Ed_S Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1327242515' post='1508188'] Not one thing posted in this thread has made me reconsider my opinion on this matter. [/quote] Really? With respect, you asked... [quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1326730289' post='1501144'] I was just wondering, am I missing something about ciggarette smoke [...] do basses aquire a smokey smell? Just wondering. [/quote] ...and the vast majority of us said "yes, they do". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambo Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) This post isn't directed at you personally Ed, but let me make myself clear. I wanted to know if basses were damaged by ciggarette smoke because, short of the silks on the ends of strings, there's nothing pourous about any bass I've ever owned. Nothing that could aquire a smell that couldn't be removed with a bit of polish and elbow grease. I didn't consider it before but I'm ready to accept that untreated wood could be affected permanently. The opinion that hasn't changed is the realisation that the description of an instrument from a 'smoke free home' is added with hubris. The vast majority you speak of have taken this opportunity to show they can't stand smokers in general by relating it to, in no particular order... the mother in law, mobile phones, cars, keyboard players, the smoking ban, cats, dogs, clothes, PISS and the dangerous futility of smoking... not basses. I've never awaited you down the local laundrette to blow smoke in your general direction. If you ever see me in a beer garden with a roll up, you don't have to stand near or speak to me, (my loss eh?). If you were ever to buy an instrument from me you could rest assured in the knowledge that it would arrive to you smelling lemony fresh. I'm not going to quit smoking, be chastised and slink away because you don't like smoking. A couple of posts have been delivered with such sanctimony and vitriol as to take my breath away better than any cigarette could. Edited January 23, 2012 by Shambo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1327321982' post='1509202'] This post isn't directed at you personally Ed, but let me make myself clear. I wanted to know if basses were damaged by ciggarette smoke because, short of the silks on the ends of strings, there's[b] nothing pourous[/b] about any bass I've ever owned. [/quote] Only play those non-wooden basses? Think BigRedX is of the same mindset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I am a smoker, but I never smoke in the house or allow guests to do the same. I let my friend borrow a bass whilst I was teaching him and when he lost interest and returned it to me it wreaked of smoke (of the exotic variety) and the case curiously smelled of curry!? I couldn't get rid of the smell of the case and disposed of it at the dump and I took quite a bit of time getting rid of the smell on the bass. I was quite annoyed, but it could have been worse with an oil finished bass as it would have absorbed the smell and would have been even harder to get rid of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1327321982' post='1509202'] This post isn't directed at you personally Ed... [/quote] No worries, Shambo.. no offence intended or taken on my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambo Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 There's nothing pourous about the poly finish on any bass I've ever owned, or the glossy neck, shiney metal and plastic. If residue sits on them, I'll give it a wipe. Do nitro finishes allow smoke through to the wood? Does carbon fibre hold a musty smell when curry is eaten in the same room? I've already said I can understand unfinished wood might retain a smell but personally, I've never even held a bass made of unfinished wood, and if I did I'd be more bothered about the damp sweat and dirt build up in the grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaypup Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1326730289' post='1501144'] As I peruse the for sale boards for instruments I can't afford, I regularly see them advertised from "smoke free homes". I was just wondering, am I missing something about ciggarette smoke causing damage? I know lots of people find smoking a dirty habit, and if you were buying a sofa or clothes second hand then "smoke free" would be an advantage, or maybe a mixing desk thats been used as an occasional ashtray or skinning up board would be something to avoid, but do basses aquire a smokey smell? Does nicotine clog up the pots or deaden the string prematurely? Perhaps it leeches behind the finish and causes crazing? If my basses look a bit grubby[b] I'll give 'em a wipe with a clean cloth and without a second thought[/b]. Should tobacco packets come with a warning of the damage caused to musical instruments? Just wondering. [/quote] [quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1326731373' post='1501175'] That is news to me. I can't say I've ever been able to smell a bass in my entire life. Perhaps I haven't been trying hard enough. My sense of smell's shot anyways due to the erm... smoking. I thought it was ageing and sunlight that caused some finishes to yellow. If an instrument has developed a covering of smokey residue then surely [b]it just needs, or did need, a bit of a rub [/b]with a cloth. Next time I see some dude with an old guitar in the pub I might go up and ask them for a sniff. [/quote] [quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1326735962' post='1501297'] I can appreciate that people don't like smoking but I just can't (or couldn't) imagine anybody knocking back an instrument because it smells of anything.[b] If it was dirty then I'd clean it and the smell would be gone[/b]. You go to buy a used bass. It looks good. It feels good. It sounds good. The price is right. Hang on... *sniff, sniff*... NO SALE! Has that ever happened? [/quote] Nicotine STAINS - you can't just wipe it off as if it were dust or dirt. Edited January 23, 2012 by chaypup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fragglefart Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Shambo most smokers honestly have no idea how bad the smell is to non-smokers. My family run a pub, I lived there for a while before the smoking ban, now this is obviously an extreme example, but I still have stuff now that still smells of that smoke from 8-ish years ago, and I was only there about three months. Smoke just seems to 'get into stuff' and the smell can be pretty gnarly to non-smokers, stale and kinda dirty. Like I said earlier in the thread, personally I've only ever played one smoke-damaged bass, and I could barely stand to be near the thing, let alone have it on my lap with my hands running all over it, it just felt spoiled and soiled. No idea how much smoke it took to get into that state, and for how long, but even so, I can easily see how instruments coming from a 'smoke-free home' could be important to people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1327333453' post='1509464'] Pup cavities, Rose wood board. Potting wax maybe? Cloth covered wires, the cloth wrap on pups. I'm not sure would the windings of a pup trap it? As said it stains or else nicotine yellow basses would not exist. It could be wiped off. [/quote] Screw holes, neck pocket, any damage, as soon as you have to adjsut the neck due to climate changes, you know there is moisture exchange happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1327326644' post='1509305'] There's nothing pourous about the poly finish on any bass I've ever owned, or the glossy neck, shiney metal and plastic. If residue sits on them, I'll give it a wipe. Do nitro finishes allow smoke through to the wood? Does carbon fibre hold a musty smell when curry is eaten in the same room? I've already said I can understand unfinished wood might retain a smell but personally, I've never even held a bass made of unfinished wood, and if I did I'd be more bothered about the damp sweat and dirt build up in the grain. [/quote] Good luck trying to "wipe off" the stench of smoke from the material inside a case. My mate's hardcase stinks so much you can smell it from several feet away when he opens it. As for the guitars themselves- nicotine stains. That's why smokers get yellow teeth and fingers (even though they wash their hands and brush their teeth a lot more than people clean their basses) Even assuming you can "wipe it off"- It would be like buying a guitar covered in caked on mud or grease. You might well buy a guitar in that kind of nick, but you'd certainly want to pay less for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 [quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1327321982' post='1509202'] A couple of posts have been delivered with such sanctimony and vitriol as to take my breath away better than any cigarette could. [/quote] They won't give you cancer though. I remember my first Kubicki bass, a white 1989 model (#1777). That had been gigged in smokey pubs at some stage of it's life, and was an off-white colour (which I quite liked). What I didn't like so much was the fact that it always smelled slightly strange, the violent stench of the smoke had faded almost into the background, but there was an ever-present 'ozone' type smell to the bass, which had obviously seen a lot of Febreeze or Odor Eater before I got my hands on it. The case was a write off, the smoke was soaked into the fur lining of the case and it was a write off. I chucked it in a skip at the local tip the same day it came. The bass always smelled a bit strange. I don't think anything would have ever truely gotten rid of the smell of smoke and cleaning product from it though, I had it for over a year and even in a new case it still smelled like it did the day it arrived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 This thread might as well be drawn to a close. Just accept you will never change the denial of an addict and it is already starting to get a little personal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 To sum up what we've learned here: * Basses from smoke free homes are good *Smokey basses stink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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