This is one of those ideas that makes you wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?” A Brooklyn-based company called ToneGear recently introduced a new string-cleaning tool called—appropriately enough—the String Cleaner, which slides between the fingerboard and the strings, then closes to completely incase all six strings. Once closed, you guide the tool up and down the neck several times, cleaning the full length of the strings in the process.
The new tool was awarded “Best in Show” for “Company on the Rise” during the recently completed Summer NAMM ’08 in Nashville.
“I couldn’t believe there wasn’t an existing tool in the marketplace that effectively cleaned the strings by getting underneath them,” said Dave Chiappetta, founder and president of ToneGear.
The new tool will soon be available at music stores everywhere. Chiapetta already has one U.S. patent secured and two more pending, and has already inked distribution deals with Canadian-based D’Addario, and with other companies in Sweden, Denmark, Japan, and Ireland.
For more information, visit the company’s website at—what else—www.thestringcleaner.com. —Gabriel J. Hernandez