dry fretboard?

RG-Head · #1 10-28-2003, 12:22 PM

I got a RG350 and the fretboard looks quite different to the previous guitars i have had... it looks well dry so my question is how can you tell if the fretboard is dry? Shall i use lemon oil to revive it? i have fast fret, will this work too?

Thanks.

nuno · #2 10-28-2003, 01:00 PM

don't use Fast Fret, use some lemon oil or oil for wood. usually, a dry fretboard looks clearer than what it's supposed to be.
anyway, if you just bought it, get some oil on the fretboard and it will do the job.

microdmitry · #3 10-29-2003, 02:35 AM

I use bore oil on my fretboards. I heard it's the same stuff that's used on wooden parts of bagpipes. Cost me three bucks.

RG-Head · #4 10-29-2003, 12:24 PM

cool, thanks for the replies.

I guess i will need to pop out and buy some lemon oil

bloodandtears · #5 10-29-2003, 01:04 PM

a few questions...

what's wrong with fast fret?
where do you get lemon oil from?

and finally..

what do you guys use to wipe your strings down with after a few hours of shredding?

nuno · #6 10-29-2003, 01:44 PM

nothing wrong with Fast Fret: simply it's not an oil for wood.
it gets your fretboard slippery while you play and it cleans up the fretboard from your hand' sweat when you stop playing, but it does not 'feed' your fretboard.

i highly recommend you to get some good oil, you'll find it in a store for house stuff, dont know how you call it.
or better, those Dunlop 01 and 02 oil & prep, they're simply wonderful. you'll find them in a decent guitar shop.

to clean the strings, i use Dunlop string cleaner, i put some in a rag then i wipe it back & forth under each string. Dunlop makes wonderful products, definitely.

clnh5 · #7 10-29-2003, 02:12 PM

you can get lemon oil alot of places, i got mine at my local grocery store, its called Holloway House Lemon Oil, and it works just fine on all my fretboards!

RG-Head · #8 10-29-2003, 02:17 PM

since most oils can be used on the fretboard, can i use tea tree oil? i've searched the entire forum and found not even one topic on "tea tree oil"

i got loads lying around in the house.

Artist · #9 10-29-2003, 02:47 PM

For cleaning my strings (and most parts of my guitar) I use a microfibre cloth, they are kinda pricey but really great as they dont leave polishing marks and can really shift nastyness.

darren wilson · #10 10-29-2003, 03:17 PM

Tea tree oil?

I'm not sure what harm or good it would do a fretboard, but it's usually used as a skin treatment. And more often than not, there's other stuff mixed in with these preparations that you wouldn't want to apply to your guitar. Just because something has "oil" in its name, it isn't necesarily interchangeable with other kinds of oils.

Read this and decide for yourself if you want to put it on your guitar:

http://www.allnatural.net/herbpages/tea-tree.shtml

Lemon oil (and many other wood treatments) should be available at most hardware stores that have a section for wood or furniture finishing. Rich swears by bore oil, which is used for treating and conditioning woodwind instruments like clarinets.

microdmitry · #11 10-30-2003, 01:26 AM

You guys wipe your strings every time you stop playing? Jesus Christ, you got too much time on your hands. I replace them every month and that's it. When crap accumulates heavily on the fretboard I give it bore oil treatment. Not every day.

darren wilson · #12 10-30-2003, 01:29 AM

Heh. I give my strings a quick wipe before the guitar goes back in its case, but that's about it. I change strings every couple of months. The fact that i'm now playing .011s means i'm going through picks much faster than i'm going through strings these days. I wear a Big Stubby down to a rounded nub in about 8-10 rehearsals.

Rich · #13 10-30-2003, 01:39 AM

If you're not mutilating your pick every song you're definately not playing enough 80's rock!!

frankfalbo · #14 10-30-2003, 03:14 PM

Hey darren I read that thing on tea tree oil, which is good because I have a lot of guitars that are 13-15yrs old, and as we all know, that's when the puberty and acne kicks in!

The last thing I need is a breakout on the third fret! Not to mention the self esteem problems.

I'm not sure how I'd use the suppositories though.

darren wilson · #15 10-30-2003, 03:48 PM

Tea tree oil would be perfect for those unsightly fretboard blemishes! I'd be worried about using it on a birdseye maple board, though... it might smooth out the texture!

As for the suppositories, maybe sticking one up one's ass before playing would prevent oily crud from oozing out your pores. It'd at least give you a good rock face.