Help! My Bass Has Body Odor!

[kevins]

whats the SN on this? is it a pre EB with the finished neck? if the area thats sanded down smells the worst you're probobly dealing with mold. but alas! i have found a guide to removing mold from wooden furniture just apply it to the bass and you should be good! here it is!

How to Remove Mold from Wood Furniture | eHow.com

on the plus side of that site it seems like none of those are full of abrasive or dangerous for the wood products. and more importantly it seems very thorough. this is important because the mold will grow back very easily if the conditions are right(food source and the asexual cells of the mold still present).

remember if the case smells of the mold that probobly means its spreaded to that too. a lot of molds reproduce sexually and asexually meaning it can just decide to keep reproducing itself and growing back. mold grows on t-shirts a lot too so i can see it wanting to eat your case as well as your bass. im pretty sure but not entirely sure the smell is actually from it breaking down aspects of the wood and releasing them. you need to be thorough here so do not place the bass back into the case until both are treated

 

[Grand Wazoo]

This story has a moral, and that is... Before you buy a second hand bass ask the seller to give you a wiff of his armpit, if it stinks to high heaven:

Just say no!

 

[five7]

This story has a moral, and that is... Before you buy a second hand bass ask the seller to give you a wiff of his armpit, if it stinks to high heaven:

Just say no!

It's too early to read that.

 

[rizzo9247]

Man, that is strange...

I had a bass that I bought (and quicky sold) that reeked of cigarettes. I could not get rid of the smell after a month. Now I know why people list, " from a smoke-free studio..."

 

[Kirby]

An old trick for cars was to put some pipe tobacco in a tin and let it sit open. You might try some of that in an open tin and keep the case closed with it in there for a couple of days.

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

Imagine what our basses and guitars think about OUR odors...

We had a guitar come in for repairs once that reeked of death so badly that you could still smell it while breathing through your mouth. Nick annihilated the guitar with all sorts of cleaners to try and make the smell go away, but it was to no avail - the smell remained, and it even stunk up the shop a good bit. He wound up doing the repair as quickly as possible, while wearing forearm length rubber gloves.

 

[lowliferumble]

Did you look under the control plate ? I have heard of vindictive/ neglected spouses fixing an infatuation with a strong whiff of reality.....Limburger cheese will chill the hottest love affair ......with a quickness. We will hope I am wrong !

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I take no responsibility for the after effects of this question:

Are you saying that it possibly smells like its previous owner? If so, YUCK!

Yes, I guess it does.

I am hoping mold is not the problem because the rest of the bass on the finished areas also has the same smell. I am hoping I will get something to work because it's just gross.

I feel so conflicted, because I've always loved this bass in natural with a black guard and rosewood fingerboard and now that I have it, I can't really play it.

 

[Rano Bass]

Try putting a handful of coffee beans or even charcoal in your case with the bass in it, that stuff absorbs odours so it might be worth giving it a crack.

What he said or the vinegar treatment might be your best choice.
And definitely use other case to store the bass.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Good news! I just dropped it off with tech and he doesn't think it smells too bad. Maybe I am just overly smell sensitive in this case or at the very least, my de-stink methods have been working better than I thought. He'll be sealing the bare wood areas and giving it a good setup. I'll still probably give it the coffee treatment when I get it back, but things are looking good.

 

[sitonmybass]

Good news! I just dropped it off with tech and he doesn't think it smells too bad.

Of course he doesn't think it smells too bad; it's not his bass.

 

[kevins]

awesome!

 

[Nasty_Hitman]

Get a new case or store the bass in an other one and the smell will fade.
I`ll bet the smell comes from the old case.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

The case is not in great shape anyways, so I may end up ordering a new one.

 

[Rick Auricchio]

Sunshine and fresh air will do wonders to get rid of odors. I think it's the UV that does it.

My Warwick Corvette and its Rockbag case came from a smoker. A few hours in the sun for the bass, and a couple days for the case did the job. Since it's a soft case, a few good whacks helped too.

 

[CFA]

When my Bongo came it reaked to high hell of smoke... so I left it out of the case and the smell is gone away, I haven't used the case since I bought it, couldn't get the smell out at all, plus it was damaged in a way that would probably damage the bass even more through use, so I have no idea how it smells. Willing to bet about the same as it did 6 months ago. The fret board still smells of tobacco, but only when you actually press your nose to it a give a strong inhale.

In short, if it still stinks when you get it back, make sure to leave it on a stand, and not in the case.

 

[Bean]

You could always just donate it to me... I'm hard of smelling anyhow!

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Quick update on by bass' odour: after having it setup and having had the bare wood areas refinished, the smell is much better, but still there. I spread coffee grounds in the case, put the bass in it, and carefully spread some on the bass as well and left it for a few days. I've since taken it out and it still smells, but the case is better. We currently have really good weather, it's nice and sunny and unusually warm for this time of year. So, the bass and case are now sitting outside in the sun. Hopefully, that will get it to a tolerable scent.

This reminds me of that Seinfeld episode when Jerry's BMW gets B.O. from the valet.

 

[Midwinter]

Hm i´ve heared that coldness will help. But i dont think its the best if you leave your bass outside.

Im doing this with trousers or jackets when i was in a bar. One or two days later the smoke is gone.

Same trick worked with my Amp (was over one year in a smoking room) but wont try this with the bass

 

[kevins]

did you try a fungicidal?