Koaloha Super Concert fretboard probem: HELP!

Hello UU, please, help me!
I have my Koaloha superconcert since May 2010. It was my first ukulele high quality. Since then I love the sound, but I did not like the rosewood fretboard, as I felt rough, and he started to have blemishes when I started playing, as you can see in the pictures. However, I felt normal, because no one in Brazil has top-end ukuleles for comparison.

After that, I bought two other koalohas (by MGM) that I love: a soprano and a concert pikake, and both have in koa fretboard that I love: they are smooth and look good. I am very satisfied .


So, recently, I bought a KPK tenor, also with a tenor Rosewood fretboard. And whow, the KPK fretboard looks pretty slick, and has no blemishes with use. This can be seen in photos.

What do you think?
Anyone else have a koaloha superconcert to give your opinion? is this normal?

I want to change the koaloha fretboard, and this is a problem: I'm right?
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that looks normal to me. wood is pourous. I do recommend that you buy some of this stuff http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/loprinzi-fingerboard-conditioner

Until you can getsome of that stuff, put another humidifier in the case.

Do you have long fingernails that might be digging into the fretboard?? trim them....John has a good suggestion...oil your fretboard it looks kinda dry....good luck ....

Ebony is harder than koa so if you have worn out your ebony fretboard your koa ones might go faster without proper maintenance.

That looks fairly normal for a rosewood fretboard if it's been played a lot - and especially if you do string bends or vibrato. You should see what steel strings on guitars do to rosewood fretboards! From the looks of the strings you've put quite a bit of time on them and have been doing a fair amount of bending or vibrato.

Rosewood is a hardwood, but it's not the hardest of hardwoods by any means. Especially the rosewood typically available these days.

Forgot to mention - if you wax the fretboard regularly with a really good paste wax like Renaissance Wax it can make it last longer. It will also feel smoother and bends and vibrato will be smoother.

I used to oil rosewood and still do on my guitars, but the last few weeks I've waxed a couple of my ukes with rosewood fretboards and kind of like it.

John

OldePhart said:

That looks fairly normal for a rosewood fretboard if it's been played a lot - and especially if you do string bends or vibrato. You should see what steel strings on guitars do to rosewood fretboards! From the looks of the strings you've put quite a bit of time on them and have been doing a fair amount of bending or vibrato.

Rosewood is a hardwood, but it's not the hardest of hardwoods by any means. Especially the rosewood typically available these days.

Forgot to mention - if you wax the fretboard regularly with a really good paste wax like Renaissance Wax it can make it last longer. It will also feel smoother and bends and vibrato will be smoother.

I used to oil rosewood and still do on my guitars, but the last few weeks I've waxed a couple of my ukes with rosewood fretboards and kind of like it.

John

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Hi John: I have some renaissance wax--in your experience, obviously safe for fretboards? I used it recently on my watermelon kala and it sure looks good!

pdxuke said:

Hi John: I have some renaissance wax--in your experience, obviously safe for fretboards? I used it recently on my watermelon kala and it sure looks good!

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I've only recently begun using it on rosewood fretboards, but I've used it for years on almost anything else. I've used it on painted and laquered guitar bodies, varnished maple fretboards on guitars, all of the metal and plastic parts on guitars, on both finished and unfinished wooden flutes, for about four months (two applications) on the koa fretboard on my KoAloha and just the past few weeks on a couple of ukes with rosewood fretboards.

I've never had a problem with it in any of those applications. I will say that if your rosewood fretboard seems very dry I would oil it once or twice and let the oil penetrate and dry for a few days before applying the wax simply because the wax isn't going to penetrate and condition the wood like oil will. Once the wood is oiled up nicely I think the wax will probably keep it that way.

John

Here in Brazil we have Lemon Oil by D'Andrea (USA), It's a good idea?

Fretboard wear like that on rosewood fretboards are common. I've seen a guitar from the 60s that was played so much that there were actually indentations on the 2nd and 3rd fret. I guess I'm lucky, since my KoAloha Superconcert has an ebony fretboard...or at least I think it does off the top of my head. On the koa fretboards, if it is finished, you may observe some cosmetic wear after long periods of play.

fabioponta said:

Here in Brazil we have Lemon Oil by D'Andrea (USA), It's a good idea?

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Yeah, lemon oil is what I've used for years on rosewood guitar fretboards. No need to pay through the ahem for something fancy from a music place - I've used Formby's Lemon Oil Treatment for almost twenty years and never had an issue with it.

John

Thanks John!