Why clean your fingerboard?

[dukerutledge]

Is it necessary to clean the fingerboard of your bass? Is it simpley a cosmetic undertaking or does not cleaning actually damage the wood? If I remember correctly James Jamerson never cleaned his board or changed his strings because he said the gunk keeps the funk in. So whats the deal?

[BurningSkies]

Mine don't get super grungy, but I do check and clean when necessary. Its a good thing to do...as you can transfer oily grime to your strings, killing them quicker.

[Trevorus]

One of my friends gets hair gunk all over his maple fretboards, and it looks bad. he has to clean every once in a while.

[Munjibunga]

There's nothing quite like going upstairs and "polishing the fretboard." Remember to lock the door.

[vindy500]

[Gopher Bob]

Even if it doesn't look 'dirty' giving it a good clean is good for the wood. I use Formby's Lemon Oil its made for furniture but does great. Its easiest when theres no strings on...duh. I just put some on a paper towel and give the whole fingerboard a light oil coat(coat always sounds thick but it should be thin). Then I rub it next to the frets and thats where most of the hidden gunk comes from.

[The Golden Boy]

Be careful with how often you oil your rosewood fretboard. Not that I know from experience, but I've heard you can swell the wood and your frets can loosen. Just enough to keep it conditioned.

As far as James... Remember that James' tone didn't have anything resembling "highs." For anyone using a more "modern" bass tone, the gunk on the fretboard will kill your strings prematurely.

[DaveDeVille]

Originally Posted by dukerutledge

Is it necessary to clean the fingerboard of your bass?
So whats the deal?

i asked the same question ...

and the answer is ...
the gunk does not keep in the funk .

the gunk simply shows that you're too lazy to clean your
instrument after usage ....

jmo , peace .
dave

[tplyons]

Rosewood really holds the gunk in and personally I can't stand it. I love a well played bass, but I'd much rather see a well played bass that was taken very good care of.

[ebe9]

I clean my fretboard by oiling it, plus its about caring for the wood as it is unsealed.

The other thing is the amount of dirt that comes off the frets themselves after just a few weeks of playing, rather scary.

So to sum up, cleaning your fretboard is a neccessary task to ensure the longevity of your bass as a whole

[georgestrings]

I clean mine from time to time, and believe it to be beneficial to both string life and tone - and done properly(and not excessively) is probably of benefit to your instrument...



- georgestrings

[SamJ]

Originally Posted by tplyons

Rosewood really holds the gunk in and personally I can't stand it. I love a well played bass, but I'd much rather see a well played bass that was taken very good care of.

Agreed..

I swap strings about every two weeks max on my basses, and every time my stings are off, I clean my fret board with a good quality wood cleaner, and then about once every 2-3 months I give it a light oiling.

Clean wood feels and sounds better than dirty wood..

[Mojo-Man]

After I play.
I just wipe strings with clean towel.
Have done this for years, Since I started, my strings last longer.

[DblG]

Originally Posted by The Golden Boy

Be careful with how often you oil your rosewood fretboard. Not that I know from experience, but I've heard you can swell the wood and your frets can loosen. Just enough to keep it conditioned.

I would think it would be the other way around, with the frets loosening when not oiled for a very long time. I think the wood shrinks as it dries out, and oiling the wood keeps it moist and 'swelled', which should hold the frets in. ( ) Not positive, that's just the way I always viewed it.

Anyways, I clean & oil my fretboard around once a year or as needed.

gg

[PinkTelephone]

what should i use to clean my rickenbacker neck since it has the nice gloss over the frets and its not just wood. also really is just like taking a washclothe or papertowels and rubbing lemon oil and scrubing the fret board with it or is there some nice like techniques to do it??? thanks alot guys.

same with my stingray, just lemon oil and a good scrubing?

[Trevorus]

Finished fretboards can be cleaned with regular guitar polish. Just take the strings off.

[Freaky Fender]

Plus, couldn't dirty fingerboards actually cause a subtle change in setup?

[Trevorus]

Originally Posted by Freaky Fender

Plus, couldn't dirty fingerboards actually cause a subtle change in setup?

I doubt it'd go that far.