advice on yearly guitar maintanence/care?

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Monkey Man said:
Interesting brother.

I once heard that overdoing it could cause frets to eventually work their way out. Sounds strange, I know.

That's why I've been so-cautious with it all these years; I'd rather under-do it than go the other way.
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I know people using lemon oil every two weeks on their fretboards for 20+ years. This is a myth. I sometimes think people start these myths just to fuck with people. Alternately, it could be techs. What techs do is not magic. If you are mechanically inclined, you can pick it up extremely fast. It is measurment and adjustment. Soldering, lubricating. If you have expendable income and a good tech, fuck it. However, a setup is very personal, so I have had a tech do it when i was lazy, and the guitar came back with way too low of an action. Everyone brags about a low action, so techs naturally just go to this. But if you are a heavy player, this is not the way. So no tech will set things up the way you can, simply because they do not play the guuitar for you.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
I know people using lemon oil every two weeks on their fretboards for 20+ years. This is a myth. I sometimes think people start these myths just to fuck with people. Alternately, it could be techs. What techs do is not magic. If you are mechanically inclined, you can pick it up extremely fast. It is measurment and adjustment. Soldering, lubricating. If you have expendable income and a good tech, fuck it. However, a setup is very personal, so I have had a tech do it when i was lazy, and the guitar came back with way too low of an action. Everyone brags about a low action, so techs naturally just go to this. But if you are a heavy player, this is not the way. So no tech will set things up the way you can, simply because they do not play the guuitar for you.
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@Monkey Man keep in mind this cat hasn't owned an electric guitar for more than a few years. He is an expert on everything, though.
 
dainbramage0 said:
@Monkey Man keep in mind this cat hasn't owned an electric guitar for more than a few years. He is an expert on everything, though.
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lol. well. I had acoutsics for awhile before. But despite how long i have or haven't had guitars, people that I know that have been doing this for a long time to no detriment probably puts a lie to the myth. Conversely, my dad had an acoustic since he was a kid in the 70s, and he takes care of guitars less than anyone i know, and has never had issues with cracked fretboards.
 
I don't do anything. I just play them daily and adjust the neck when it feels off sometimes that's everyday or once a month and then check intonation, etc. I wipe the strings down by pinching my finger together and dragging it down them. I rarely change strings. MAYBE twice a year if that... and as I said, I play daily. I cant remember the last time I broke a string.
 
I do the same thing but with the corner of a cloth saturated with Finger-Ease.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
I love your string cleaning technique
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I only do it to lessen the fret wear from corrosion. My fingers usually get a black line from the grime. 🤣

Quite often I’ve worn through the wound strings outer windings. At that point I’ll change the strings…🤦‍♂️
 
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psychodave said:
I don't do anything. I just play them daily and adjust the neck when it feels off sometimes that's everyday or once a month and then check intonation, etc. I wipe the strings down by pinching my finger together and dragging it down them. I rarely change strings. MAYBE twice a year if that... and as I said, I play daily. I cant remember the last time I broke a string.
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I hate to say I'm in your camp Dave but I am.....:LOL: My necks rarely move except maybe a little fret sprout on my Frankie in the winter because all my necks are unfinished with gunstock wax and gunstock oil sealing, other than that I haven't used the truss rod ever on my 1983 Kramer and the neck is always perfect. I imagine my guitar guy tweaked it when he refrets it every 5 or ten years. When I built my Jake E Lee Warmoth I adjusted the truss rod to get the right amount of relief on initial setup and I haven't touched it since except for cleaning and restringing maybe yearly at most. I clean with lemon oil and retreat with gunstock wax and gunstock oil as per EBMM recommendations for the axis guitars.

EVH recorded exclusively with old dead strings, he said he liked them that way!
 


Video is pretty boring. Just posted for reference.
 
IME the best maintainence is to maintain the environment in which they live. Start with making sure the temp and humidity are correct. Then just play them and monitor/maintain them.
 
SpiderWars said:
Start with making sure the temp and humidity are correct.
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2 for $10.

https://www.amazon.com/Antonki-Hygr...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
20211225_064456.jpg
 
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Monkey Man said:
I've always been unsure about how often to do this.

I started out once a year but have heard that even that might be too-often, so now it's every 5 years, which admittedly probably isn't enough... maybe? :dunno:

Keen to hear opinions...
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Like Dave and HD said, really just monitor the guitars and see how they feel/play. If you play often enough, no need to oil the board since your fingers take care of that. I remember ten years ago, I put lemon oil on a rosewood board that looked as dry as a desert. It had great tone…until I oiled it. Sounded like shit for months until it dried out a bit. Then I read Chubtone talking about how your fingers natural oils giving the fretboard all it needs, if you play weekly.
 
Thanks mate; makes sense.

Sounds like you overdid the lemon oil that time. I was told 30 years ago to only use a few drops so that's what I've done... every 5 years or so.

I don't play often, but if I were playing regularly-enough, yeah, I'll bet I'd never see symptoms of dryness.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
I oil mine every string change. for an acoustic that is very often. For my electric with coated strings, it can be awhile, lol. I also polish the body with a microfiber (no solution) every string change. I don't mess with the truss rod or anything unless my action isn't kicking ass. I live in texas and hang my guitar on an internal wall, so i generally don't have shit going on as far as weather. I pretty much keep the a/c on all year long.
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This sounds like a very dry atmosphere. Too dry for acoustics or hollow bodies. Do you humidify?
 
I restring my guitar every 6-8 weeks. Wipe my string with a dry cloth after every practice session. I have a dry cloth with my guitar, to keep it free from dust. Then I oil it, to keep my fretboard smooth, clean, and playable. I always ensure to prevent it from any form of moisture also. I always clean the pickups too, after every practice session.

I never like to take a risk with my guitar. That's why I learned to always take care of it, and keep it back in the case after every practice session.
 
Hrmlow4 said:
I restring my guitar every 6-8 weeks. Wipe my string with a dry cloth after every practice session. I have a dry cloth with my guitar, to keep it free from dust. Then I oil it, to keep my fretboard smooth, clean, and playable. I always ensure to prevent it from any form of moisture also. I always clean the pickups too, after every practice session.

I never like to take a risk with my guitar. That's why I learned to always take care of it, and keep it back in the case after every practice session.
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what do you oil it with and how do you clean our pickups?
 
I oil it with the Gerlitz Guitar Honey. And whenever I want to clean my pickups, I just use my old toothbrush to scrub between the posts. Then I simply wipe the guitar with a clean, dry cloth to make sure there is no moisture left behind.
 
Consider a new toothbrush. I mean a brand new one - dedicated for your guitars. I've read good things about that guitar honey.
 
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