Fret dressing

[tot_Ou_tard]

Now that I have all the strings off of my Godin SD I thought I'd check & see if I should do any repairs etc.

I've always notice that there are some groves/worn spots under the upper three strings at the first three frets. the rest seem perfect. Should I try to dress these at all?

It is a 2004 guitar that was bought used for $170 on eBay. It is not worth it to me to take it to a tech (i'd rather put the money toward a new ax). If It needs to be done, I'd rather learn to do it myself. On the other hand, If it requires buying an expensive fret dressing file, then I'll just live with the slightly worn frets.

 

[Plank_Spanker]

Unless they're causing problems with string buzz, don't mess with them. It happens to every guitar that gets played a lot. It's a sign of love........

 

[Spudman]

While the strings are off...

If it is a maple fretboard basically leave it alone.

If it rosewood then I like to take steel wool to the frets and fretboard. It polishes the frets for smoother bending and gets rid of buildup in the wood. Polish along the frets length across the neck, but do this after going up and down the neck to clean the wood. When I finish that I wipe it real clean and check the fret ends for sprout or sharp protruding ends. Those can be dealt with with some find grade sandpaper or a file to smooth them. And finally I treat the fingerboard with lemon oil. There are other products that will work as well that are guitar specific.

For the dips...if they aren't too bad then leave them like Spanky says. If they are troublesome then sand them with 1500 grit wet sandpaper and finish them with steel wool. That may get rid of the edges of the dips so that you don't get "stuck in the groove" any more.

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

Yoda 1 and Yoda 2 say leave it alone.

Leave it alone I will.

The strings don't get caught in the grooves. It has a maple fretboard, so I'll just put new strings on & go back to rockin'.

My Radiator has a rosewood board & I've never thought of using steel wool. I usually let a little Gerlitz Guitar honey soak in and then wipe it down.

Thanks!

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

I moved up from 9s to 10s on my SD.


Both the previous 9s and the new 10s are Snake Oil Strings Vintage Pure Nickel.

Wow! The tone is much richer now. It really makes the guitar come alive.



Is sounds clean, singing and gorgeous unplugged. I've played with alot of the amp models on my Tonelab and am in heaven right now with a super clean Boutique Clean setting.

Also the neck always used to vibrate in in my hand when I strummed open chords, now it really takes off.

Who would'a knew?

 

[M29]

I will have to give those strings a try tot_Ou_tard, thanks for the review and congrats on your new resonance!

M29

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

I will have to give those strings a try tot_Ou_tard, thanks for the review and congrats on your new resonance!

M29

Thanks M29. The Snake Oils get good reviews.