STRING AND FRETBOARD MAINTENANCE

[rrhea]

One thing I've done to prolong string life is to deep clean the fretboard more often than I used to. I might do it now after every three or four string changes, or when I simply notice a lot of gunk on the board (as opposed to once or twice a year, as before). Dirt from the board instantly transfers to the strings when you play and dirties them faster.

Maple boards get just as dirty as Rosewood, but because they are lighter so you don't always see the gunk (think white car vs. black car). Keeping my boards cleaner made a huge difference in string life, and the guitar is much more playable with smoother bending and easier string slides without all the gunk slowing you down.

Ryan

[andy7jem]

Originally Posted by Chimp

So what do I use to keep my strings nice 'n clean 'n fresh? Jim Dunlop guitar string conditioner?

Try changin' 'em once in a while

[RedShiftRider]

Use FingerEase!!! It is GREAT!!!! Using this, mine stay like new for weeks playing pretty much daily. But I don't use it as recommended on the bottle. I blast some on my string cleaning rag in a small area then clean each string (the directions on the bottle advise spraying it all over the place....causes nasty build up everywhere). I also have the Dunlop kit and use the fingerease over the dunlop string conditioner. If anyone else uses it, I am curious to know what they think about it.

[ChopTart]

Finger Ease is ok, if you follow the directions on the bottle that say to spray it all over your neck, the feel turns into speedy gonzales for a few songs worth, but it doesn't stay. I mainly used it to remove funk from the strings and keep them relatively clean, and it worked fine for that.

BTW thanks Jim for telling me about lemon oil's destructive properties and helping me kick my addiction before it got me (I went to Lemon Oilholics Anonymous and followed the 12 step plan. It's under control now).

[JJEMMER777]

Originally Posted by ChopTart

It's under control now).

Salutes!

Good man Chop



Chimp (and others)

I must say, I don't understand the need for string conditioners??

How often do you guys change your strings??

Is it a sweaty hand (gunk) deal??

?? Someone please enlighten me

Will it TRIPLE my run speed??

[RedShiftRider]

The need for string conditioners is probably just due to skin chemistry. Some people's hands/skin wear out strings faster. Using Finger Ease keeps my strings more slick. Without using it my strings seem to "dry out" (rust?) and lose life and my fingers tend to "stick" to the strings.

[Batchimp RG]

Originally Posted by JJEMMER777

Salutes!

Good man Chop



Chimp (and others)

I must say, I don't understand the need for string conditioners??

How often do you guys change your strings??

Is it a sweaty hand (gunk) deal??

?? Someone please enlighten me

Will it TRIPLE my run speed??

I find lately that I am corroding my strings faster than usual. I change my strings regularly but I don't want to change them every week....and yes i think I am getting sweaty fingertips too. I feel I need to wipe the 'acids' or moisture off my instrument. Paranoia maybe...like I said before, i just want to keep my axe as nice as possible.

[markg5150]

Try these 2 products, both are cheap and effective.

The Mansons fingerboard oil is particularly good - and smells nice too

If your having problems with the unwound strings feeling nasty quickly give a set of Elixirs a try

http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/Catal...?productId=403
http://www.mansons.co.uk/product_inf...TOKEN=99491910

[crevis]

Originally Posted by andy7jem

Try changin' 'em once in a while

If you really want to keep it in perfect condition and play it, you should change the strings like every fortnight at least.

[JJEMMER777]

Originally Posted by Chimp

I find lately that I am corroding my strings faster than usual. I change my strings regularly but I don't want to change them every week....and yes i think I am getting sweaty fingertips too. I feel I need to wipe the 'acids' or moisture off my instrument. Paranoia maybe...like I said before, i just want to keep my axe as nice as possible.

Hmm...never had the problem you guys are talking about and my fingers never "stick" to the strings.

Maybe you guys need to change your diets