Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

T

Taymar

New member
Hi all,

Picked up an inexpensive GFS 'Xaviere' LP style over the black friday weekend. Pleasantly surprised aside from one issue that's driving me nuts - the rosewood fretboard seems to be finished with something that's creating too much drag on my fingers when bending strings. Nothing at all like my other (presumably unfinished) rosewood fretboards.

I've tried lightly scraping it with a razor which created a mixture of rosewood color dust and white shavings, and took the visible sheen off. I then applied fretboard oil, but I'm still left with this odd grabby drag.

Anything else I could try to improve the feel?

thanks for any ideas.
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Rosewood shouldn't be finished. If it is, you can always run some fine grit sandpaper over the top (600 grit works well) to remove the finish and make it smooth/matte.
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Scalloping the neck is pretty extreme, but you won't have that problem anymore. I am still surprised that they finished the rosewood- my guess is that it isn't rosewood.
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

High jumbo/X Jumbo frets? Somewhat less invasive than scalloping. Or at least reversible...
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Burnishing the wood will help and smooth it out more than abrasives.

Supposedly the guitars come with "medium jumbo" frets, but do not say specifically what size. How hard are you pressing down on the board to create drag?
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Ayrton said:
Burnishing the wood will help and smooth it out more than abrasives.

Supposedly the guitars come with "medium jumbo" frets, but do not say specifically what size. How hard are you pressing down on the board to create drag?
Click to expand...

Not very hard at all - it's just when the tips of my fingers touch it during a bend. The drag is strange on this fretboard, not like the fairly predictable drag you get from the back of a lacquered neck. On this, it seems to grab and release my fingertip multiple times in a 'squeaky' type motion, more like a slightly wet pane of glass.

It arrived with several frets that were very low, I did a fret level and recrown which needed quite a bit of material removal to get them even. The drag didn't seem to be noticeably worse as a result though.
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Taymar said:
Not very hard at all - it's just when the tips of my fingers touch it during a bend. The drag is strange on this fretboard, not like the fairly predictable drag you get from the back of a lacquered neck. On this, it seems to grab and release my fingertip multiple times in a 'squeaky' type motion, more like a slightly wet pane of glass.

It arrived with several frets that were very low, I did a fret level and recrown which needed quite a bit of material removal to get them even. The drag didn't seem to be noticeably worse as a result though.
Click to expand...

At your next string change, take a polished piece of steel (e.g. screwdriver) and rub it along the wood. You will see the surface polish up (and you can round the edges if you desire). After that, add a touch of polish or wax and buff with a cloth.
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Ayrton said:
At your next string change, take a polished piece of steel (e.g. screwdriver) and rub it along the wood. You will see the surface polish up (and you can round the edges if you desire). After that, add a touch of polish or wax and buff with a cloth.
Click to expand...

Is that a good idea?

Polishing usually increases drag when it comes to damp/sweaty hands. A gloss neck is way stickier than a satin or unfinished one . . . because the damp skin sticks to the glossy surface. But you run some sandpaper over the neck, and all of a sudden it's way faster and easier to move your hand around.
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Ever play an old, broken in Rosewood board?

Same thing

The OP should start with a little fret board polish like "Fast Fret" or similiar.
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Are your frets smaller than on your other guitars? Maybe you are bending too far away from the fret? Lighter touch, better aim
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Ayrton said:
The OP should start with a little fret board polish like "Fast Fret" or similiar.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. I start off every session with Fast Fret on the fingerboard and a touch of Baby Powder on my palm. Zero drag.
 
Re: Lessening finger 'drag' on finished rosewood fretboard?

Ayrton said:
Ever play an old, broken in Rosewood board?

Same thing

The OP should start with a little fret board polish like "Fast Fret" or similiar.
Click to expand...

Sure. But they've always been kinda rough/satin. Never polished up and waxed.
 
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