We kick off this course with a masterclass in cleaning a rosewood fretboard. Rosewood makes up a very high percentage of dark fretboards, so if you have a darker board then it's likely that it's rosewood and this video will be perfect for you!

Summary: Why clean the fretboard?

So why clean your fretboard? Simply put, the cleaner your fretboard, the better the guitar will feel to play and the longer your strings will last. You may have never even thought about cleaning the fretboard of your guitar but, once you do, you will immediately feel the difference and never look back! Dirt builds up quite quickly, so James recommends trying to clean the fretboard every time you change your strings.

Equipment: What tools do you need?

There are three useful tools at this point, the first is a string winder to help you quickly remove the strings. For the actual task of cleaning the fretboard you will need:

1. Wire Wool

2. Wood Oil Soap

3. Scotts Shop Towel

James recommends using 0000 wire wool rather than a more typical 000 as it is slightly finer. The 'Scotts Shop Towel', which is the blue towel you see James using to clean up the neck, works great as it doesn't tear and you can just throw it away when you are done.

Checklist: Cleaning the fretboard

• 1. Remove the strings and place a bit of masking tape onto the neck pickup
• 2. Place a small amount of wood oil soap onto the wire wool
• 3. Start washing up and down the fretboard. You may need to do this twice, depending how dirty the board is.
• 4. Be sure to go up and down the fretboard rather the across the board as you may damage the grain.
• 5. Use the Scotts shop towel to wipe away the oil soap and dry up the board.