My first occurrence of GAS has hit me... Me and my mom were at Goodwill yesterday evening. I spotted a Randall Guitar amp stack and a Peavey Audition amp, so already some unusual musical finds at Goodwill. But then at the checkout, I see it: an Ibanez GSR-200 for only $75. I couldn't resist! I tried it out quickly, and it played well and it was in remarkably good condition for only $75, so I convinced my mom to get it for me as a very early birthday present. So, it's today now, and I went to play it this morning, and I noticed that some of the frets are in... less than mint condition. Well, mint as in kind of green. Specifically the lower frets. It's not affecting my playing very much, but I'd like to know, could I fix this up? Also, I'm thinking of getting a custom neck for it downright, since I'm hoping to get a job sometime this year at a music store, so does anyone know anywhere I can get custom necks that will fit Ibanez models?
Since i am not qualified to give you an answer on the neck i will address the fret issue. Do your self a favour and buy Dan Erlewine's book Guitar player repair guide, trust me, you won't regret it. You can also find a bewildering amount of you tube videos. Basically you should learn to maintain and repair your own instrument, you're welcome.
Get some 0000 steel wool and a roll of masking tape, mask off the fretboard around the frets, and rub them with the steel wool. Your frets will be so shiny they blind you!
This. Although if we're talking about a rosewood board here, I would forgo the tape to get all the grime off the fretboard as well. Taping off the pickups is essential if you do this anywhere near the body.
