Dry fretboards - cause for concern?

[Faber]

I was looking at some Gibsons yesterday at my local shop. Some of them very very cool indeed and very well made as far as I could see(a 61 SG among them). I noticed though that several of them had extremely dry, light coloured rosewood fingerboards that felt almost porous to the touch. Is this something to steer clear of, or simply a matter of conditioning it after purchase?

[AndrewGG]

My new Les Paul Traditional had a dryish-looking fretboard when I bought it but a few drops of Dr Duck's Ax Wax and a good, hard polishing helped a lot. The oils in your fingers will keep a fretboard from becoming too dry.

[Faber]

I'd expect as much, but I got curious - the guitars I have all have far darker, harder boards, that felt less open from the get go, so I wondered if these light/open boards was something to look out for.

 

Btw most of the guitars I looked at yesterday put the "Gibson QC suck" routine to shame. One 339 had a crooked neck PU but that was about the only thing I could find on five guitars I tried

[tiltsta]

My 08 standard arrived a little on the dry side. The rosewood board on mine looks very dense (not much in terms of open grain pores). Color was not very light, and the wood certainly didn't look porous. A little mineral oil turned the board very dark brown, and it looks like typical rosewood....although it still has very little grain pattern or grain pores.

[twotimingpete]

if you're deathly afraid of lemon oil then it might be cause for concern.

[Faber]

if you're deathly afraid of lemon oil then it might be cause for concern.

 

My secret is out

[JimboJ]

Of course it's porous, its wood!! Why does eveyone make a big deal about dry fretboards? I always thought wood was supposed to be dry. If its not dry, it gets moldy. Why are fretboards any different?

 

I suspect its just a visual thing. People like to see shiny wood, not dull. Since rosewood is usually not finished, it looks dull. But just because its dull, doesn't mean the wood is any drier than your glossy maple fretboard.

[Eddie]

Don't use Lemon Oil to condition a fingerboard. Use bore oil.

I use Roche Thomas Fingerboard Oil. Suhr uses it and recommends it.

Another option if you don't mind paying more, is Fret Doctor.

 

Lemon Oil is OK for cleaning.

[Eddie]

Why does eveyone make a big deal about dry fretboards?

 

Because not many people want a cracked fingerboard.

Depending on where you live, this may or may not be a problem. For many people conditioning a fingerboard is important.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Because not many people want a cracked fingerboard. Depending on where you live, this may or may not be a problem. For many people conditioning a fingerboard is important.

 

Rosewood dried correctly is about as likely to crack as a nun's {censored}.

 

Gibson are about the only maker who really seem to dry their fretboard timbers really really well, and then make them into a fretboard. This makes sure that when they put the guitar together the timber is at it's smallest possible and therefore when the binding and frets go in it ain't gonna move.

Rosewood is naturally oily, and doesn't need any "conditioning"

[Axegrinder009]

A good rosewood fretboard probably won't crack, but if it's too dry it might shrink a bit and cause some action/buzzing or intonation issues. I use a commercial wood cleaner to remove the 'gunk', and then apply a furniture grade lemon oil. I have been doing this for about 25 years and have had no problems.

 

Of course, there are a number of oils that work fine, so the choice is yours. I know some folks who swear by pure mineral oil. If you don't use any oil ever you might be just fine, but I have seen a few cases where the rosewood fretboard has shrunk so much that some of the frets became loose. It should be noted that there are a wide variety of rosewoods, and some are more dense and stable than others.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

A good rosewood fretboard probably won't crack, but if it's too dry it might shrink a bit and cause some action/buzzing or intonation issues.

 

 

If it's dried correctly before it is worked it can't logically shrink:wave:

[Eddie]

Rosewood dried correctly is about as likely to crack as a nun's {censored}. Gibson are about the only maker who really seem to dry their fretboard timbers really really well, and then make them into a fretboard. This makes sure that when they put the guitar together the timber is at it's smallest possible and therefore when the binding and frets go in it ain't gonna move. Rosewood is naturally oily, and doesn't need any "conditioning"

 

Includes picture of a nun's {censored}

http://www.tothestage.com/upload/Humidity_and_Temperature_1892.pdf

 

And I had to apply conditioner to both of the Gibsons I bought last year, since the fingerboard was very dry.

[mikesr1963]

Lem oil will make it pretty and look moist whether it is or not and take the worry away.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

And I had to apply conditioner to both of the Gibsons I bought last year, since the fingerboard was very dry.

 

 

That's the point, it should be dry, as dry as possible

[Eddie]

If it's dried correctly before it is worked it can't logically shrink:wave:

 

And "Gibson are about the only maker who really seem to dry their fretboard timbers really really well"?

 

My guess is that Hamer does it better, but maybe that's just me.

[Eddie]

 

That's the point, it should be dry, as dry as possible

 

 

It looked bad. It felt bad. I don't think it was supposed to be like that. Most of my guitars have had rosewood fingerboards and none were like that.

[Eddie]

 

Lem oil will make it pretty and look moist whether it is or not and take the worry away.

 

 

"After using lemon oil, I don't feel as if I've added much to the wood or gained much protection. They are a nice softener and cleaner, however, for caked dirt."

Dan Erlewine

How to make your electric guitar play great!: the electric guitar owner's manual

P. 13

[Faber]

 

It looked bad. It felt bad. I don't think it was supposed to be like that. Most of my guitars have had rosewood fingerboards and none were like that.

 

 

This is what I was thinking yesterday as well. A couple of those boards were really quite coarse to the touch. And dry enough that i thought they had sawdust on them

[bvr775]

its already been said but rosewood is oily..if it looks dry and chalky then something is wrong. It could mean that it was left in kiln too long or its ebony. If it was over dried this can(in a rare case)cause a problem after a few years of playing it because the wood will start to expand and the board will become uneven.

 

 

This is what I was thinking yesterday as well. A couple of those boards were really quite coarse to the touch. And dry enough that i thought they had sawdust on them

 

 

They arent finished and this is what bothers allot of us about gibson.Ill tell you like this If it bothers now, its going to bother you even more after you drop the cash on one.

 

 

ive owned a few new one in the past year. Allot of the issues Ive had with gibson were over the paint, bindings and fretboards..u know the finish work... Im not buying the low end guitars either. Im spending 2-3g for a guitar. for that kinda money I expect a better guitar than i get for 300-500.

[Cold Gin]

Rosewood dried correctly is about as likely to crack as a nun's {censored}. Gibson are about the only maker who really seem to dry their fretboard timbers really really well, and then make them into a fretboard. This makes sure that when they put the guitar together the timber is at it's smallest possible and therefore when the binding and frets go in it ain't gonna move. Rosewood is naturally oily, and doesn't need any "conditioning"

 

 

 

 

 

I've never used lemon oil or any of the other crap on my rosewood boards and none of them have cracked so far. But I do hate brownish, pale looking rosewood boards. I like 'em almost black with a tight grain.

[Axegrinder009]

No doubt a top quality real rosewood fretboard will not be a problem if left untreated. I agree. However, there is a very wide variety of rosewood out there, some of it isn't even real rosewood [just a stain] so I will err on the side of caution.

 

Having said that, since I'm a huge Dan E. fan, I will have to consider what he says with some attention. He is the MAN when it comes to guitar set-up and repair.

[Metalrulez]

Lemon oil,boiled linseed oil,raw linseed oil(just be careful with the rags they can ignite spontaneously) bore oil or commercial fretboard conditioners all work. To me the best thing is finger grease. Just play the damm thing and it will take care of its self.

[Armitage]

If you have a properly dried piece of natural rosewood, and leave it on your book shelf in a home with a stable temperature with stable humidity, out of the sun without any moving air around it, it'll sit happy forever (as long as it's not too big). It's natural oils are more then enough to protect it.

 

Everything goes a bit wrong once you regularly change the temperature and humidity, (winter/summer, home, car, bar, outdoor show), glue it to another type of wood that expands and contracts at a different rate, throw a hot spotlight on it, scrub salty and oily sweat into it, all the while it's under tension. Add to that the fact many companies rush the drying process, and you've got potential (though not guaranteed) problems.

 

Many people who don't oil their rosewood boards end up with guitars whose necks need constant adjustments, fret ends sticking out, and less often, cracked fretboards (ebony cracks easier though).

 

Many people also don't oil their boards and don't have a problem, and most often, it's where they live and what they put their guitars through, or should I say don't put their guitar through. Also just about any tech will oil your board when you bring your guitar in and he's got the strings off... so people might not think it's been oiled in the last few years, and it has.

 

What you are trying to do is stabilize the wood by adding a barrier to slow down these changes in humidity and keep salts and rancid animal fats out of it. And you want to use a barrier that'll stay put, won't hurt you, the wood, the glue (holding in the fret-markers etc) or the finish. BTW, you're not feeding or nourishing anything that's already dead.

 

Once a year or so is more then enough for most people to keep a fretboard looking like new for... well almost ever. You don't want to over do it either. You can deaden a necks resonance and depending what you use you can make a fretboard punky and it'll chip damp bits off when you finally need a fret change... and some oils will cause fret markers to loosen.

 

"Real" Lemon Oil is the industry standard for cleaning fretboards for hundreds of years, (it has nothing to do with lemons BTW, it's a petroleum product, it's just yellow and has a tart smell). It cleans grungy fretboards well, but some brands strip the natural oil out of the wood. It's poisonous, and some brands are flammable. Most lemon oils are simply low grade Light Mineral Oil and a splash of naphtha (or similar solvent), and many times a lemon scent is added because people expect a lemon oil to smell of lemons.

 

You can buy a "Real" Lemon Oil made from lemons too, at a health food store, but you wouldn't want that on wood. It's a different thing altogether, it's a powerful degreaser and it's corrosive. You can see how people get confused when there are two unrelated "Real Lemon Oils" out there. Specially when the one you don't want is made of real lemons.

 

Pure Light Mineral Oil works great, (most lemon oils are 99% mineral oil) while not as good of a cleaner, (it doesn't have the solvent) it's much better for the wood, it doesn't strip anything. It's clean and pure, it's inert, doesn't smell, evaporate or go bad, heck some people drink it as a home cure. Luthiers at Hamer, Martin and PRS recommend it over Lemon Oil (I was there, I asked). You only need to use a little. The best place to buy it is your local drug store. Really. The stuff for sale for human consumption is the purest/highest grade. They usually have to order it; it's worth waiting one more string change to do the job right. Dr Duck's, Gibson's Fretboard conditioner, bore oil, Fast Fret, Fender and Dunlop's fretboard stuff is all low grade Light Mineral Oil with a light solvent added, and when sold in a little special guitar store bottle, that is the most expensive way to buy it!

[superdistortion]

Raw linseed oil is the best treatment.