Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: _tom_ on October 10, 2005, 05:30:34 PM
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I wiped some fastfret type stuff on my acoustics fingerboard/strings last night, as they havent been cleaned for ages. Today I go to play it and notice the fingerboard has loads of white bits appeared from no where, I guess the grain has reacted to the stuff? It doesnt affect its playability or anything as it still feels all smooth, but it doesnt look very nice! Its a rosewood fingerboard I think. Should I let some lemon oil soak in next time I change strings? (also, itd be a good thing if someone could give me a how-to on changing acoustic strings as I've never done it before, its one of those bridges with the push in pin bits)
Cheers!
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its just the fast fret stuff finding its way into the pores of the wood... dont think it damages it any, my m8 uses fast fret on his bass, has done for years and his strings\neck still feels great (same strings for about 2 years lol)
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hmm ok, it does look pretty cr@p though! I've never noticed it on any other guitars before..
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never had a problem with it on my guitar... till one of the guys stole the fakkin thing cos it made the strings feel like new.
havent seen it in stores since
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I got a new tube at the weekend. I still have a metal Fast Fret container from years back- much better than the modern plastic jobs. I remember buying several tubes from Manny's in NYC for my mates along with Manny's plectrums ( or should that be plectra)- they thought it was cool- the fools.
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hmm. This isnt actually the "real" fast fret, as the shop didnt have any. Its Dr Stringfellows String cleaning stuff..
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even so, I'd like to think that they would not have put anything didgy into it ... or am I being naive
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Hmm they probably wouldnt, I never had this problem last time I used it. Maybe I put too much on..
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white stuff might be from the cloth that comes with it? that cloth sucks ass!
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(also, itd be a good thing if someone could give me a how-to on changing acoustic strings as I've never done it before, its one of those bridges with the push in pin bits)
Cheers!
You might need something to pull out the pins. Most string winders have a half-moon cutout in the edge of the key box, this is a pin puller. If you don't have one, a 2p can sometimes do it. slacken the string first, then take out the pin. The pins usually have a groove down the front, when you put in the new string, have the groove facing it and the neck of the guitar.
Also, on an accoustic, change one string at a time to keep the tension on the top more constant.
Good luck
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Tom, where did you buy this stuff from?
Phil, I never knew that about acoustics, why do you have to do that?
Andy!
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It seems to be better for the tops to keep a bit of tension on them - of course if you have to work on the guitar then you might have to take off all the strings.
One thing I forgot to say, don't push the pins in really hard! They will grip anyway when you tune the string. If you force them in, then they will be even worse to get out next time.
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I've noticed the white residue from fast fret, and that cloth is afwful, bits of fluff all over the place!
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Hm the thing is, its not actually FastFret, its the Kyser Dr Stringfellows stuff, and Andy it came from Make Music :lol: Its not a residue though, it looks like the grains changed colour :? Should I at least try lemon oil? As it looks horrible at the minute
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I guess all of the similar products have the same effect, I gave up on Fast Fret ages ago though (mainly because of the cloth), I just use some lemon oil every now & then and that works fine.
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can you take us some pictures:? or would it not be noticable in pictures? seems odd...
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I'm not sure about lemon oil, I've heard some people say it's not good for fretboards. As a former chippie I know that some woods benefit from being oiled - linseed oil on beech worktops is a good example. From what I hear lemon oil is a solvent/ degreaser which is a different thing altogether. I know it smells nice but you'd get the same effect using lemon fragrance fairy liquid, although it might look interesting if your fingers are sweating at a gig and the neck starts producing lather.
Two methods I've been recommended for cleaning fretboards are:
1. 000 grade wire wool - you'd need to put some masking tape over the pickups as they'll attract the minute metal particles and you'e supposed to do it very gently.
2. Gently scr@pe of the dirt with the edge of a credit card - I'd recommend using an expired one otherwise I can't predict what would happen when you put it in a cash machine.
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the only thing is, it doesnt look like its a residue or dirt, just the wood grain has gone white :? I hear lemon oil is good for rosewood boards? But not maple as thats allready finished.. I dont think it'll show up in pics but I'll try and get one tomorrow.
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I use lemon oil on rosewood and ebony fingerboards with no problems. Just don't drown them in it. You only need a little and then rub it into the grain.
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Ok, I'll order a bottle when I order some new strings. Any ideas what string brand and gauge is best for acoustics?
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Accoustics vary so much that it is hard to tell you what will work. Just to give you an idea, I went through brass, bronze, 80/20 phosphor bronze, light, med-light and medium gauges to find the strings to suit my guitars. I also use different ones for different guitars.
One thing I can tell you, don't use extra light gauge, go with medium or med-light. You get a much fuller sound. My favourite accoustic strings are John Pearse (http://www.jpstrings.com/brstring.htm), but I also use Earthwood and D'Addario.
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hm ok. I think at the minute it has 11s on it, at least thats what the bloke in the shop said..
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Hm the thing is, its not actually FastFret, its the Kyser Dr Stringfellows stuff, and Andy it came from Make Music :lol: Its not a residue though, it looks like the grains changed colour :? Should I at least try lemon oil? As it looks horrible at the minute
I have to say that Fastfret leaves my fretboard unaffected, whereas DrStringfellow from Kyser changed the color of my board. So you are spot on this one.
FF + Thomastik Infelds = No string change for 3 weeks (i used to change every 10 days)
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A word in defence of lemon oil; lemon oil does have a slight solvent/degreasant quality and it's this that helps get all the sweat and epidermis off the finger board. The solvent or to be more precise the "light ends" as they're known in the petro-chem industry, then help to carry the oily constituants into the surface of the wood before evaporating off leaving a nice oily finish behind.
In short it's bloody good stuff!