Caring for your guitar - Jackson King V Pro

[Yash]

Hey guys! How're you doing? Hope everyone's rocking and shredding, unlike me But finally, I can get back to guitar playing again. Anyway, I have a Jackson King V Pro (2014 model, Amber sunburst with EMG 81/89 and Floyd Rose), and, it has been really neglected and not cared for.. Bad me.. I don't think it's anything serious though. Set up, cleaning and stuff. So, here are my questions! Hope someone can be of help.

1) Set up! I want to do the setup this time myself, any good guides please? There are waaay too many of them on the internet. And I am getting confused. I want to set it up in Drop D with 10-52 strings.

2) Cleaning! It's kinda dirty, has a tiny scratch on the body (very tiny, but I see it!) What should I use? I am especially worried about the neck and fretboard. The neck is satin finished or unfinished or whatever it is.. Just plain maple, and I don't know what to use to clean it. It isn't as white/blond as it used to be, is there anything I can do to restore it's natural colour? And, just general care tips for the neck and the fingerboard. Also, the binding used to be really white and now it's kinda turning yellow I am really worried....

3) What stuff should I buy for the above said jobs?

I'll post pictures tomorrow!

PS - I'll soon be buying 2 new guitars. ESP E-II Arrow 7 and an ESP LTD EC-1000! I wish I could get a Jackson 7 string KV, but they screwed up the Corey Beaulieu King V so instead I have to go with the ESP Stupid Jackson!

P.PS - Posted in the wrong section! Please delete it. I'll repost it now in the Tech Q&A

[Guitarkid8]

The wood and binding are going to age. Guitar polish for the body. Naptha to clean the fretboard, then a fret oil. I use boiled linseed because it is available locally.

Put on your desired strings, and tune to desired tuning. Take off the back cover on the guitar and locate the two screws that hold the "claw" into the body. If the bridge is pulled up, tighten both screws then re-tune. If it (bridge) is sunken into the body, loosen the screws. Keep doing this until the base plate is flat.

next is the neck relief. Take off the 3 screws on the headstock and locate the truss Rod. Put a capo (or your finger) on the first fret, and your finger on the last fret that still is on the body. Look around the 7/8th fret and look at the relief. Loosening the truss gives you more relief. Tightening gives you less.

Next st check the action at the nut. The string should not be resting on the 1st fret. If it is too high it can go out of tune when fretting notes close to the nut.

Next check action at on at the bridge via 12th fret. Raise or lower the bridge using the two posts. Tightening lowers the bridge, loose does the opposite.

Now you you can intonate the guitar. Here is a link to the Floyd Rose intonation page. http://www.floydrose.com/support/tec...ng-your-bridge

[Yash]

And what about that Dunlop 65 systems? Or the planet waves ones? What exactly should I look for in the shop? Or just go to a guitar store and tell them to give me Naptha, guitar polish, and fret oil? And, my biggest worry, the unfinished neck, how do I take care of it?

[Guitarkid8]

The neck should not actually be unfinished, but have a very light coating of oil. Unless you have played the hell out of it, a light cleaning with the naphtha should get rid of anything that is built up. If the coating is wearing thin you can re-oil it with "Tru Oil".

edit: Ether system will work. they should both be about the same chemically.

[Number Of The Priest]

Naphtha is lighter fluid. It likely won't be available at a music store. Try a hardware store, camping/outdoor store, Walmart, or Walgreens. https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/ro...021241-product



That's the one I bought.

I stopped using guitar polishes because I'm paranoid about undisclosed ingredients, specifically silicone. Silicone in a guitar polish apparently seeps into a guitar finish, which will make refinishing difficult. Not that I ever anticipate blemishing my guitars to the point where they need new paint, but I'm thinking VERY long-term if I pass my collection down to future generations and the youngsters of tomorrow are mystified why paint is having trouble adhering to great-great-great grandpa's guitars.

Instead of polishing, a dry cloth plus manual effort is often enough to clean the dirtiest used guitars I've bought off the used market. If not, escalate to huffing a breath of moist air and then buffing with the dry cloth will lift a lot of dirt. If not, escalate to spitting a drop of saliva on the area and then buffing... if you're not averse to getting your bodily fluids on an instrument you intend to keep forever. Maybe don't spit on guitars you don't intend to keep. (The procedures in this paragraph are taken directly from the guitar maintenance book I recommended to you in your other thread.)

0000 gauge steel wool (the finest possible) for cleaning and polishing the fretboard and frets. If it's a bolt-on neck, remove the neck because it's easier. If the neck is fixed to the body (as is the case with a set-neck or neck-thru), or if you are paranoid about removing a bolt-on neck, you need to cover the pickups (I also like to cover the bridge) with low tack painter's tape to prevent the steel wool dust from clinging to your hardware and damaging it. Apply pressure on the steel wool as you "scrub" the frets and fretboard in the direction of the grain. I recommend doing this outdoors because of the flying steel wool dust. I also "scrub" the back of the neck on unpainted, glossed necks for a slightly slicker, satin, faster feel. This is reversible since you can buff the back of the neck (if it has a finish on it) and it will go from being satin to being gloss again.

For oiling a rosewood or ebony fretboard, I've been using Weiman Lemon Oil (http://weiman.com/Products/Wood-Furn...rniture-Polish). A little goes a long way. You can buy that at Walmart or other common stores because it's not guitar-specific. It's really just mineral oil with a lemon scent. The choice to use Weiman specifically was just arbitrary, since that is what was available at Walmart when I bought the bottle nearly 15 years ago. Maple fretboards don't receive oil; just steel wool cleaning. I don't have vintage Fenders that have finishes on the neck I need to preserve for the sake of value, so I don't mind steel wooling a finished maple fretboard/neck on my guitars that have them.

Fuck, I didn't really want to type all of this, since I addressed everything I wanted to answer for you in your other topic simply by recommending Dan Erlewine's book/DVD combo How to Make you Electric Guitar Play Great, but you asked about where to buy supplies and I got carried away. Honestly that book answers all your questions and guides you through disassembly, cleaning, maintenance, reassembly, setup, materials, and supplies. Thanks to that book, I'm now mostly fearless buying and "restoring" wonky, dirty, neglected guitars because I know I have the skills to breathe new life into these orphaned instruments.

[Guitarkid8]

Check the ingredients on any lighter fluid you buy. Most have more than just naphtha. Scents, etc.. You can get straight naphtha from hardware stores such as Lowe's or Home Depot if you live in the U.S. You can also purchase boiled linseed oil for your rosewood fretboard at these stores as well.

Here is a picture of a neck that is probably 15 years old and well used, next to one that's about half that old (with very little wear/use)

[Yash]

I live in Russia, so, I'll need to search for stuff. I bought the Dunlop System 65 fingerboard 02 fingerboard deep conditioner today. I'll also buy the 01, they ordered it because it wasn't available, would arrive in a week or two. And, guess what shocked me the most! They didn't have a freaking string cutter/winder !!!! They had to freaking order it and now it's gonna be here next Thursday, cool right?

I sadly can't order the book and DVD combo, since, I am not in the US. And, I am mostly interested in playing, and right now, not VERY keen on the maintenance side of things, YET. Though looking at my guitar now, I'll get paranoid about it ! For sure! Especially the dust in the hardware! Should I use a vacuum cleaner? Sorry for sounding so silly. Just too afraid to damage it. I found the book online though.

So, here's what I understood yet. Body, I'll clean with dry cloth manually, it's in good shape. If not I'll get some kind of cleaner and clean. Like this one.

http://www.planetwaves.com/pwProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=4115&productid=535&productname=Shine_Instant_Spray_Cleaner

Then apply Carnauba. And then vacuum clean the bridge.

The fretboard, (which is ebony by the way) first I'll clean it first with Naphtha, or the Dunlop 01 Fingerboard Cleaner and Prep, then I'll use this Dunlop 02 conditioner. And then Lemon oil? Oh, I also have a GHS Fast fret string cleaner, which, I guess will use later on when I have the job done.

Neck, just use naphtha and I am done? Here's the neck's current condition






See how the colour looks where it joins the body, the lighter shade, I wish it could return to that condition again! So beautiful. And I guess it's better for the guitar as well?

Once I am done with the cleaning, I set up the Floyd Rose. The hard stuff.

[Mudlark]

That's a 2013 serial number.

[Guitarkid8]

You can substitute the naphtha on the fingerboard for the 01 cleaner. The 02 takes place of lemon oil/linseed oil.

For or the bridge and hard to reach areas with dust you can use "canned air". Don't know if they have this in Russia. It is popular for computer shops because you can use it to clean out keyboards and other things in small spaces (like guitar bridge).

[Yash]

You can substitute the naphtha on the fingerboard for the 01 cleaner. The 02 takes place of lemon oil/linseed oil.

For or the bridge and hard to reach areas with dust you can use "canned air". Don't know if they have this in Russia. It is popular for computer shops because you can use it to clean out keyboards and other things in small spaces (like guitar bridge).

Alright, I got hold of the fingerboard! And back of thr neck with just naphtha? Hope that will give back its old colour. Where the neck goes through he body. I'll have to search for canned air. For some reason, the picture isn't loading!

[Yash]

1654208[/URL]]That's a 2013 serial number.

I always thought it was 2014 because I got it in November 2014....

[Mudlark]

No, those numbers have been date-coded since they started in 2012. But, a mix-up or inconsistency involving a serial number isn't new, so, anything's possible.
A guitar made in 2013 that isn't sold until 2014 is more than common.

[Number Of The Priest]

And, guess what shocked me the most! They didn't have a freaking string cutter/winder !!!! They had to freaking order it and now it's gonna be here next Thursday, cool right?

I use a simple pair of wire cutters (seen below) to clip my strings. No need for a fancy all-in-one string winder. While I do have a basic string winder (one without cutters), I only use it to quickly wind up the strings, but I still have no problem winding by hand.

I sadly can't order the book and DVD combo, since, I am not in the US. And, I am mostly interested in playing, and right now, not VERY keen on the maintenance side of things, YET. Though looking at my guitar now, I'll get paranoid about it ! For sure! Especially the dust in the hardware! Should I use a vacuum cleaner? Sorry for sounding so silly. Just too afraid to damage it. I found the book online though.

I am both interested in maintenance and playing but I wasn't always this way. This year, after acquiring ten used guitars, I loved the feeling of satisfaction from learning and performing maintenance. It helps you learn what makes a guitar play well, what can make it play even better, and I feel more of a bond with the guitar after spending time working on it.

As for the book, I borrowed it from my local library several times to absorb the lessons I needed immediately. I used a "DVD ripper" program to save a copy of the DVD onto my computer. I still learn new things every time I watch Dan Erlewine in that video, and often set up my own guitar in parallel to watching the video on my screen.

[Yash]

I use a simple pair of wire cutters (seen below) to clip my strings. No need for a fancy all-in-one string winder. While I do have a basic string winder (one without cutters), I only use it to quickly wind up the strings, but I still have no problem winding by hand.

Cool, but I don't even have that. I have no basic tools because I live in a dorm far far away from home So, I'll need to make a list and buy the stuff I need. Right now I'm in the making the list phase. Finding the stuff would be even more difficult. I found this video from Ernie Ball about neck cleaning, and I think I'll be using this method for the back of the neck!

I am both interested in maintenance and playing but I wasn't always this way. This year, after acquiring ten used guitars, I loved the feeling of satisfaction from learning and performing maintenance. It helps you learn what makes a guitar play well, what can make it play even better, and I feel more of a bond with the guitar after spending time working on it.

As for the book, I borrowed it from my local library several times to absorb the lessons I needed immediately. I used a "DVD ripper" program to save a copy of the DVD onto my computer. I still learn new things every time I watch Dan Erlewine in that video, and often set up my own guitar in parallel to watching the video on my screen.

That's cool! Maybe somewhere down the line I could get my hands on that video!

[Number Of The Priest]

I might upload the whole thing to Youtube under a new Youtube account name. I don't want my current Google account banned from Youtube for uploading copyrighted material.

I'll link it here if I do.