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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ Ibanez Jem7vwh // Guitar Care.

Posted by: n0x Oct 31 2007, 01:21 AM

It finally arrived yesterday, and I went out to pick it up! I ordered the thing almost a year ago!!! hehe. Long wait, but well worth every single penny. It plays like a dream, stays in tune so well. I've been abusing it for about 24 hours, constant dive bombs and whammy harmonics, tuning is still perfect! Axe of the gods. Not to mention its physical beauty. .

Though the neck is not as fast as I had read it would be but its probably my hands, I refuse to play unless I wash my hands first, so makes em stick a lil to the neck/ fretboard. Gota respect the guitar aye?

I can play the guitar well, but I really have no idea on how to care for one, and I plan on making this one last for a while.. Wasnt cheap, and I had to work hard for it.. Plus, I am in love- it feels like a new marriage, sex on a nightly basis! heheehe...

So, my question is. How would I go about taking care of this guitar? My last guitar is now a wreck.. The bridge is destroyed, the rosewood fretboard is scratched and not very smooth at all, intonation is screwed and it just doesnt sound very good anymore.. Can't have that happen to the Jem aye!

I am afraid of having that black grime build up on the fretboard, because cleaning it will only scratch the vine of life inlays, and I want to keep the rosewood as smooth as possible. What about lengthening its life in general?? Wiping down after every session is wise, right? I went to the store today in search of a rag, but I could not find anything. Is an old T shirt alright, or a towel (dedicated for wiping down) ?

Finally, my biggest concern is weather/ humidity. I am currently living in Dubai for a few months, moved to visit my parents, and the weather outside is extremely hot and humid, so while inside the house in a room, we have the air conditioning turned on, and then off when we step out. Is this harmful to my instrument? Should I keep it inside its case when not being used? and should the a/c be on while its exposed/ being played?

I know that Andrew and Pavel own a Jem.. It really is as good as they say, I was inspired by both of you to finally buy it! Any tips ?

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Oct 31 2007, 01:30 AM

Welcome to the club!

No special tips, but for environment, if its comfortable for you it probably is for the guiatr, avoid sudden changes would be my advice.

Posted by: Pavel Oct 31 2007, 01:33 AM

Oh the neck is very fast - it's just the set-up you have to do right

Congrats man!

Posted by: n0x Oct 31 2007, 01:39 AM

Ahh, cheers boys.. Good to join the Jem club.

Pavel- elaborate on the set up.. Do you mean the bridge, or the neck itself?? Hehe, would really suck if I f***** up the neck.. . Its pretty straight from what I've seen, and the action is nice and low

Edited for language - Andrew

Posted by: MickeM Oct 31 2007, 01:42 AM

fretboard could be oiled once in a while - with lemon juice or a special lemon cleaner. I use paraffine oil. I oil it and leave it to dry til the next day, then oil it a second time if it looks dry and put on the strings a few hours later.

While the strings are off you can gently brush the frets with this 0000 steel woll thingy that wife keeps in the kitchen under the sink. :-)

About temperature, as Andrew says, the guitar will be affected from temperature changes and probably constant changes in humidity aswell thoug it for the most part should stay protected by its paint.

It must be possible to keep guitars in Dubai aswell, just think of all famous shredders that come from there, how did they manage? ..or am I way off now again...

I think the Evolution pus have ben waxed. No? If not that could be one way, people do it for sound but I can imagine wax would protect from humidity aswell. Drown the pu's in a 70 C wax bath for 30 minutes or so. I never did it myself so I donk know the exact mixture, temperature and timing.

Posted by: n0x Oct 31 2007, 01:49 AM

Ah, thanks for the advice Micke, I need it hehe.. Well, concerning temperature, my main worry would be the wood.. The neck to be exact.. ! My old guitars neck is warped I think, little bit bent from temperature but I kept it exposed in the open at all times while switching AC on and off but the Jem stays in its prestige case while its not being used.. That should protect the wood, etc.. I hope! I will go out and purchase lemon juice or praffine oil tomorrow, and a special rag to wipe off sweat, etc.

Posted by: MickeM Oct 31 2007, 07:16 AM

Get lemon juice then, that's the stuff in general that's good. Paraffine works for me but I don't know if anyone else use it, maybe it cause the neck to catsh fire or something

Ni, that was just to say, if you want to play it safe and use something thats prooven to be good - lemon juice!

Posted by: Pavel Oct 31 2007, 07:49 AM

QUOTE (n0x @ Oct 31 2007, 01:39 AM)

Ahh, cheers boys.. Good to join the Jem club.

Pavel- elaborate on the set up.. Do you mean the bridge, or the neck itself?? Hehe, would really suck if I f***** up the neck..

. Its pretty straight from what I've seen, and the action is nice and low

Edited for language - Andrew

What i meant was the bridge height -> string height. By lowering the bridge/strings you can really make a big change to the overall playability of the guitar.

Posted by: tonymiro Oct 31 2007, 07:52 AM

Humidity can affect guitars. There's a thing called a guitar humidifier that the manufacturer's say sort this issue out (costs about 20UK sterling) - English supplier's email is [email protected]. I know nothing specific about the product but if it's a case of reducing humidity then silica gel which you can normally get from a Chemist/Pharmacist may well work. Silica gel is the bright blue crystals/powder gel that turns pink when it's wey, you often get packets of it in shipping cartons if you buy electrical stuff and similar by mail.

Cheers,
Tony

Posted by: n0x Oct 31 2007, 03:46 PM

QUOTE (Pavel @ Oct 31 2007, 10:49 AM)

What i meant was the bridge height -> string height. By lowering the bridge/strings you can really make a big change to the overall playability of the guitar.

ahh

yeah its pretty low! im very satisfied with it, cheers pavel! I'm practicing your lessons and its just wonderful!

QUOTE (tonymiro @ Oct 31 2007, 10:52 AM)

Tony: thanks for the advice. Im not sure if its available where I am, but my closest buddies are from london, perhaps they can send me the device. I'll go out and buy silica gel, too. Do I just leave the stuff in the guitar case? I am currently storing the Jem in its prestige case when its not in use, and when it is being used the air conditioning is on, and im hoping it takes away humidity.

Posted by: tonymiro Nov 1 2007, 11:23 PM

I'd say that the main bit is to keep any silica away from the guitar just as a precaution, it shouldn't but if it was in contact it might affect the finish. When it comes in packing crates its usually in a small semi-permeable bag. I guess that muslin would do as well as anything else - just make sure the silica can't spill out onto your Jem.

One thing with silica - when it turns pink you can re-activate by putting it in an oven at @120 for a while. It will turn blue again and you can re-use it.

Cheers,
Tony

Posted by: RobM Nov 2 2007, 02:41 PM

QUOTE (n0x @ Oct 30 2007, 08:21 PM)

.

Though the neck is not as fast as I had read it would be

but its probably my hands, I refuse to play unless I wash my hands first, so makes em stick a lil to the neck/ fretboard. Gota respect the guitar aye?

I can play the guitar well, but I really have no idea on how to care for one, and I plan on making this one last for a while.. Wasnt cheap, and I had to work hard for it.. Plus, I am in love- it feels like a new marriage, sex on a nightly basis! heheehe...

So, my question is. How would I go about taking care of this guitar? My last guitar is now a wreck.. The bridge is destroyed, the rosewood fretboard is scratched and not very smooth at all, intonation is screwed and it just doesnt sound very good anymore.. Can't have that happen to the Jem aye!

I am afraid of having that black grime build up on the fretboard, because cleaning it will only scratch the vine of life inlays, and I want to keep the rosewood as smooth as possible. What about lengthening its life in general?? Wiping down after every session is wise, right? I went to the store today in search of a rag, but I could not find anything. Is an old T shirt alright, or a towel (dedicated for wiping down) ?

Finally, my biggest concern is weather/ humidity. I am currently living in Dubai for a few months, moved to visit my parents, and the weather outside is extremely hot and humid, so while inside the house in a room, we have the air conditioning turned on, and then off when we step out. Is this harmful to my instrument? Should I keep it inside its case when not being used? and should the a/c be on while its exposed/ being played?

I know that Andrew and Pavel own a Jem.. It really is as good as they say, I was inspired by both of you to finally buy it! Any tips

I would think that turning the air off just for a few hours while you are gone won't affect it very much so long as the guitar is in an air conditioned room most of the time. I always leave my guitar in it's case when not being played. I don't think it's a must but it does protect it from getting dusty/dirty by sitting out in the air when not being used. I also feel that it protects it from fading(some people like that look) and the occasional accidental hit from a ball or something else being thrown or dropped near it.(I still have kids living at home, me being the biggest one, lol)

As for guitar care, what I do is wipe it down after every use, I use an old cotton hand towel that has been thru the laundry about 1000 times, it's very soft. Once a week I pull out the guitar polish and string cleaner/conditioner and on the front side of an old cotton sock(white side) I put the polish and rub it into the guitar and on the back side of the same sock(grey side) I put the string cleaner and then clean/condition the strings. After that I pull out the polishing cloth and polish the body, neck, head etc...of the guitar and last I pull out the soft towel and do a final buff and wipe down the strings. After that I put the guitar in it's case and throw the sock and towel in the wash.

When I change the strings I pull out the fretboard oil and oil the fretboard as I change the strings(one at a time). Usually about once per month or every 100 hours of play.