Caring for your Ball Tricks

[Pittman75]

Hey guys!

After reading the latest customer service thread, I was wondering- How do you guys like to keep your balls in tip top shape? What kind of tricks do you use to keep them hydrated, humidified, sparkly, shiny, smooth, fast, glistening and just plain sweet!

I also ask because my neck is feeling a little dry, and I've noticed a little bit of fret buzz only at fret 12.

 

[guitarman23]

I'm no collector or some sort like that so i just clean fret board after playing and polish frets and thats all i do, humidified is going a little to far for me, but my balls stay in shape.

 

[phatduckk]

i honestly don't do much.

a couple times a year I'll use some wonder wipes to clean the fretboard. beyond that, if the neck feels sticky, i'll brush some 0000 steal wool to get it smooth again. on a very rare (maybe once a year max) ill give it the oil n wax treatment too.

obviously ill do micro truss rod adjustments on the fly to keep the action where i like it.

All in all i'd say I'll do a total of 1 hour of maintenance on each guitar per year.

 

[puppyonacid]

I've never really had a problem keeping my guitars tip - top. Its a strange quirk which has been pointed out to me on a couple of occasions. I know some guys that, within hours of putting a fresh set of strings on and cleaning their guitar, it feels all grubby again. I have the exact opposite errrrr............problem. I'll explain:

You know when someone else has played your guitar right? When someone has played mine I can tell because the strings feel sticky. If I pick someone elses guitar up a few have told me that their strings feel silkier and I find it very strange. I can literally get a year out of a set of strings. I only need to change them when they stop holding the tuning. My hands seem to keep strings clean. I don't know what it is that my hands are or aren't producing that does this. Maybe I should investigate and bottle what ever it is. It's kinda weird really but I'm not complaining.

 

[CarbonTim27]

Maybe I should investigate and bottle what ever it is. It's kinda weird really but I'm not complaining.

Be careful what you say around here...someone from the strings dept might hijack you and bottle it for use on the new "Sweatproof" strings.....






Mostly I just keep my guitars in their case when they're not being played, but I do my own setup and I have a small humidifier in the apartment for those harsh canadian winters.

 

[puppyonacid]

Yea, being in a smaller house now with 2 young uns tearing around I have to keep my guitars in their cases.

Also, once every couple of years I put boiled linseed oil on the fretboards. I'm sure I read that it's not good idea to do that with maple boards. But roasewood and ebony are fine. Really moisturises the wood and brings the grain back to life. Other than that, I use dunlop lemon oil when I do a string change.

 

[petruccirocks02]

I use my Wonder Wipes and wipe down my guitar after everytime I play, and when the fretboard looks like it needs some moisture I use the Fretboard Conditioner. As far as other stuff goes, I usually restring my guitar every 2 weeks and take it to my tech about every 2 weeks just to make sure everything is where I want it. And thats about it...

-Phil

 

[travs]

fret fast for the front, lemon oil for the back. quick and easy wipe off with a 3m polishing cloth

these tips were informed to me by Mr. Spuds when I got my new Al. I had dry neck too. I do this every week and my neck has become smooth as a cucumber.

 

[DavidOfOz]

Three things:

1. Keep my EBMMs in their cases when not in use
2. Clean them with Wonder Wipes regularly
3. Get them set up by someone who actually knows what he's doing (ie someone other than me!)

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

I use the fingerboard wonder wipes when I re-string, and also give the whole guitar a polish too. Other than that, I just rock out with it!

 

[shredderbetter]

keep them in proper humidity levels never too dry or too wet and oil/wax At least once a year and lemon oil more often when things feel a bit DRY!a can of deoxit for cleaning the control pots once a year and a little slick 50 lube on the trem parts that make metal to metal contact are always a great IDEA!
keep em running smooth!