Do rosewood necks need to be oiled/maintained in any different way vs. Maple/Mahogany necks?

Utkarsh

Ministry of guitar
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So folks, as some of you know, I have 3 rosewood necked guitars (2 513 RWs and a ME1).
I haven't treated them any differently from my other maple/mahogany necked guitars and they are always stored in their hardcase so they look and feel fine.

However I heard from a acquaintance that rosewood necks need to be oiled otherwise they tend to crack. Is this true? Also, if not entirely true, is there a different maintenance regimen I should be following for rosewood necks?

P.S: I live in the tropics but the guitars are in a lower humidity room

Thanks a lot
Utkarsh
 
I’ve not done anything to my rosewood PRS necks, but this video is what I used for my EBMM guitars that had EIRW necks. I was all about learning this when I first got them, only to find it was very, very rarely needed. I still have almost all of the original supplies. Like I said, I haven’t done anything to my BRW necks yet. As they are less porous than EIRW, it would probably be needed even less frequently.


That said, I’ll likely still make a call to the PRS maintenance guys before proceeding, just to be sure this procedure lines up with the PRS recommendations. If someone has a PRS video on this, I’d love to see it.
 
always used lemon oil on rosewood fretboard at every string changes, with general cleaning (let's say 1 time a year at most, i don't play that much).
nothing on maple fretboard.
 
Interesting tidbit: The "lemon oil" you get for guitar fretboards/necks is just mineral oil with lemon scent added.

If you don't like the smell, just use straight mineral oil.

Never use *actual* lemon oil, it's very acidic.
 
My oldest rosewood neck has been in my hands for 20 years and I never oil it. I wipe it off with a dry cloth after I play it, but nothing else.
The oil from my hands is more than enough for it.

I do occasionally oil a rosewood fretboard when I change strings - if it looks dry.
This is my routine, as well. Dry micro fiber on anything maple. Nothing more.
 
Fret Doctor, once a year... Can't say if it is really necessary, but when I leave it on the neck and frets of my 513RW for 10 minutes some of it is absorbed... Wipe the excess off with a microfiber and it feels great again.
 
Interesting tidbit: The "lemon oil" you get for guitar fretboards/necks is just mineral oil with lemon scent added.

If you don't like the smell, just use straight mineral oil.

Never use *actual* lemon oil, it's very acidic.

And a petroleum distillate as well.


There are several products on the market.

Crimson guitars do a very nice double pack of fret board cleaner and rejuvenater.

A luthier friend uses almond oil, bought from the local chemist on fretboards.

I can’t imagine the RW neck would be any different. A light application of your chosen oil will protect the wood from moisture/detritus ingress.
 
Finger oil works great on most of my BRW neck. The parts that don't get my personalized finger oil get a little fret board conditioner when I change strings. Pretty simple.
 
I used to use "lemon oil" (yep, ye olde furniture product) on rosewood fretboards until I became aware that it contains petroleum distillates. I've used Fret Doctor for over 12 years now and I'd never use anything else on rosewood fretboards. I've used this stuff on the ugliest, driest fretboards and it totally transformed them...so much so that you'd think it was a different slice of wood.It's terrific stuff that I've used on Brazilian Rosewood and other variants. Also works great or Pau Ferro.
 
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Mine hasn’t needed anything. I’m hesitant to use oil or anything that might ruin that cool dry velvety feel.

Don’t leave it out in the rain :)
 
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