Sticky strings

[Alicia Willis]

Hey y’all !
So, I’ve not played my beloved “go to” guitar in about a month now. I just picked her up just now and found the strings to be incredibly sticky feeling. They are new strings, she just hasn’t been played. So, is this just from it sitting around not being used or what ?
also, since this guitar does have brand new strings on it how can I get that “stickiness” off of them?!

 

[Donovan Etue]

Could be that the sweat from your last time playing may have given a sticky feeling after sitting for a month or so. If you have a soft cloth on hand, give the strings a good wipe down on top and under the strings if you can. I'm not familiar with the brand themselves but aren't Elixir strings known for having a coating to protect against dirt and debris from coating your strings. Are the strings on your guitar elixirs by chance? I don't know if Elixir's would leave a sticky feeling on the strings over time without use though. Anyway take a soft cloth and wipe down the strings a bit and see how they feel afterwards. Some folks recommend wiping down your guitar after each playing session to keep the guitar pristine and to help make the strings last longer. Seems reasonable that a quick wipe down after a longer play session could help keep them "bright" sounding longer.

 

[William B.]

Maybe you left your guitar out in the open. Probably a damp cloth.

 

[Rad Synner]

I have Elixirs on my acoustic and they dont really feel sticky. But hey alicia, I actually encountered the same thing (on my side its because I have too many guitars and cant play them all ) Point is, its normal. What I do to freshen the guitar up is clean the body with guitar polish and then clean the string with strings cleaner and conditionner! I use the dunlop 65 for both and it works great. Your guitar should find its shine back with that!

 

[Forgetabull]

Too much lemon oil on the fret board ?

 

[Alicia Willis]

Could be that the sweat from your last time playing may have given a sticky feeling after sitting for a month or so. If you have a soft cloth on hand, give the strings a good wipe down on top and under the strings if you can. I'm not familiar with the brand themselves but aren't Elixir strings known for having a coating to protect against dirt and debris from coating your strings. Are the strings on your guitar elixirs by chance? I don't know if Elixir's would leave a sticky feeling on the strings over time without use though. Anyway take a soft cloth and wipe down the strings a bit and see how they feel afterwards. Some folks recommend wiping down your guitar after each playing session to keep the guitar pristine and to help make the strings last longer. Seems reasonable that a quick wipe down after a longer play session could help keep them "bright" sounding longer.

So I do use Elixirs and I’ve never noticed them to be sticky, I’ve also never left a guitar for that long without picking it up. I tried a microfiber cloth but definitely still sticky. It’s just weird lol.

 

[Alicia Willis]

I have Elixirs on my acoustic and they dont really feel sticky. But hey alicia, I actually encountered the same thing (on my side its because I have too many guitars and cant play them all ) Point is, its normal. What I do to freshen the guitar up is clean the body with guitar polish and then clean the string with strings cleaner and conditionner! I use the dunlop 65 for both and it works great. Your guitar should find its shine back with that!

Ahhh I’ve never used strong cleaner before since I usually change frequently, definitely going to look into that ! Thank you !!!

 

[Alicia Willis]

Too much lemon oil on the fret board ?

I don’t think so. I actually didn’t even oil my fretboard last string change.

 

[Andy Schultz]

I've had this same problem before. What you can do is get string cleaner, or isopropyl alcohol, and put some on a cotton ball. Wrap the cotton around each string and wipe it from end to end. Be warned, it'll sometimes make a really high pitch ringing. That should get your strings back to normal without having to replace them.