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Old 04-20-2008, 09:19 PM
GAD GAD is offline
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Default Fretboard Cracks?

I wonder if you folks can help me out. I have a Jackson Soloist that I bought recently, and I'm starting to think I need to return it. I *love* the guitar, but the fretboard is starting to look a little odd to me.

This is a Sam Ash exclusive model. It's made in Japan, but has all "real" parts on it like the Floyd Rose, Seymore pickups etc. It plays really well and I love everything about it.

A couple of days ago I was going through my normal monthly guitar cleaning regimen and discovered that the fretboard seems to be growing some fine white cracks all over. Here is a pic:



For comparison, here is a pic of the fretboard from my $300 three year old Ibanez Artcore:



The cracks don't seem to affect playability. My Ibanez has little micro-cracks in the wood, but they're not white. Is some cracking like this normal in Rosewood? I've never looked in such detail before, but then I guess I also never had white cracks either...

The Jackson is only 25 days old (to me), but I'm realizing that it could have been hanging in the store for who-knows-how-long. I have (in theory) five days in which I can still return it for a refund.

So what do you think? Is this normal? Is it cheap rosewood? I'd think the Ibanez would be even cheaper, but who knows. Should I get a refund and look for another guitar?

I will say that I'm not happy with the look of the fretboard. I've seen a lot of guitars and I've never noticed anything like this that I can recall.

GAD
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Old 04-20-2008, 09:46 PM
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Tried some good fingerboard conditioner? I use Guitar Honey on mine.
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Old 04-20-2008, 11:23 PM
GAD GAD is offline
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Both pics are after a thorough wipe-down with lemon oil.

GAD
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Old 04-21-2008, 12:39 AM
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I don't see any cracks.
I do see some long open grain (pores?) in the wood.
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Old 04-21-2008, 12:47 AM
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it looks more like porousity in the rosewood to me also.
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Old 04-21-2008, 01:33 AM
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Here are a couple more pictures with more detail. So is this normal? Is it indicative of lesser quality wood? I swear these marks were not there when I bought it only a month ago.



GAD
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Old 04-21-2008, 01:47 AM
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Can't sleep....

So I zoomed in - a lot. The white is schmutz filling the gaps, which were always there. I remembered that I have pics from the day I got the guitar. Here's a close-up from the first day home:



And here's the same fret today:



Yuck. So if those are just pores, this will continue I assume. Any way to prevent this?

GAD
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Old 04-21-2008, 09:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GAD View Post
.......Yuck. So if those are just pores, this will continue I assume. Any way to prevent this?

GAD
You could clean it real well with naphtha and seal it with an oil, get a longer lasting seal with a product like Waterlox tung oil.
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Old 04-21-2008, 10:22 AM
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Did some digging and looked at pics of all my old guitars, and every one of them had ebony fretboards. The Ibanez is the first I owned with Rosewood.

I'm starting to think that the "Lemon Oil" I use might have some wax in it which is clogging the large pores on this fretboard. What do you all think of that theory?

GAD
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Old 04-21-2008, 10:39 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveS View Post
I don't see any cracks.
I do see some long open grain (pores?) in the wood.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coldshot View Post
it looks more like porousity in the rosewood to me also.
+1 on the pores

I agree with Steve. Give it a good cleaning.
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Old 04-21-2008, 10:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GAD View Post
Did some digging and looked at pics of all my old guitars, and every one of them had ebony fretboards. The Ibanez is the first I owned with Rosewood.

I'm starting to think that the "Lemon Oil" I use might have some wax in it which is clogging the large pores on this fretboard. What do you all think of that theory?

GAD
Actually, Lemon Oil is not the best. It actually dries out the wood (displaces water). It is OK for cleaning but not preserving.
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Old 04-21-2008, 07:39 PM
GAD GAD is offline
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Problem is solved!

Thanks all for your advice. Here's what I did.

1) Learn how to re-string a floyd rose floating bridge.
2) Find an allen wrench
3) Remove the strings.
4) Run to the store to get a new stiff toothbrush
5) Scrub every fret (with the grain!)
6) Break for dinner
7) Scrub some more

Difference now is night and day. All the white "ick" is gone. The toothbrush is black.

8) Apply some Dr. Stringfellow that I purchased earlier in the day
9) Wait a bit
10) Buff it off/in/whatever
11) Re-string
12) Enjoy

I'm totally happy with the results. The white spots are gone, the fretboard is noticeably cleaner and the new strings, as always, made a huge difference.

Lesson 1 learned: A 30-day old guitar is, in fact, a guitar that's been played by 1000 people over the course of say a year or more in a big open store. I feel like I should have disinfected it before taking it home. Ew... New guitars are only "new" if you get it from the factory.

Lesson 2 learned: "Lemon Oil" is rarely just lemon oil. I'm a believer in Dr. Stingfellow now.

Lesson 3 learned: There are about 100 different recommendations online for what is "right" and "wrong" for fretboards. I picked this one. I'll let you know if it ruins my guitar.

Lesson 4 learned: I'm an obsessive idiot. Well, I already knew that actually...

Here's a new pic: All better. The white specs are only noticeable in direct sunlight or with a flash. My arm is too tired to scrub more.



Thanks again all. I learned a lot these past few days.

GAD
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Old 04-21-2008, 07:43 PM
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Lesson 5 - Don't get that toothbrush mixed up with the one you use for your teeth.
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Old 04-21-2008, 07:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trpullen View Post
Lesson 5 - Don't get that toothbrush mixed up with the one you use for your teeth.
shudder... amen!

BTW I'm convinced that the white ick was actually wax from the lemon oil furniture stuff I was using.

GAD
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