Fret Conditioning for a Brand Spanking new PRS SE 24 Custom

[tyt921]

Just as the title suggest! I bought a new guitar supposedly new in box from eBay. I just wondering if I need to condition the wood on the fret board of my new guitar or change out the strings. People say for every brand any brand, changing strings are the number one thing to do. But knowing these are PRS's and they are supposedly playable right out of the box as a motto from Paul Reed Smith not sure if changing strings are necessary. I am a beginner this is my first "real" guitar been playing for 1 month or less.

Any tips for a beginner for keeping this guitar stay fresh? Should I wipe it down everytime i finish playing? Due to the oil which will rust strings or eat the wood or what not I hear from others...thanks!

 

[Pfloyd57]

It's always a good idea to wipe your strings and hardware down after each playing, particularly so if you are prone to sweating a lot. I don't see any reason why you need to condition your fretboard. I'm playing a 50 year old fender with rosewood board and it has never seen a drop of conditioner in all of those years. Change the strings if they sound dull or if they are corroded. Otherwise, I wouldn't change them until they actually need it.

 

[Deleted member 2284]

Yeah. Just play the damn thing till your fingers bleed! (take a break when your fingers or hands ache, though!! This is the most important lesson you'll ever learn if you want to keep playing)

wiping down is generally a good idea. I never remember to do it; try to make it a habit from the start, you're better off that way.

Learn to play with a light touch in your fretting hand (though that can be hard until your hands understand how you want them to move. Just go slowly)

And then maybe get a good setup once you've played for a while.


Enjoy!!! And congrats on your starting a lifelong journey!!!!!!


(oh, and stay away from this forum... It's a horrible environment if you want to have money for clothes, food and the like........ Seriously, avoid GAS!!!)

 

[sleary]

Great advice but I don't listen to them lol

I use fret doctor on my fretboard once or twice a year. Mainly because I like the color of a darker fretboard. Wiping your guitar down is a great idea .

 

[FennRx]

rosewood boards do well with a little conditioning, especially if the guitar experiences temperature and humidity changes. I apply a bit of lemon oil to the board once or twice a year.

Fret Doctor is also a nice product as it conditions and tends to enhance the visual aesthetic.

 

[László]

Congrats, and welcome. Rosewood is an inherently oily wood, which is why it doesn't need to be finished. Like Pfloyd57, I have an old guitar (a 49 year old SG Special that has never had its fingerboard treated). The guitar has been in my family since new, and the fingerboard is in perfect shape despite many Michigan winters and seasonal changes. The guitar was never babied. Here's a picture of that 49 year old fingerboard; as you can see it's still in glossy shape despite being only "oiled" with finger oil for all that time:



Lemon oil is fine for cleaning gunk off, since it's only lemon-scented naphtha (lighter and dry cleaning fluid is pretty much the same thing). It actually removes oils from the surface of the wood, so the idea of using a ton of it and having it somehow soak in can do more harm than good. How often you need to clean your fretboard depends on how gunky your hands are, but probably not often if you use common sense and wipe it down with a soft cloth after use..

PRS recommends sealing the wood after cleaning with plain old furniture polish, such as Behold.

No one but the maker has a clue what's in something like Fret Doctor other than it's mostly mineral oil, which can soften the surface of the wood, become sticky and attract dirt if overused. So unless having a darker fingerboard is something you think is a really, really big deal, you may be better off following PRS' recommendation.