Conference napalm::guitar

    
    Many of the guitars I've bought at flea markets have had a very strong
    musty smell, obviously from sitting in an attic. When they are 
    hollow-body guitars, it is very difficult to get rid of. I've even
    gone as far as emptying an entire can of lysol into one guitar.
    I was concerned that the chemicals in the Lysol might harm the
    guitar but it hasn't affected it. The guitars I've done this to
    have mainly been Harmony's and other budget models. I don't think
    I could bring myself to do this to an expensive instrument, but
    a musty smell is a really hard thing to ignore. In most cases,
    expensive instuments are well cared for, and it's the budget models
    that get neglected and stuffed in an attic. I had a chance to buy
    a Rickenbacker Electro Lap steel (bakelite) last year. The case 
    had the most ungodly stink to it. If I bought it, I think I would
    have started by filling the case with baking soda, and leave it 
    sit for a few weeks. Then I would clean it out with rug shampoo.
    The steel also had the same stink, but I would think a solid body
    instrument would be easy to clean and eliminate an odor from.
    
    I've read articles in Guitar Player where they referred to the
    wonderful smell of nitro-cellulous lacquer on a new Fender Strat.
    I've sprayed nitro-cellulous lacquer and can testify that it is
    very nasty stuff to work with and the fumes are quite toxic. 
    Respirators that are suitable for organic vapors are required.
    I'm not sure if they become inert once they cure, but if you can 
    smell the finish, it must be somewhat volatile still. Nitro-cellulous
    takes forever to cure, in fact, I don't think it ever cures 100%. 
    If you spray naptha, or other solvents on nitro-cellulous lacquer,
    the finish will "reflow". This does not occur with acrylic-based
    materials. Once polyurethane cures, it cannot be reflowed. This has
    a lot to do with the smell you get from some instruments and not
    from others. 
    
    One of the nastiest smells us musicians may ever encounter is the
    smell of capacitors, transformers, or other electronic components
    failing in an amplifier. A friend of mine experienced this with a
    Vox AC30 one night, and we had to clear out the studio. The smell
    lasted for weeks. 
    
    Mark 
    

   re: .2

>    One of the nastiest smells us musicians may ever encounter is the
>    smell of capacitors, transformers, or other electronic components
>    failing in an amplifier. 

   Actually, some of the nastiest smells I've ever encountered have been the
   patrons in the bars I'm playing in.  :-)

   I had a '30s Gibson archtop acoustic that smelled pretty bad.  I also own
   two guitar *cases* that I can't get the glue stink out of.  My Ibanez bass
   case has a strong acetone-type smell.  Pretty rank.  And my old Guild case
   from 1976 or so still smells of glue.

   -- Sam    

    
    
    		Having kicked the habit 1.5 years ago.....
    
    		Theres nothing like waking up in the morning and smelling
    		the clothes you wore the night before to a jam at a
    		sweaty, smokey barroom..
    
    
    						hurl city

   re: .4

   Oh, I even got in the habit of taking a shower when I got home to get rid
   of that.  Yeah, even if it's 3am, it's better than waking up to that stink.

   -- Sam

    
    Most of my basses smell like stale cigarettes and beer (as do most
    of my cabs, rack, etc.) If I leave my gear locked up in my truck 
    over night, the odor the next day is more than a bit pungent.
    
    However, I do have a Guild FC-45E acoustic/electric guitar that
    does have a subtle but very pleasant fragrance to the wood. I don't use 
    this beauty in clubs, so it isn't permeated with  bar-spunk. I don't 
    use a lot of guit-cleaner or oils on it, I just try keep it clean 
    and dust-free. 
    
    /Bill_K
    
    PS - I think it was Coop that brought up the "smell-thang" first
    

    Cigarette smoke is a serious issue with musical equipment. It
    is brutal on any kind of electronic equipment. Most of the people
    I know that have a studio do not allow smoking in their studios.
    
    According to Willie G Mosely, cigarette smoke can greatly affect
    the value of a vintage guitar. There are many collectors/traders
    that will not touch an instrument that has been exposed to large
    doses of cigarette smoke. 
    
    I'm not quite that fussy (can't really afford to be). I figure most
    anything can be cleaned off with enough elbow grease, and a little
    McGuires Mirrorglaze.
        
    Mark

    
    What really soaks up the bar-spunk odors is the dura-tuff 
    fuzzy carpet stuff that covers speaker cabs, rack, etc.
    There is no way to get the stink out (maybe the wet-vac???)
    Also, the paper cones in speakers soaks up the bar-spunk 
    as well (probably shouldn't try to use the wet-vac on these!!)
    
    As far as coming home after a gig with stale smoke and booze 
    stench... It's either shower at 3am or sleep in the basement
    bedroom *alone*... an easy choice!!
    
    /Billy_K
    

The best guitar smell for me comes from the soundhole of a new rosewood
acoustic.  I'd like to be in a mill sometime when they were cutting the
rosewood for backs and sides.  My guitar is about 5 years old and still
has the rosewood smell - don't know how long it will last.

Jim

    
    
    When I open the case of my '74 Paul, I smell a serious case of "Been
    there, done that."  
    
    It's been around, and I can tell. 8-)
    
    

A cure for rancid smoke drenched guitar cases, and guitars in
some instances,, is to put a fresh car-deodorizer in the case..
use it the same way you'd use it in a car.  open a it a little
at a time...

I cured my 78 Alvarez of it's stale cigarette smoke smell with a
few months of keeping a vanilla airfreshener in the
accessory case.. (the little treetype you put in your car.)

It's not the same as the odor the base note desribes..  but
it sure beat the smell of that case and guitar when I bought it.
It would literally stink the room up as soon as the case
was opened..  I love the guitar, but I wouldn't want the
previous owners lungs!

I also had a candian made fender strat style case that had an
awfull glue smell in it.. again, cured with an air freshner
for a few months, and a few baking soda dousings...

    I second the nomination for rosewood guitars.  I love opening up my
    guitar case and cathing a whiff of that wonderful scent...
    
    My OM-28 smells best, but the HD-28 still smell great too.   I like the
    smell of my mahogany guitars also, but rosewood is the best.  
    
    My Strat can't compete in the fragrance department.
    
    Although I'm generally a Martin fan, I must admit that Taylor makes 
    some of the best smelling new guitars.
    
    New acoustics smell best, but the four-year-old HD-28 is still smells
    great.  I use soundhole cover humidifiers.  Maybe this helps keep the
    scent from fading.
    
    Jim

    While I was in Austin last week, I managed to arrange a tour of the
    Collings guitar factory......talk about rosewood smells !!!!
    They were planing some Brazilian blanks for a special order
    Dreadnought, and the fragrance was superb.
    
    	A friend of mine owns a 1922 0028, and you can still smell the
    rosewood.
    
    	My Strat still smells faintly from the beer that spilled into the
    case around 10 years ago.
    
    				Jim.

    
    
    		Back in the mid-eighties, I bought a Kramer Americana and
    	probably paid too much.  BUT One thing I remember about this guitar
    	was the distinct---
    
    		CHOCOLATE smell of the case.  Evertime I opened it, I
    	expected the guit to be sticky and gooey with the sweet stuff.
    
    	Kinda gave me the woolies.
    
    	CMD

    My Strat smells like chocolate too. I love it.
    
    -kev