Vaseline: It's not just for breakfast anymore.

[Pickngrin]

This may be old hat to many of you folks, but I thought that I would throw it out there. I typically use a bit of graphite to lubricate the nut slots in my Strat. Last week, I used a bit of vaseline in the nut slots and the underside of the string tree. WOW. I was pretty surprised when jamming yesterday. I did not have to do my usual frequent retunings. My Strat tuning pretty much stayed put.

[Robert****]

How do you use it at breakfast?

The problem with Vaseline is that over time, it turns into rubbery goo.

[Jimi75]

Rob is right here. I wouldn't use vaseline nor graphite. The best thing you can do is buy a product called "Nut Sauce". At first you think it has the same consistency as vaseline, but in fact it's way different because it leaves no residue.

[pictoratus]

That has to be one of the strangest thread titles yet.

[Jimi75]

That has to be one of the strangest thread titles yet.

Don't tell me the thread is ambigious so far ;-)

[Pickngrin]

Um, yyyyeah. I haven't figured out the breakfast thing yet. Trust me, that's better than the thread title I was about to type. Interesting, I'd never before heard about vaseline turning to goo over time. What kind of time period are we talking? I've heard of that nut sauce and suspected that it was over-priced, re-purposed Vaseline or something similar, but apparently not?

[deeaa*]

Hm. I never knew for what do you need those lubricants etc. I musta had at least two dozen guitars or various type and quality, bone, graphite plastic, you name it nuts, and done a hundred gigs in my time minimum, and I never ever had any problem with staying in tune with any of my axes, except when I've broken a string on a floyd axe. And a few axes which had real bad tuners, but those were quickly replaced by Gotohs. I played my Gibson with original Kluson vintages that everyone hates for 13 years and sometimes played two gigs in a row and never even touched them tuners.

I just yank the hell out of the strings a few times when I put them on, and all I ever have to retune until I put new strings on comes from temperature, i.e. if I leave my guitar in a colder place it'll be off etc. But NEVER while playing. And I think I do pretty much bending and pretty extreme bending too. Just last practice I managed to get my B string somehow hooked over the E and catching on a fret end below the neck, don't ask me how. But even that didn't cause it to go off tune. And whenever I have to do some retuning, I first let it go clearly under, then yank the string well, and then always only tune upwards.

Am I really missing something here, because my gut feeling is all these lubricants are only needed if you don't tune the string properly and remove the lax in the 1st place? Or are there really so bad nut materials that they really need that stuff?

[wingsdad]

We're not talkin' 'bout big gobs of vaseline here...we're talking a light film coating. As a Strat player since the 70's, sticking a toothpick into a jar of vaseline and running the coated toothpick under the string trees, thru the nut slots and on the bridge saddles was a trick I picked up from fellow Strat guys (doing away with the other old trick of running the sharpened point of a #2 pencil thru things -- that left messy, black graphite dust residue but it worked) and it was just part of my string changing routine. Then I found this stuff by GHS about 10 years ago at my Local GAS Station:

No fuss, no muss. Works great. Back then, I bought 3 little bottles of it for about $10. As a home hobby player who rotates among a few guitars, I only change strings about twice a year, so I still have 2 bottles left. Now, the stuff seems to come in a much bigger tube in this BS by GHS 'kit' and lists for $20. At the rate I use it, and at this rate of inflation, it may cost $50 by the time I need to replenish my supply, or I'll be dead, whichever comes first.

Graphtech nuts and saddles make any of this unneccesary anyway.

[Tig***]

Vasilene is known to help prevent hairball buildup in kittehs, so maybe they like it for breakfast.

[Tig***]

Then I found this stuff by GHS about 10 years ago at my Local GAS Station:

No fuss, no muss. Works great.

+1
Works great for my gut-fiddles, and my kittehs won't steal it.

[Jimi75]

Hm. I never knew for what do you need those lubricants etc. I musta had at least two dozen guitars or various type and quality, bone, graphite plastic, you name it nuts, and done a hundred gigs in my time minimum, and I never ever had any problem with staying in tune with any of my axes, except when I've broken a string on a floyd axe. And a few axes which had real bad tuners, but those were quickly replaced by Gotohs. I played my Gibson with original Kluson vintages that everyone hates for 13 years and sometimes played two gigs in a row and never even touched them tuners.

I just yank the hell out of the strings a few times when I put them on, and all I ever have to retune until I put new strings on comes from temperature, i.e. if I leave my guitar in a colder place it'll be off etc. But NEVER while playing. And I think I do pretty much bending and pretty extreme bending too. Just last practice I managed to get my B string somehow hooked over the E and catching on a fret end below the neck, don't ask me how. But even that didn't cause it to go off tune. And whenever I have to do some retuning, I first let it go clearly under, then yank the string well, and then always only tune upwards.

Am I really missing something here, because my gut feeling is all these lubricants are only needed if you don't tune the string properly and remove the lax in the 1st place? Or are there really so bad nut materials that they really need that stuff?

Yea deeaa, you are right. A good guitar set up oftentimes is sufficient, but there are nut materials that need some lube. I started using nut sauce when I bought my LP. The initial nut was "whatever material" and my g and b string were slightly detuned. I bought nut sauce and the problem was gone. Shortly afterwards I exchanged the nut with a real bone nut and do not have to apply NS anymore. My Strats are all more than perfect. I can mistread them and they stay in tune. For folks who need to apply to their guitars a kind of lubricante to make the guitar stay in tune, Nut Sauce is for sure the best product out there.

[marnold***]

Locking nuts take care of that problem too

[Robert****]

I use Nut Sauce too. Graphite powder is great but a bit messy. Many luthiers recommend graphite powder, I've noticed.

[Jimi75]

Locking nuts take care of that problem too

Love the locking nut on my 1992 ESP Custom for the effect. But I must admit that the locking tuner steals some of the sound. Or at least my bat ears tell me so (-:

[bcdon***]

I used a bit of vaseline in the nut slots and the underside of the string tree.

Sorry, I can't let that go.. that is way too funny!!

[Spudman***]

Just had Vaseline for lunch. I'm going to keep it strictly as a breakfast food from now on.

It does work in a pinch, but I like Chapstick better for emergencies because it doesn't get warm and run.

[Robert****]

If you don't have butter or margarine, go for vaseline!

Hey, that's the beginning of a great tune! Perhaps we can call it "Slippery Blues"... or "Greased Ham"

[otaypanky***]

Vasilene is known to help prevent hairball buildup in kittehs, so maybe they like it for breakfast.

That's why we love it ~ Makes the dance floor slick too !