PC1 Neck and fretboard care.

[chowbox]

Hello!


What do you guys do to remove dirt and grime from a PC1 neck and fret board. While mine is still brand new I have seen a lot pictures of really funky (dirty) unfinished maples necks and fret boards. Also with regard to strings. I know some strings when new have a tendency to leave a black residue on my fingers. One gent was freaking out because that black string residue got all over his unfinished fret board. Which brand of strings does Jackson put on this guitar when it leaves the factory and is the correct gauge on this model 10-52 as stated on the Jackson website or is it 9-46 as stated in the generic manual that came with my guitar?

My OCD clean freak nature will not allow me to just enjoy the look of a grimy neck and fretboard. Some say "it's mojo", enjoy! I just can't do that. :-)

Thanks in advance!

Scott

[rjohnstone]

Jackson ships guitars with D'Adarrio strings.
I use GHS myself... never seen new strings leave any black residue before.
As for the PC1, I clean mine with Scott's Liquid Gold. It dissolves grime and oils the wood at the same time.
I only do that during string changes.
The rest of the time, I just wipe it down after playing to keep it clean. Also, wash your hands before you play.
Dirty hands are the #1 culprit for ugly maple boards.

Unfinished fret boards will darken over time.... nothing you can do about it except never play it.

[chowbox]

Rick,

Thanks for your response! I will go out and get some liquid gold before the next string change. Lastly, the Jackson website states that this model is equipped with 10-52's, but the manual that came with my guitar says all 6 strings are fitted with 9-42?

Thanks again!

Scott

[Number Of The Priest]

The weird thing is that if the PC1 were to be a true Phil Collen signature model, the factory should install 13-56 gauge strings (he loves heavy strings) and tune the guitar either to standard (Def Leppard album tuning) or half step down (live tuning).

Slightly off topic, but the maple fretboard on my Charvel Model 1C is finished in polyurethane with a high gloss. I purposely deglossed it (and the back of the maple neck) with 0000 steel wood, which also had the effect of cleaning the fretboard and frets, while getting rid of the "stickiness" of the high gloss finish.

[shreddermon]

Also, wash your hands before you play. Dirty hands are the #1 culprit for ugly maple boards.

This.

[rjohnstone]

13-56 sound awesome, but man it's a bitch to do bends.

As for the tuning, I think it depends on which album and how Joe's voice was doing at the time.
Hysteria was pretty much standard tuning, but Pyro was all over the map.
Photograph is a half step down, but Rock of Ages was standard. Too Late for Love was somewhere in between half and standard.
Songs from the Sparkle lounge and Yeah album are almost entirely half a step down.
I need like 3 guitars with different tuning if I want to jam with different albums/tracks.

[Number Of The Priest]

I need like 3 guitars with different tuning if I want to jam with different albums/tracks.

Any excuse to buy more guitars is worth it.

I thought Photograph was also partway between Eb and standard (quarter step down or something bizarre), and for this reason it sounds fine when played in either tuning. Can always use a program like Audacity to correct the pitch. Maybe the tape wasn't playing at the correct speed when they were recording Pyromania.

I wouldn't expect Hysteria to be wonky given the "perfectionist" approach toward that album's production. But Mutt was on board for Pyro so I don't get why he never got OCD about the pitch before releasing.

I haven't acquired or listened to any albums since X, so I was unaware they're now recording in Eb. Thanks for the info.