I have read a few posts about the use of lemon oil on Alembic ebony fretboards, and use of other products on fretboards for various non-Alembic instruments, but haven't seen any reference to care for Alembic rosewood fretboards. Does anyone have any suggestions for proper care of rosewood fretboards on Alembic instruments? Thanks!
Rob
Should be similar to ebony. Where it gets different is with boards like maple, that can be finished or stain.
Great, thanks, Edwin!
I just spread a coat of lemon oil on a Rosewood fretboard. I thought I'd check the forum while waiting for it to dry and saw this thread. So yes, I use lemon oil on Rosewood as well as Ebony.
Bill, tgo
Bill,
Thanks for the additional confirmation!
Rob
I have only one instrument, a guitar, with a rosewood fretboard that i bought in around 1991 and i've never put anything on the fretboard. I haven't played it much since the early 90's but last time I checked it a couple of years ago it was still looking ok. I presume there are no problems giving what i presume is now a an extremely dry fretboard a drink of lemon oil?
I concur w/Bill... can't go wrong treating rosewood and ebony the same. ;)
Rosewood, well... most of it anyway, is a naturally oily wood, and more porous than ebony. You may notice it soaking the lemon oil faster. I've seen some that did, and some that did not. :-\
(...and you would certainly know!!). [I just have to say here, that I learn so much from reading all these posts about every freaking thing, it totally makes my day sometimes!]
I have a thick slab of a rosewood fingerboard and an ebony nut on my classico and whilst it does not seem to have had a lot of action in it's life and is not showing any signs of heavy or even light use. I am thinking of affording it some tlc soon and wondered about how much of a soaking of the fretboard I should do. It looks at least about twice as thick as a standard ebony bass fretboard?
Assuming a clean fret-board, I use a piece of cotton rag or even a paper towel as an applicator, apply just a few drops to the applicator, and then lightly rub a thin coat over the entire board. I find that a very dry board will soak up the oil quite fast, often in only 2-3 minutes and certainly in less than five minutes. If the board is dry after five minutes, I reapply the same way. I'll repeat this until the board still shows some oil after a few minutes. Once I get there, I wait 10-15 minutes and then wipe off any excess. Then I'll either put the old strings back on, or wait a few hours before playing it with new strings. I do this because I sometimes find that when I play the guitar right after oiling, the strings discolor.
Bill, tgo