Rosewood fretboard marks?

[Biensby]

Hello,

I hope I created this thread in the right section. I'm kindly looking for some insight regarding my rosewood fretboard - I was changing strings, scraping off dirt between frets and because I used some extra lighting to see better I noticed these marks that go parallel to the frets.

I got spooked a little, I've never noticed them before. When changing strings I decided to take all of them off to clean the entire thing - I know there's a major discussion on whether that's healthy for the neck or not, but as this is a fixed bridge guitar and the whole procedure took 20 minutes top I thought the chances of there being a problem are small. Might these be marks left by the neck / fretboard moving after tension release?

Pics:



I would much appreciate any information on this.

Thanks for your time,
Michael

 

[AniML]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Looks like someone polished the frets with steel wool or some other abrasive. Unless you are talking about a delicate instrument, you can take strings off with no problem.

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Your finger funk can't get right next to the fret..... Stop worrying and go play the thing.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Also, it is fine to take off all of the strings and clean. I do this with every string change, and the neck has always been fine. I also play a lot better on a clean guitar.

 

[Biensby]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Hello,

thank you for your replies, I did not expect such quick responses, and from senior members of this forum to add. I appreciate it greatly.

I always take off all strings in my guitars to clean them as my hands leave a lot of unpleasant residue on the fretboard. I've had no trouble so far and always considered the '1 string at a time' method to be suited for floating trem guitars to maintain the setup. When I noticed the marks I was surprised and started thinking that maybe there is some truth to it, but it seems a lot of people take off their strings all at once without any problems so that's probably not it.

I'm thinking the marks might just be wood grain that I haven't noticed before. For clarification, I was referring to these:



Thanks a lot for the replies!

Michael

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Those Mark's are what I believe to be from the wound string biting into the wood
When you press to hard
May have gotten bumped

But looks like wound string marks
Not stretching fretboard

Maybe fingernails

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

You know what it looks like to me? Nothing to worry about...go play!

 

[SAguitar]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Once you get past the next 100,000 notes you won't be able to see those tiny marks. Play that guitar!

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

If the op didn’t post the pic with the circled areas I would have had no idea what he was talking about.

 

[devastone]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Just looks like wood grain to me.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

I noticed
But I wasn't sure that's what he meant

Looks like string Mark's from wound strings to me
Same spacing
And area

 

[AlexR]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Grain pattern from quarter sawn wood.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

They both appear centered between the frets
None under the fret
It would be a coincidence that the grain fell that way

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Regardless of what caused it (strings, fingernails, sawing...) those spots are nothing to worry about.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

I can't see crap wrong with it. If there are lines parallel to the frets, then it probably needs to be lit from one side, not straight on.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Whew, it isn't just me- I can't see what's wrong, either.

 

[beaubrummels]

Rosewood fretboard marks?

There’s filth on each side of the frets. Might have been some kind of coating or chemical on the fretboard but when they rubbed it off they didn’t get it clean near the frets, and it attracted dirt. Playing fingers further rubbed it off in between the frets, but nothing ever touches right next to the frets to clean it.

Edit: just saw the circled image. Agree there could be marks from wound strings. If you’re pressing down so hard the string is digging into the fretboard, that’s way too much downward pressure. Lighten your touch.

 

[Biensby]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

Hello,

thank you for all the responses, I greatly appreciate the help.

These kinds of marks are spread all over the fretboard, not limited to the spots I circled in the picture. I've checked my fretting hand when playing and I doubt I'm pressing hard enough to even touch the fingerboard, let alone leave marks in it. These are jumbo frets too, so there's a solid amount of space between a pressed string and wood. My touch isn't that hard either I think.

I think that's just wood grain that I noticed after cleaning. I admit that I left residue along the frets as one of you pointed out, I was supposed to use a soft toothbrush to clean them, but panicked a little when saw those marks thinking they might be stretch marks. I put the strings on and never finished the job.

Thanks again for your help!

Michael

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Rosewood fretboard marks?

It just looks like a tiny bit of wear where your fingers are falling on either side of the strings. You can see it better on non-finished maple neck guitars. I would throw it away just in case. It is probably not useable at this point.

Seriously though, you can buff that away by using some fine steel wool on your fretboard if it bothers you.