How often do you guys oil your fretboards, generally?

notCardio

I walk the line
Title says it.

I know if it gets gunky and you do a thorough cleaning, which would be based on how often it gets played, but aside from that, do you just do it when you think it looks obviously dried out?

I haven't asked a silly question in a while, and this place obviously needed one.
 
Just when they are dried out looking. I have one that I've used enough fret ease on it that it now never ever dries out. Also some of my guitars are gloss coated fretboard which don't need it. It depends on the level of humidity really. The summer down here I have that ac cranking and it just sucks the moisture out of the air and it can dry the hell out of anything wooden.
 
Just when they are dried out looking. I have one that I've used enough fret ease on it that it now never ever dries out. Also some of my guitars are gloss coated fretboard which don't need it. It depends on the level of humidity really. The summer down here I have that ac cranking and it just sucks the moisture out of the air and it can dry the hell out of anything wooden.

Don't you need to clean it often because of the fret ease gunking it up?
 
When I change my strings, but that is not as often as it should be.

So you clean and oil it every time you change strings? I mean, I do too, but I can go years (and years, on some) without changing strings. That's one of the reasons I don't oil mine more often, I don't want to have to change strings to do it. I don't mind meticulously cleaning and oiling the fretboard, but man, do I hate changing strings. And I even have one of those power winders.
 
My first bass (1974) and first 12 string (1978) still hang on the wall along with every other one I have owned. The 12 string still has the same strings on it, as does the bass. None have ever had any oil or clever treatment. They've had a wipe when played live and got a bit sweaty. The 12 string, in honesty does need new strings because they're rough now with surface corrosion, but I'm the sceptic on all this stuff. I give the bodies a polish with what my wife uses on furniture from time to time, but no faddy stuff at all. I often wonder if these products attract grime?
 
Don't you need to clean it often because of the fret ease gunking it up?

Nope. The only guitar I ever had the neck gunk up on was my 62 reissue SG and it was never oiled. Sweat and skin cells seem to gunk more than the fret ease ever did.
 
So you clean and oil it every time you change strings? I mean, I do too, but I can go years (and years, on some) without changing strings. That's one of the reasons I don't oil mine more often, I don't want to have to change strings to do it. I don't mind meticulously cleaning and oiling the fretboard, but man, do I hate changing strings. And I even have one of those power winders.

You and I suffer from the same thing. It takes what 15 minutes? But still I am with you, maybe not years, but not more than twice a year.
But I use this stuff called lemon oil fretboard conditioner. Works well and makes the fretboard look nice and clean.

On my acoustics I do change at least once a year as it makes a big sound difference. On electrics, I am not so picky.
 
I don't seem to have a problem with any of my guitars fret boards drying out.......and I do sort of keep my eye on such things. For what it's worth for the last few years I've been using a microfiber cloth to do a quick clean of the fret board as I'm putting my guitar away after use.....just a few swipes. I've found it to work very well in keeping the fret board and strings gunk and debris free. It seems to clean way better than any other kind of cloth. I throw it in the wash every couple weeks.
 
You and I suffer from the same thing. It takes what 15 minutes? But still I am with you, maybe not years, but not more than twice a year.
But I use this stuff called lemon oil fretboard conditioner. Works well and makes the fretboard look nice and clean.

On my acoustics I do change at least once a year as it makes a big sound difference. On electrics, I am not so picky.

That's what I'm talking about. How often do you use the lemon oil?
 
no need here either for lemon oils or the neck liquids...

ive done it, bought some never found any benefit and figured it was just more "goo" on the neck.
I use a damp cloth with water to clean when the new strings go on, which is acoustic 2x's a year maybe.(Elixar Nanoweb strings)...bass, maybe never!! electirc guitar the most common.

just today my mint hardly played used 1986 P-bass, sounded very live, very metallic as in new strings,
so grabbed my 25yr old squier jazz and it was smooth and mellow almost like flatwounds, much better..old old strings.....listening to Dylans Blonde on Blonde, what a gorgeous bass tone and the old strings matched that better.

both bass's are rosewood and darker shade. ..Ive had necks with a lighter rosewood visually which seemed like oil might help it?

I dont put hours and hours on it and the thing is in the clean studio all the time, so yeah, thats not like someone playing live and grumge smoke and beer fingers for live players world.
 
Interesting that despite many of us being guitar capable, we don't seem to subscribe to the same ways of working with them that non-recording guitarists do? Maybe just that we listen to guitars a lot more than people who play them and can spot things that need sorting for recording and nice cleaning and treatments are just way down our list?
 
My Rickenbacker got lemon oil at least once a week for a year or so hanging on the wall at the store before I bought it. The guy that ran the place said it came from the factory with some sort of wax finish and you had to oil it regularly to keep that in condition or it would get gunky and gross. I wasn’t quite so diligent after I bought it, but I did take time pretty regularly to run the thing down. It did get gunky, and it did feel better after I oiled it but over the years it got be like I just want to pick up a guitar and play. I can grab the Rick which will be gross and almost unplayable unless I give it considerable amount of foreplay or I can just grab the other slut who’s just dtf whenever...

So I finally went out googling and talked to my friends at guitarnuts and like nobody in the world has ever heard about this thing with the wax, but it turns out lemon oil can build up in ways pretty much exactly like what I was experiencing. So I took one of those green and yellow kitchen scrungey things and some ammonia and now it’s actually pretty cool, though I think it needs another pass cause I got a little impatient the first time.
 
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