Need your help

[thepacifist20130]

help guys!!
My friend just sent me these pics of an LPVM. I see some funny "vertical lines" on the 13th, 14th and 16th fret which I've highlighted below. I cannot for the life of me figure out what they are. And they are more pronounced when
looking at the fretboard sideways, compared to when looking at it from the top

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2776018...37318/sizes/o/

[Boleskinehouse]

Can't see the pic!

[thepacifist20130]

Pic uploaded in flickr and link updated here.

[thepacifist20130]

anyone?
I just need to know what it is and more importantly, whether it is of concern or not.

[Boleskinehouse]

I don't know, but I can tell you that board needs to be oiled something fierce! I think it might be just lighter wood there, or playing wear?!? It's very dry...

[Roman Rist]

This is getting more and more common in guitars that have come into my shop.

First off, Gibson uses a scraper blade to cut down the binding and inlays. This leaves scraper chatter marks on the Rosewood.


Second, The quality of rosewood that is being used is getting worse. The higher end stuff gets the better rosewood and the lower lines get ........well, the lower grade rosewood.

Also it is kiln dried, rather than naturally air dried, So the rosewood can be REALLY dried out.

Ok, here is the solution;

Take a brand new single edge razor blade ( the box cutter kind) and slowly re-scrape the fingerboard. smooth it out as best you can.

Tape up the pickups for the next step.

Steel wool the fingerboard with some 0000 grade steel wool. (with the tape you wont get any steel wool on the pickups)

Oil the crap out of it with lemon oil or your favorite F/B oil.

oil it, let it soak in, wipe off the excess. repeat till it looks good to you.

Cheers,
Roman

[rockinlespaul]

WOW, thats a dry board.

Bore oil imho works very well.

[thepacifist20130]

Hey all,
thanks for the updates!!

Its probably the flash that made the fretboard look so dry in the pic above. I have taken another one in normal lighting conditions, and the board doesn't look that "light". In the first pic, you can even see that the "cherry" finish is way too light near the pickup switch (area illuminated with flash).

DSC01923 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Roman, thanks for pointing those issues out. Have a look at this pic. Let me know if anyone of you needs further details/pictures of the guitar in some specific lighting conditions/angles. Will be happy to post them.

[TheWellGoodShow]

as roman said, do what he says!

[thepacifist20130]

Originally Posted by thewellgoodshow

as roman said, do what he says!

I know!! Just wanted to provide him further pics to look at. Even I was shocked at how light the fretboard looked.

[TheWellGoodShow]

ITS ROMAN!! HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT!! well at least thats what i have observed.

[thepacifist20130]

Originally Posted by thewellgoodshow

ITS ROMAN!! HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT!! well at least thats what i have observed.

I know After seeing his inputs in this forum, I respect him a lot too. *bows in reverence*
I just want him to look at the right pics and not "flash-flooded" pics, so that he can base his advice on the correct pics.

Anyways, oiling yes, I'll oil the hell out of the fretboard. Its just the small pattern (which I've highlighted in the first pic) that Im not able to understand. I've seen those kind of patterns on heavily-used guitars where string-bending affects the surface of the wood to that extent.
However, since this is a new guitar, it should not be there. So Im just concerned if this is, or could lead to some serious issues with the guitar.

[TheWellGoodShow]

yea, try furniture lemon oil, it works just as good, maybe even better.

[2manyGuitars]

Originally Posted by thepacifist20130

Its just the small pattern (which I've highlighted in the first pic) that Im not able to understand. I've seen those kind of patterns on heavily-used guitars where string-bending affects the surface of the wood to that extent.
However, since this is a new guitar, it should not be there.

When some guys try "cleaning" their fretboard, they basically take the strings off (sometimes) and then rub back an forth between the frets with a Scotch-brite pad...


At the upper end of the fretboard, the narrow distance between the frets means you can't get the pads right up to the base of the frets so you just wind up scratching a narrow strip down the center. This would give you scratches running across the fretboard. Running a scouring pad or steel wool up the length of the fretboard would give you scratches the other way. Yours might be some combination of the two.

In any case, following Roman's advice and giving it a proper treatment will clear up any problems.

[thepacifist20130]

Originally Posted by 2manyGuitars

When some guys try "cleaning" their fretboard, they basically take the strings off (sometimes) and then rub back an forth between the frets with a Scotch-brite pad...


At the upper end of the fretboard, the narrow distance between the frets means you can't get the pads right up to the base of the frets so you just wind up scratching a narrow strip down the center. This would give you scratches running across the fretboard. Running a scouring pad or steel wool up the length of the fretboard would give you scratches the other way. Yours might be some combination of the two.

In any case, following Roman's advice and giving it a proper treatment will clear up any problems.

Haven't done anything like that yet and that's my main problem. This is an untouched guitar.

[NewtoyLPVM]

Hi there! Not sure if you answered my question at another thread. What part of the world are you from? Thanks.

[thepacifist20130]

Hey, I'm from India. Why do you ask?

[NewtoyLPVM]

Originally Posted by thepacifist20130

Hey, I'm from India. Why do you ask?

No reason. On one of your posts you wrote: "My girlfriend got the guitar from the States." Just curious as to where you're from.

[05hummer]

Originally Posted by RFR

This is getting more and more common in guitars that have come into my shop.

First off, Gibson uses a scraper blade to cut down the binding and inlays. This leaves scraper chatter marks on the Rosewood.


Second, The quality of rosewood that is being used is getting worse. The higher end stuff gets the better rosewood and the lower lines get ........well, the lower grade rosewood.

Also it is kiln dried, rather than naturally air dried, So the rosewood can be REALLY dried out.

OK, here is the solution;

Take a brand new single edge razor blade ( the box cutter kind) and slowly re-scrape the fingerboard. smooth it out as best you can.

Tape up the pickups for the next step.

Steel wool the fingerboard with some 0000 grade steel wool. (with the tape you wont get any steel wool on the pickups)

Oil the crap out of it with lemon oil or your favorite F/B oil.

oil it, let it soak in, wipe off the excess. repeat till it looks good to you.

Cheers,
Roman

Great advice Roman, Ive already have had to do that to 3 on my new historics already...You confirmed my beliefs that they are using lower quality rosewood...

[Roman Rist]

Originally Posted by thepacifist20130

I know!! Just wanted to provide him further pics to look at. Even I was shocked at how light the fretboard looked.

I looked at the pics, same advice still applies

[thepacifist20130]

Thanks Roman!! Will do exactly as you said. I'm kinda wary of the "scraping with the razor" thing since I haven't done anything like this previously.
But I'm gonna do the steel-wooling + oiling!! Would that suffice to some extent?

I hope its not something as serious which should force me to return the guitar right?

[Roman Rist]

Originally Posted by thepacifist20130

Thanks Roman!! Will do exactly as you said. I'm kinda wary of the "scraping with the razor" thing since I haven't done anything like this previously.
But I'm gonna do the steel-wooling + oiling!! Would that suffice to some extent?

I hope its not something as serious which should force me to return the guitar right?

Look at it this way, if you like the guitar, you are just fine tuning it. If you dont like it, it is a possible reason to take it back.................however I dare you to find a perfect Gibson.

Roman

[thepacifist20130]

Originally Posted by RFR

Look at it this way, if you like the guitar, you are just fine tuning it. If you dont like it, it is a possible reason to take it back.................however I dare you to find a perfect Gibson.

Roman

Got your point!! The guitar goes under Steel wool and oil as soon as I lay my hands on it. Thanks for your help Roman and all the others. This has beena very helpful forum for me

[lowe]

It could be dry, or this one old horrible copy of a les i bought to screw around with, i took a dremel to the fret bars to try to get action as low as i could (hehe) and i slipped a few times and went on the neck. It could be something like that.

[thepacifist20130]

OK, I finally got my hands on the guitar. Pics are due !
But before that, as Roman correctly pointed out, those are indeed scrape marks on the fretboard. and they look ugly. Also, the fretboard is bone dry, it's been drinking up lemon oil by the gallons.

a) The way I apply lemon oil is I spray a little on a piece of old tshirt, and wipe the fret board with it. But it's not working since it's quite dry. Should I spray it directly on the fretboard and let it soak?? I heard lemon oil loosens the fret, and there was some fret deposit on the board after I wiped it 3-4 times with lemon oil.....is it ok or should I be doing something else?

b) I intend to to do something about the scrape marks. Would it suffice to steel wool it or is rescraping required. If rescraping is required, plz point me to some good pictorial tutorials, as I have NEVER done it and have no idea how to proceed. I might end up gouging my fretboard if I don't do it properly.

c) The frets seem a bit high and sharp on the edge. For the levelling, Im planning to use fine-grit sandpaper wrapper around a block of wood. For the edges(not the ends) Im planning to use a thin file. Will that suffice....

Also, I need "warning" pointers on what not to do. I do not want to end up with "I should've seen that happening before"....

thanks so far