Grateful Dead Music Forum

i own a taylor 110 acoustic and was wondering if care for the fret board is neccesarry. My main concern is that it will dry up. Maybe my brain is fried but i feel like i remember one of my friend saying he does something to his fret board.

Yes you need to care for your fretboard. Otherwise overtime it will dry out and crack. About every 6 months I will put some lemon oil on the fretboard during a string change. It is easy and takes just a couple of minutes. You can buy some at any guitar store in a small applicator type bottle.

You also want to do that to remove any dirt or build up on the fretboard.

thanks, thats just what i wanted to know!

jackr wrote:Yes you need to care for your fretboard. Otherwise overtime it will dry out and crack. About every 6 months I will put some lemon oil on the fretboard during a string change.

+1

I use http://www.formbys.com/products/lemon_oil.cfm

Is it better to change your strings string by string or is it safe to take all the strings off when putting new strings on ?
I was taught to never ever take ALL the strings off a guitar when changing them.
What do you guys think ?

Tennessee Jedi wrote:Is it better to change your strings string by string or is it safe to take all the strings off when putting new strings on ?
I was taught to never ever take ALL the strings off a guitar when changing them.
What do you guys think ?

I'd say never take off all strings unless you either have a fixed bridge or know how to adjust and intonate.

being lazy with my guitars whose bridges come off completely I often leave the D string on so I can still clean.

Used to be rule of thumb to never leave a guitar unstrung for long periods of time. then folks got paranoid.

Martin Website says this although I couldn't find their recommendation:

Can I use lemon oil on my fingerboard?
We do not recommend using lemon oil on our fingerboards. The acids in lemon oil break down the finish of our guitars. It may also aid the corrosion of the frets and lessen the life of the strings.

http://www.martinguitar.com/services/faq.html#q14

Larivee Guitars say this:

We do not recommend the use of any oil, silicon or wax product on the fingerboard. With regular playing the oils from your fingers are more than sufficient (‘to condition the wood”), and the fingerboard should not crack.

http://www.larrivee.com/5_features/educ ... essay.html

Yeah, Martin says that, never use anything, except maybe water. I use Petros Fingerboard oil, which you can get from Maury's Music. Just a drop or two on a paper towel, then just the areas between the metal frets as wiped on, then push it up to the frets as you spread it out. If the frets get oil soaked, then when you need a refret the luthier may not be able to get them to glue in too well because the residual oil prevents adhesion. Probably part of the reason Martin advises against any treatments. But a little oil really makes the fingerboards look nice. You use a little 0000 steel wool first to clean em up, then wipe away the iron filing with a throw-away rag so you don't buff polish your guitar accidentally with metal shavings on your polishing cloth.

With regard to changing strings one by one, if your guitar ever "goes into the shop," they're going to take all the strings off and they don't even think twice about it. However, I will say that every time I've had my guitars worked on they always come back to me with more damage done by the shop than I ever imposed. But they get you out of over protecting your guitar which means that you might let someone else play it, and you stop obsessing over perfection.

Keep your guitar humidified. It's winter most places. Very dry. You'll get a crack in January if you don't humidify at all. Worst month by far.

I don't use any oil on mine either. I may give it a spray of Finger Ease now and then but thats it.

I use a few dabs of Guitar Shoppe Fretboard Restorer every time I change the strings. If nothing else, it makes my fretboard a little darker and cleaner looking. I know you're not supposed to use silicone.

Is it really bad for your guitar to take all the strings off while changing them? I'd like to think my guitars are put together a little more solidly than that, but I know squat about guitar construction.

Despite what is written above and from Martin Corp I'll still lemon oil my fretboard.
That tip was given to my in the 90s from a luthier and from my tech who is world class.

Usage removes natural oils form wood and sweat is not a replacement and it's acidic.

Also dirt is embedded into the frets and dry wood shrinks. Not what I want happening to my guitars.

prephippie wrote:I use a few dabs of Guitar Shoppe Fretboard Restorer every time I change the strings. If nothing else, it makes my fretboard a little darker and cleaner looking. I know you're not supposed to use silicone.

Is it really bad for your guitar to take all the strings off while changing them? I'd like to think my guitars are put together a little more solidly than that, but I know squat about guitar construction.

I doubt its bad for your neck to change strings all at once.

i could see how some sort of twisting/torque problem could arise, kinda seems like a stretch though

I too recently bought some lemon oil (dunlop w/ applicator), and noticed that is said not to use on malple fretboards, so what should be used there?

Many maple fret boards have a clear laquer finish on them and therefor no oil needed. Other maple necks may have toung oil.