Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: DH46 on September 07, 2013, 11:05:35 AM
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Hey guys
Apologies if this is in the wrong section, wasn't sure where to put it.
I've had my Jackson King V with a licensed floyd rose for about 2 years. When i change the strings i do it one at a time to keep the Floyd balanced. It's been a while since i properly cleaned the fret board and i was wondering if removing all the strings completely to make it easier to clean would damage it in anyway.
Also i use GHS fast fret to clean the strings but this seems to make the wax and grease build up on the fingerboard even faster so i was wondering what else i could use to prevent this.
Cheers in Advance
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never remove all the strings! it is an absolute nightmare to set up and get it back to how it was, just use lemon oil and a cloth and remove one string at a time, I used to manage to clean my fretboard that way and it took ages but it works.
You shouldn't remove more than one string and try lemon oil to clean the fretboard instead.
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I've removed all the strings a couple of times on some guitars to give the fretboard a good doing. Should be fine as long as:
a) you evenly tension down the strings across the neck a bit at a time.
b) your trem isn't recessed (sunk into the front of the guitar). this doesn't make it impossible actually, just harder and fiddlier.
if it's recessed it harder to shim it. if it's floating like a PRS trem, which i sometimes see floyds set up like, i using playing cards to keep the trem in position, just grab a deck, set them against the back of the trem and push, whatever the trem needs to shim it will get pushed in, whatever it doesn't stays behind.
If it's set up for down bend only, i push it forward and slide a couple cards in there anyway. can protect the finish from denting when string tension is removed.
You can also slack off the truss rod a little, but i don't, like i said, IMO as long as you slack the strings off evenly across the neck a bit a time and only do it once in a while, there shouldn't be any problems. just keep the neck wiped off properly and it should be long long amounts of time between when you need to do this.
As long as you string up again with your usual brand and guage of strings, it shouldn't affect the setup
For a good cleaning i get a very soft/old toothbrush, and lighter fluid (is fine for open grain or sealed necks).
I squirt some into the toothbrush (not the fretboard) and get scrubbing (lightly) with it. then i put a little bit more in a lint free cloth and polish off the board.
THEN i treat it with lemon oil or a fretboard conditioner. lemon oil, or what we call lemon oil, is fine, but IMO don't think there's any point in putting a treating agent onto something thats dirty. It'll just spread the dirt around and work it further in. it's like putting moisturiser on but not washing your face first (it's the 21st century, men use moisturiser ok?)
this is totally IMO though
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You can take off all the strings if you just jam something underneath the trem to keep it "floating" (assuming it's floating in the first place). Obviously be careful not to damage the finish of your guitar, but aside from that, it works fine. I'd also struggle to clean the fretboard if i couldn't take of all the strings at once...