My guitar stinks!!!

whattaguy

New member
Literally...it does. I bought my guitar used, and I guess the previous owner wanted to leave his B.O. with it. I had to disinfect the case with deodorizer, but the smell is still in the guitar. It might be fungus or mildew. It's a horrid smell that I can't stand on my guitar! Anyone have suggestions to safely get rid of it (the smell that is)? Thanks!
 
I knew a fellow who had a really old Gretch....

He brought it in to work one day so I could check it out...
When I opened the case the funk just about floored me....

I checked into the smell with a fellow whom is quite versed in antique guits....
Turns out that it was the glue holding the damn thing together that actually stunk...
seems that some of the glues that they used back then turn pretty ripe over time........

of course.....it could be something else...

Joe
 
I once bought a dreadnaught at a pawn shop for fifty bucks in the dead of winter. It was a great guitar. I brought it home and the next morning opened the case and was greeted by about 30,000 fleas. I think the owner's dog slept in the case or something. I let loose a flea bomb inside the case and it lived on the porch for three days. I eventually ditched the whole business; I had no fleas but smelled like OrthoMan every time I played.

Odor is tricky if it is from a fungus, because the inside of the guitar is porous. The first thing I would do is pull the strings, get a rag, dip it in ammonia, wring it out so it is not "wet" and run it along every surface inside I could reach. Don't let the inside get wet, though.

It's more likely that the problem is the case. If he sweated a lot and put the guitar away wet, the case would soak it up. So that's the likely culprit. Hit the case interior with Lysol spray, then when it's dried, try upholstery cleaner and a vacuum. Let it dry for a few days before putting the guitar back - it needs to be absolutely dry.
 
freshmattyp said:
Febreeze the living crap out of the case to start. That stuff will kill dead body stink.

I use febreeze on my hockey gear. hockey stink is worse than dead body stink. Great stuff.
 
HA HA HA ! ! !
Another stinkin' guitar player,(chuckles again). I was beginning to think that I was the only one to have ever had this sort of experience. Your delimma reminded me of once when many years ago I bought a stinking (literally) used guitar, it was so bad that the other guys in the band said either the guitar or me, one of us had to go, naturally the guitar wound up back in the pawn shop where I got it from and I got another which both played and smelled better. I know this wont help but I wanted to let you know that this has happened to some of the rest of us too. Mahes me wonder what some people are talking about when they say they have a really "crappy" guitar, any way I wish you the best at getting the smell out.
 
You guys crack me up!!! Thanks for all the suggestions. I failed to mention before that this is an electric guitar...Ibanez RG760 to be exact. I sprayed the case heavily with some disinfectant last night, and it still smells like oranges this morning:D But I think the guitar still has some stench on it. I guess time will tell.
 
There is stuff you can buy to clean your insturment of odor. They also have foo-foo spray you can use to make your life long partner smell nice.
I've never used either but I see it in the music stores.
 
whattaguy said:
Literally...it does. I bought my guitar used, and I guess the previous owner wanted to leave his B.O. with it. I had to disinfect the case with deodorizer, but the smell is still in the guitar. It might be fungus or mildew. It's a horrid smell that I can't stand on my guitar! Anyone have suggestions to safely get rid of it (the smell that is)? Thanks!

Hate to bring it up but where was your nose when you bought it?

Anyway, over the years I've picked up lots of smelly (usually cigarettes) guitars. Usually I'll air out the case and keep the guitar away from it for a month or two. If that doesn't work then I'll spray the case.
 
I know that it's a guitar no no to buy without seeing and trying out the instrument first, but I got lucky. I purchased over a classified ad at Harmony Central, so I couldn't check out the guitar before I bought it...more of a sentimental thing actually since this was my first real guitar that I regretably sold for dirt cheap back in my youth days. But the guitar plays and sounds great. A few minor dings and such, but that's it. I'll try some of the things that you suggested. The smell is so strong that it permeates through my apartment! It's outside now airing out...again. Thanks again.
 
whattaguy said:
The smell is so strong that it permeates through my apartment! It's outside now airing out...again. Thanks again.
Damn, with winter coming on and the price of firewood, do you need any other ideas? :eek:
 
i second the voodoo



i put a curse on the first electric 6-string i borrowed for ever from my cousin. it smelled like.....old.....it hadnt been played in a long time, and it was just funky. the amp smelled bad too, the amp still smells funky when you get real close to it, its got like a..tweed finish type thingy, i dont know. its just a little crap-o crap.




but all i did was air them out, i was worried about spraying them down with random chemicals.



id just let it air out, change the strings, whipe it down with a moist cloth, maybe open up the pick guard and clean it out, might find some funk in there.



freak
 
guitar funk

when i got a new guitar case thats when the problems started.

maybye im just paranoid, but when i leave my guitar in the case my strings rot, i think it could be some ploy by the guitar shop to make me buy more strings, maybye they sprayed it with something...... they get sticky and smell like a cross between maple syrup and sweat sock.... ewww.

im thinking maybye its condensation inside the case, but i dont think a new guitar case should be so rank.
 
I love the smell of my new Martin D-28. Best guitar I've ever smelled! It's kinda like that new car smell thing- but more like a wood shop. I wonder how long D-28's smell like this.
 
Just when I thought I was over it...


This chicks cat pissed on my '72 SG!!!
(I tried EVERYTHING including steam cleaning to get the smell out of that case... F#$@ing cat!!)

:)
 
The disaster restoration place I used to work for had an ozone room, where they put stinky items in to de-stench (from fires and floods etc). I don't know how it works but they'll put everything in there from artwork, to furniture and utensils and things. Worse case scenario you could call somewhere like that and ask how much they would charge to throw your guitar in there for a little while. They didn't seem to keep anything in there for much more than about half an hour, so it wouldn't take long.

Might be a bit of a hassle to organise it, but I doubt that your guitar would be harmed and you wouldn't be stinky anymore :D Anyway, just a suggestion.
 
I bought a guitar from a smoker...YUK! I got one of those country candle smelly things (almost like the pine tree's you hang in the car) put it in the pouch of the guitar case...took a few weeks, but it smells perty now.
 
Oooh vanilla pods are meant to be good for that too. Maybe you should just get some of those stinky sachet things that are meant to go in drawers and see if that works.
 
Back
Top