I’ve had guitars for I donno, 20 years now. Only this week did I first ever oil one of the fretboard. Learned you should be doing it +/- every 6 months haha. I don’t know about that. But it does bring out the color kinda nice.
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Yeah I’ll normally do it every other string change. I play a lot, so I’ll go through strings every couple of weeks. Every other string change puts me at about once every 2-3 months for a wipe down and oil of the fretboard.
we take for granted the ease with which information flows now days.
I only started guitar this year and the first thing I did with my first guitar was clean the human slime off the fret board, oil it, then set it up to factory specs. I could imagine buying my first guitar even 20 years ago and just getting used to however it was setup and potentially not even thinking about cleaning the fret board.
I could imagine not even knowing what a truss rod is much less that you should be adjusting it occasionally.
This is the best time in history to have literally any hobby.
That’s exactly how I started playing guitar. I had a cheap strat, with no setup. I got used to it and I could play it fine.
I bought more guitars over the years, and when I moved out, I didn’t even bother bringing that guitar with me. Earlier this year l, my mom asked me to clean out some crap from my old bedroom, so I decided to take the guitar, give it some much needed attention and sell it. I cleaned the grime off of the fretboard and set it up properly. All of a sudden it went from a shitbox to a very decent guitar.
The new owner has a better strategy than I ever had, haha.
I also had a shitty guitar floating around that I would tweak out, over tighten etc just to see what would happen. Kinda fun
Yeah usually when I restring I’ll wipe down the instrument with a cloth and oil the fretboard. I don’t think it’s necessary if you have decent humidity control and don’t get fret sprouting. I don’t have good control over the temp & humidity in an apartment so it can get dry especially in the winter and humid in the summer. For storage I’ll usually just loosen the strings and put one of those humidifier packs in the case/bag and re-wet it every couple of months.
Other than bringing out the colour, it reinforces the wood: if you let the wood dry too much it becomes brittle and over time gets ruined by just playing it.
About how often you have to do it, it really depends on the wheather where you live: if you live in a dry weather or you have a dry house, it might be a good idea putting just a little bit oil on every time you change the stringsThat’s my goal now that I have some oil to use. Dot really change strings much. Only if I’m gonna record something important in the next day or so
And I suggest you don’t spend a fortune with guitar products either: I use
linseedmineral oil for furniture, you can buy it in hardware stores at 3€ for a liter (which is pretty much a lifetime supply), but also whatever cooking oil you have in the house is fineLinseed oil is tricky and comes in many forms. I’d say avoid it or read up. Also on the dangers of its handling and disposal.
Many food oils can go rancid. Some will be fine. I’d say avoid it or read up.
Many furniture products are irritant and many contain silicone oil, which ruins everything that it contaminates. Which is everything. Avoid silicone oil like the plague.
Plain mineral (paraffin) oil is usually the go to for wood including utensils and cutting boards. Absorbs pretty well and doesn’t gum up or go rancid. Should not be allergenic. Most guitar products are just paraffin oil with an added scent and branding.
Some people also use beeswax or other paste wax instead of a runnier oil.
But YMMV. I’d say see what’s available and read up. Good oil should be available dirt cheap. Of course you only need a few drops, so cost hardly matters that much if all you ever oil is a fretboard.
Oh, don’t oil lacquered (maple) or probably synthetic fretboards. Just in case that’s not obvious to some reader. :)
Yeah let me correct myself, where I’m from we call “linseed oil” every clear furniture oil, I’m sure it’s not actual linseed but some sort of refined mineral oil
I got some oil from a site because if I spent over a minimum I’d get free shipping so figured I’d get some.
Yes, I do it when I change strings, or whenever it gets too “dry”. Just a few drops and then a wipe it with a cloth rag. I think it feels better than a clean dry fretboard.
I use a regular fine sewing machine oil. Haven’t tried any of the brands specifically for guitars.
I stay away from those guitar lemon oils. I find them not very good for a reason I can’t really explain. It’s like it has an off texture it imparts on the “feel” of the wood. Any mineral based oils have worked best for me. I’ve also used highly refined vegetable based oils with no issues as well.
I also feel like it feels better. But I think it’s placebo. Because I. Not really touching the fretboard, I’m touching the strings. But it did have a nice smell to it. Which made me want to pick it up a bit more often.
I always apply a fine layer of oil on the fretboard, let it sit for a few minutes and then clean it. Most people use lemon oil, you can use ballistol oil (I do) but don’t use olive oil. If you have a maple neck no need to oil it.
Yes, a few times a year.
This is my personal experience with 100 dollar guitars, do not take it at face value.
I used to use
lemon juicewhen my guitars were new, worked pretty well, after a while your own grease from your fingers kinda acts like thelemon juiceand you oil the fretboard just by playing.Also, another protip, if your steel strings start sounding dull, instead of spending money on new strings you can wash them with anti grease and let them soak in boiling water and you have a free new set of strings. (Just be careful coz thin strings like to prick fingers.)
Edit: So, some comments called to my attention that I may actually be doing a disservice to my guitars by using lemon juice. Some years ago I saw a video that said that if I didn’t have lemon oil that I could use lemon juice instead and it kinda worked somehow. But searching for it online and I can’t find anyone recommending this, so DON’T USE LEMON JUICE if preserving the instrument is a priority. Instead use lemon oil.
Any chance you mean lemon oil, not lemon juice?
Unfortunately I meant lemon juice, I saw a video once that said that if you don’t have oil you can use lemon juice, and it kinda worked well for me somehow, however after reading your replies I just searched and it seems that using lemon juice is really not a thing.
Thank you for calling this to my attention as I will stop using lemon juice.
Hope so, lemon juice is acidic and will strip the oil off/out of the wood. Probably still wouldn’t use lemon oil either, just in the off chance it has some acidic properties left.
Thanks for the info. It’s just called lemon oil because of the smell, it’s a mineral oil, no actual lemons involved.
Never have I even considered taking strings off, cleaning em and putting them back on. Don’t think a guitar would appreciate the lack of tension while they’re soaking.
yes, you’re supposed to change them one at a time to minimize the stress. This is especially true for classicals afaik. Although when I leave mine with my luthier for a bit of repair, he does leave her unstringed for a while, so I don’t know really
They will be absolutely fine with strings off. If you couldn’t remove strings, it would be impossible to level, polish, or change frets. Or clean and oil the fretboard. Regular maintenance on any stringed instrument shy of a piano or concert harp or something. Actually you couldn’t even adjust the truss rod or intonation on some guitars without taking off all string tension.
One string at a time is gentler, of course and you’re less likely to drop nuts or bridges or other hardware when there’s always a string on.
So, wouold you say what matters most is the length of time over which you take off all strings ?
