One at a time, clean each section of the fretboard thoroughly getting any oil and grime off the board. Once you have decided to remove any or all of the strings, you then need to clean the fretboard by using several alcohol swabs. The truss rod may need to be adjusted again and the bridge may move causing an intonation problem. An acoustic guitar with a pickup under the bridge can seat wrong when restringing causing the strings to have an uneven sound. If it is not a vintage instrument, there are still other risks with taking all of the strings off the guitar. However, this is not always the best if you are not an experienced guitar technician because taking all of the strings off a guitar can lead to many other issues with both electric and acoustic, especially if you are dealing with a vintage instrument. To clean the fretboard, it is easiest to take all of the strings off of the guitar. How do I clean and condition my fretboard on my guitar? ![]() If you are playing clubs, or just at your house, then it depends on how dry the air is. If you are touring heavy, and doing a lot of outdoor shows, then you probably should condition the fretboard about once every 3-4 months. A fretboard only needs conditioned if it is dried out or drying out. How often does a guitar fretboard need cleaned and conditioned?Ī guitar fretboard needs cleaned as you start to see a small amount of dirt or discoloration around your most commonly used frets. Guitar humidifiers are pretty cheap and every guitar should have one in the case. There are humidifiers made for guitars that you keep in your case to help keep the guitar are the correct humidity while in storage in the case. Dry climates where there is low humidity and in cold climates where you heat your house are big reasons why a guitar fret board dries out. A guitar needs to be kept in 40% to 70% relative humidity. This video above demonstrates how to condition the fretboard with lemon oil.ĭirect video link - conditioning a guitar fretboardĪ rosewood guitar fret board is not sealed with laquer or polyeurathane so it remains in a porous state. I would not use any furniture lemon oil as it may contain unwanted additives. There are several other manufacturers who have lemon oil for guitars also. I currently use Planet Waves lemon oil, but I have used the Dunlop system 65 kit in the past also. I have some helpful videos on YouTube that show exactly how to apply lemon oil. Lemon oil is keeps a rosewood or mahogany fretboard looking and feeling new. The best conditioner to use for a healthy guitar fretboard is lemon oil. A healthy fretboard will extend the life of your guitar and lower the need of repair and also raising the value of vintage instruments. This is a sure sign that your guitar is drying out. Plus it looks so much better when a fretboard is clean and conditioned, unless you are into the old, dirty, cracked and broken look. The fretwire may start to feel jagged as you run your hand up or down the neck. It can lead to the fret wire or binding to come loose. Maple fret boards typically have a finish like lacquer or polyurethane and do not require any conditioner.Ī dried fretboard can split and crack. A maple fretboard does not really need conditioned ever because it is a harder fretboard than rosewood. How can you tell if a guitar fretboard needs to be cleaned or conditioned?Ī dark colored guitar fretboard like rosewood, will start to fade in color randomly around the fret board(also known as fingerboard). This is easily fixed with cleaning and conditioning with a small amount of fretboard conditioner oil. I hope I can help you out with this info.Ī dried out fretboard is a common thing. ![]() WIth over 20 years experience as a touring guitar tech, I am often asked several questions about fretboard maintenance. Most questions are about cleaning and conditioning. I will show you how to easily clean and condition a rosewood or maple guitar fretboard.
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