I wipe my cello strings and bow after I play, with a dry cloth, but I'm noticing there's still a bit of a build up of stickiness on the part of the strings where I bow. Is there some other way of getting these a bit cleaner, or do I need to wait till I take the instrument in for it's 'MOT'? Or is a bit of stickiness par for the course?

Rosin on the strings is quite normal. I don't even bother trying to get rid of it, I get through E strings like they're going out of fashion and can't see the point really. Rosin stuck on the violin - now that's a problem Are you replacing/breaking your strings regularly enough?

you can get violin and string cleaners that will deal with rosin as well as keeping your violin in general good condition

Yep, there are loads of string cleaners about.

It is wise to get rid of it completely from the strings as well. Strings clagged with rosin won't vibrate as freely and additionally you are having to work harder by bowing through the build-up of rosin - the bow hair will not actually be in direct contact with the string windings.

You can get Hill Varnish Cleaner, for example, which will dissolve rosin deposits and refresh the instrument itself. However, these sorts of cleaners should not get anywhere near the strings themselves though as they contains waxes which will make subsequent playing extremely difficult. To clean the strings, a simple mechanical cleaning via some sort of cloth is all that is required.

Ah, I'm glad you posted that storini, as I might have been tempted to try it on the strings. The body of my instrument isn't dirty, so it doesn't sound like I need the cleaners - just sticky strings. I tried a damp cloth on the worst bits, and that seemed to help.

I'm not sure if this is correct but i never used a damp cloth on my strings in case it speeded up the rusting time of the strings

Not sure. I have very acid fingers, so need to keep the strings clean all over to avoid rusting. I wipe them, and then immediately dry them.

Eeeek. That doesn't sound good. How do you know?

I get acid spots on my skin. My skin has a very acid ph balance.

The laptop I'm typing on right now is just a year old, but the letters and numbers have almost worn off about half the keys. My sky remote has no letters at all. My fingers just strip the letters off!

With my steel strung guitar, I have to change the strings pretty regular (not a problem with the nylon strung one - despite the fact that I play my classical guitar more).

Crumbs. That must be annoying, and expensive in strings!

It should be ok if you dry them immediately, what does everyone else think?

I'm not sure if this would be recommended, but I seem to remember being told to clean strings with a rag dampened with (cheap) eau-de-cologne: keep it away from the varnish though! Better see if anyone else has heard this before trying

I've never heard of it! Sounds interesting though!

Yeah, I've read that too (I think it was something Menuhin recommends?) - eau de cologne or pure alcohol. Don't fancy it though - permanently clumsy, and undoubtedly will end up with it all over my cello!

meerkat - can you dust your hands in bicarb and talc before playing?

Does that work in a similar way to gymnastics and chalk?...or is it talc as well I'm not actually sure

What a good idea, YAP, I hadn't thought of that. I'll give it a try. (Maybe I should use it before I go on my puter too!)

It's worth a try! Then again ur touch typing must be pretty good now that you have next to nothing on ur keys!

Some people pay extra for a blank keyboard .

there you go then you're lucky!

Any alcohol-based liquid will dissolve rosin (which is just gum from a tree). It will equally rapidly dissolve the oil or spirit varnish on an instrument and so gravely affect its appearance, with the potential for very expensive re-varnishing costs. If you have to use such a solvent, use a cotton bud.

Inexpensive entry-level instruments often have polyurethane varnishes, and these are rather less susceptible to alcohol damage.

As I said before, I doubt solvents are necessary, provided daily mechanical cleaning is used.

you sound very professional

Yup, I've heard that (from a violinist who learned from his dad... a pro violist with the WNO - so fairly sure he wasn't just talking rubbish)

But don't get it on the varnish.

Maybe you could pass on your dis-lettered keyboard to someone who wanted one with no letters but couldn't afford it??

I think I'm going to try that now! Ummmm would vodka damage my strings? I odnt think we have eau-de-cologne lying about. I'll have a rummage...

lol, i touch type well, so no need for trade in on my laptop.


Hellokitty, if you're going to try it, it's got to be proper eau de cologne, which has a very high alcohol content, and not toilette spray or eau de toilette.

My fingerboard isn't made of ebony, it's painted black because it's rubbish and cheap. Can I still use alcohol?

The book I have suggests you shouldn't use alcohol unless you're very sure of what you're doing. And you need to ensure that there's something between the strings and the wood of your instrument to prevent damage. I just don't fancy it at all. Seems like an accident waiting to happen.

No, because the alcohol will take the dye out of the fingerboard.

Isopropyl alcohol or ethanol, can be purchased in small amounts from any chemist shop. Pirastro sell "string cleaner", which is simply the same thing as you'd get from a chemist, only probably more expensive because it will have Pirastro's name on the label

It is very effective at removing all the rosin off the strings and will prevent the eventual build-up of rosin in the string winding - even if you use a cloth every day. Just a small dab of alcohol on a piece of tissue or cotton wool is enough for all 4 strings; leaving them as clean as when they were new.

EDIT: Rosin is made from pine cone residue, which I believe is particularly sticky as residues go.

I clean my fingerboard every single practice, but it still has a permenant residuey sticky mess right at the end of it. It's annoying. I'm not that bothered about the strings, as I intend to replace all of them pretty soon, so whether or not they are clean is of little importance to me. My fingerboard is another issue though.

Time to visit my luthier?

Yehudi Menuhin recommended using eau-de-cologne for strings, and, I think, fingerboard and chin rest. I use it but be careful - it mustn't touch the body of the violin or it will wreck the varnish - and it can remove the coating on the fingerboard