Hydrate the neck?

[Ditto]

Do you guys HYDRATE your finger board?

I was talking with a luthior last week and he was setting up my bass with new strings and just a good check up. He showed me a clear box and with black ish brown ish dust in it. He said it was what he called finger board CHEESE! Yea from human skin all over the necks of guitars that he reconditions.. GROSS I know.

SO I go this stuff from PLANET WAVES called fingerboard conditioner. It reall cleans the fret board nice and makes the wood shiny. The first time I used it on my 30 year old Bass the stuff just soaked right in. It took like five applications to get it nice and soaked. This alone changed the wood enough to affect tuning. Pretty cool.

It is made out of wood after all!

Just wondering if any one else heard of this?

Ditto

[Elmeaux]

I use a product, but I can't recall the brand. It came in a kit of all kinds of guitar maintenance stuff...cleaners, polishes, conditioners and special towels for application. The product for the fretboard keeps it clean and well-hydrated. I have completely cheese-free basses.

[SilverFlame46]

First time I heard of this. But it's worth looking into!!!

[slejhamer]

He showed me a clear box and with black ish brown ish dust in it. He said it was what he called finger board CHEESE! Yea from human skin all over the necks of guitars that he reconditions.

He collects that stuff?

I'd look for a different luthier ...

[Basslad]

I haven't used any product yet, but I'm aware of the need to condition the fingerboard from time to time. A good luthier will not neglect it.

[Elmeaux]

He collects that stuff?

I'd look for a different luthier ...

LMAO!! Indeed.

The Cheese Lover.

[Ditto]

He collects it to SHOW the importance of cleaning your fingerboard..... or to SELL fingerboard cleaner?

SMART marketing... very smart. I bought some.

[slejhamer]

I'd guess the secret sauce is mineral oil in a fancy package.

To clean a really dirty rosewood fingerboard, take some 0000 steel wool to it, then polish it up with some mineral or lemon oil (basically scented mineral oil.) Just gotta make sure it doesn't have silicone or waxes in it, like some furniture polishes. A few drops a year is really all you need.

That advice is from someone widely recognized as a "good luthier."
http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musi...leaning02.html

Ebony is more oily than rosewood, so may need even less, but the same advice applies.

Maple is usually finished and sealed, so the most you should need to do is wipe it down with a dry cloth after playing.

[bassbelly]

this is fantastic. hydrate the finger board. My BB714BS has a Maple neck and Rose wood finger board. I was told Rose wood can be comparatively soft. Then a friend of mine who is a Pro Guitarist told me it's real hard, I never had a rose wood finger board before. So can we revitalize this thread as I would like your opinions. I only had this bass since April. It's a 2006 I guess a series one signature as it does not have a stereo out socket like later models. It's pristine as it came from a collector/musician who seldom played it. he had to many guitars! It is as new! It don't need cleaning, but I use a ' GHS Fast Fret' cleaning stick on the strings. Thanks.

[Elmeaux]

This is the brand of stuff I got. It was Dunlop.




http://www.amazon.com/Dunlop-System-...ref=pd_cp_MI_0