybe I need to get out more.  I've always seen it (and used it) in a little applicator that's meant to clean the strings and oil them at the same time.  I would not use it if it were a spray.  Or I'd have to just spray it on a rag and then use it to wipe the strings.



http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FingerEase

She may have meant this stuff, pretty good product .
Best/joe

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## drbluegrass

If you have a habit of sucking on your neck olive oil will have much less tendency to clog your coronary arteries. Ahem.


Tom

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## Bertram Henze

> If you have a habit of sucking on your neck olive oil will have much less tendency to clog your coronary arteries. Ahem.


It didn't help Jimi Hendrix...

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Jeff Mando

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## KyleG_MandolinMuse

> Have you tried different alloys? Phosphor bronze is different from 80/20 bronze, which is different from nickle alloy. I used to kill phosphor bronze in no time. When someone pointed out that not all bronze strings are the same composition I switched to 80/20 and got much better string life. I did even better with mono steel but I didn't like the sound as much.


I have tried different alloys, but I haven't been very methodical about it. I use the D'Addario Grisman set (J74/J75) because I really love the heavy tone that it provides - I should probably spend some time trying similar sets with differents. Thanks for the tip. Here I thought it was all me, ha!

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## virgi221979

hi all, I am a new user. 

I hope to be useful to the forum and find many answers to my questions. 

Thank you very much.
I have not found the appropriate section for presentations and then do it here!

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## lorrainehornig

Adam Steffey uses WD40...check out this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dakTwb4fX4 at about 9:05.

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## edandjudy3946

I've been a woodworker for 20+ years and played for 52 and I know wood dries out and fretboards need TLC. Save a lot of heartache and use this - Gorgomyte - for fretboard not strings - for strings I just wipe them with a clean cloth - every few songs - not just when I'm done playing.

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## High Lonesome Valley

I French polish using olive oil, olive oil on fingerboards, olive oil mix in bagpipe bag, olive oil on my dry skin, olive oil to slick my hair, olive oil on salad, dipping bread, just about everything.

If you have a habit of sucking on your instrument neck, olive oil is low in saturated fats, has Omega 3 and 6, raises your HDL's (the good ones) as well as increases your testosterone.

Olive oil doesn't polymerize like, for instance, boiled linseed oil, but so very slowly evaporates.

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## darrylicshon

I would never put anything on my strings , but everybody is different i have a friend that has to change his strings way too much , his sweat is so eats up strings fast , he played my guitar once and then i played it and said to him what did you do to my strings he said nothing , i could feel that my strings where ruined by him , i never let him play any of my instruments antmore, i guess his ph is crazy high in acid

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## Bertram Henze

> hi all, I am a new user. 
> 
> I hope to be useful to the forum and find many answers to my questions. 
> 
> Thank you very much.
> I have not found the appropriate section for presentations and then do it here!


Welcome, and congrats for re-awakening a thread that has been sleeping for 9 months with your very first post! I am not sure if your introduction attracted anybody's attention here, so you might want to start a new thread in the General Mandolin Discussions section, where it will be duly answered  :Wink:

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## mandroid

The Imperial Romans , before soap, used olive oil to wash off.
it floated the dirt which was scraped off. 

then they went into the Baths.. which must have always  had an oil slick on it..

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## Steve Ostrander

I would never use olive oil on my strings or my FB. I do use lemon oil on my FB. I have used WD40 on my strings, but that was when I was a student and was on a budget. Now I just change them more often.

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## Hudmister

> Am I the only one who does NOTHING at all to the strings after playing?


It is said that Bill Monroe only changed a string when one broke.

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## virgi221979

olive oil is even used to polish the skin and hair, I do not see how it can not be used on strings ....

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## Mandobar

> It is said that Bill Monroe only changed a string when one broke.


And sometimes it sounded like it.

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## i-vibe

_I don't always wipe down my strings but when i do_.....i use WD 40.

Lately i've been using Deoxit which has the added benefit of removing and preventing corrosion.

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## edandjudy3946

Am I the only one (haven't seen it mentioned) that's heard of or uses Gorgomyte (by GHS). This is a miracle product for me. It is for fretboards and frets ONLY - NOT FOR STRINGS ! I only use a dry clean cloth (I like the micro cloths - I get them at Dollar General cheap and use them in my wood shop as well for buffing) to wipe strings every few tunes or so. BTW - olive oil or - wow - the WD40 post _ on fretboards or strings - I don't think so. I play and I cook some too and cooking oils and fret boards don't mix. The Gorgomyte also leaves no chance of steel wool pieces left behind. I change strings every 4-6 weeks and use the Gogomyte (with all strings removed) every 3 or 4 string changes. You can Google it. Keep it in a tightly seaked plastic bag - you can cut it into 2x2 in pieces. For strings - I've played since 1962 and probably used every string thing that came out and my personal final choice is a dry cloth only and regular string changes. Gorgomyte for frets and boards as needed.

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## i-vibe

_ BTW - olive oil or - wow - the WD40 post _ on fretboards or strings - I don't think so._

ed, i hands down agree w you on olive oil.....and i had a similar reaction the first time the gtrst i was playing w pulled out a can of WD 40 to wipe down his strings. 

but i've now been using WD40 on all my gtrs, mandos, and bass strings for over 20 yrs now w zero detrimental effects. 20 yrs on....i feel pretty confident that it's doing no damage (and does a great job cleaning strings). YMWV

say, wasn't Gorgomyte that monster in those old Japanese B movies?  :Smile:

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## edandjudy3946

I-vibe are you using the 40 on the gear or the strings too. On gear I use the sewing machine oil. Very claen and no gunk at all because it's designed for high speed parts and comes in a micro oiler - one micro drop per gear. Glad to hear no ill effects with the 40 though.

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## i-vibe

> I-vibe are you using the 40 on the gear or the strings too. On gear I use the sewing machine oil. Very claen and no gunk at all because it's designed for high speed parts and comes in a micro oiler - one micro drop per gear. Glad to hear no ill effects with the 40 though.


hey, ed...."gear"? not sure what you are referring to. perhaps the gears on the tuning machines? if so, i don't believe i've ever oiled any on any instrument i've owned.

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## Eddie Sheehy

Lynn Dudenbostel uses gun-oil to lubricate tuning gears - just a drop...

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## chrisoff

> I've always prefered Dunlop 65 string cleaner, but getting it in the UK seems imposible these days.


The excellent Strings Direct stock it if you can't get it local.
http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/

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## notepicker

Wow, reading this would make me never buy a used instrument again for fear of what someone may have wiped on it. Olive Oil??? Really??
Personally I like Fast Fret. Have been using it so long I still have one in an original metal container.

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## mandroid

Pam?

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Mark Wilson

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## bayAreaDude

> olive oil is even used to polish the skin and hair, I do not see how it can not be used on strings ....


Residue.  Don't want tapenade smeared into the wood of my fingerboard where it would be hard to wash off and later go rancid.

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## Andy Alexander

I saturate an old Fast Fret applicator (wooden handle in metal can) with WD40.  A quick swipe after playing and then wiping off the residue with a cloth seems to prolong string life for me.  Also helps with playability.

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## Jeff Mando

> Wow, reading this would make me never buy a used instrument again for fear of what someone may have wiped on it. Olive Oil??? Really??
> Personally I like Fast Fret. Have been using it so long I still have one in an original metal container.


I just checked the ingredients on Fast Fret--contains Olive Oil!!!  No, just kidding.............didn't we just go through this discussion with WD-40?

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## Joey Anchors

For strings, I just wide them down after done playing.

Fretboards, I use Old English oil twice a year.

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