How to renew and clean the necks of musical instruments!
Have you ever noticed that next to the frets of your guitar or your bass guitar always stops dust that not comes off with the simple slide of your finger? Have you noticed that looking at the neck backlight there’s a gradual consumption of the surface of the fret? Well there’s a resolution for these two problems, although for the second one will not be definitive.
We start by cleaning your neck, you need products purchased in stores and supermarkets.
_FINGERBOARD OILING
Start with the purchase of one of three products for the maintenance : the “Lemonoil“, a petroleoum and lemon juice-based oil, very cheap (a jar costs about 5$) and higly concentrated, so you’ll use it a little. You’ll use it to remove the piles of dust near the frets and to impregnate the fingerboard.
First of all you have to remove strings, then moisten a soft cotton cloth (not only cotton because it leaves filaments on wood) with the “Lemonoil“. As I said before you have only to dampen the cloth, it takes a few drops (4 or 5) of oil, done this pass every fret with the damp cloth trying to remove all the dirt and at the same time trying to impregnate the wood with the oil as much as possible. Now just wait until the neck becomes dry in order to pass to the next step.
_ TO PUT WAX ON THE NECK
Buy the classic satin wax for wood floors (you can find it in any store), this will serve to waterproof the neck and to prevent wear of the wood due to the pressure of the strings.
Dampen again the soft cotton cloth with this wax, but this time you have to use more of it. Apply it on the neck of your guitar or bass guitar trying to cover all the spaces between the frets in order not to leave holes, also this step is very simple. Now you have to wait until all the wax is dry and then you have to polish it to remove all the residue from the fingerboard.
_FINGERBOARD POLISHING
Take a cotton cloth, not wet, but really dry this time and proceed with the polishing. This is by rub the frets to remove all the residual wax, and serves to smooth it as not to have lumps on the fingerboard which if left could cause uneven consumption of the wood. To polish you have to make circular movements between the frets. At the end of this step you have to pass an electrostatic cloth (like swiffer) on the whole neck or your guitar or bass guitar; so it’s ready to mount the strings.
Lele
Hey Rocker!!!
In this sweltering week of August, I come back for a couple of internet news!
Sure, there are also artistic news, in fact we’re going to go to California next month for the record of our first official EP with the production of Sylvia Massy (Tool, System Of A Down, Aerosmith, Johnny Cash, ecc). Indeed we are working on new songs and hopefully able to give you updates as soon as possible!
But back to news affecting the Uncledog on Web. We recently landed on Twitter and ReverbNation, you can reach us by clicking the logo on the home of Uncledog.it, or by clicking on the links below:
- Uncledog on Twitter —> http://twitter.com/uncledogband
- Uncledog on Reverbnation —> http://www.reverbnation.com/uncledog
We have included in “Music & Videos” section this new music player, where you can find a new track from the last demo of Uncledog, “Weak Head, Strong Heart”. In addition, by entering your email address in the form below the player you can join our newsletter,You can also decide to be part of our mythical Street Team!
Please come! \,, /
Mauro
I’m back for the third part of the construction of your soundproof box.
As I said in the previous post now it’s time to talk about the real DIY. I show you below all the procedures I followed to build the soundproofed room with all the necessary precautions that I used; they will help you to save time and fatigue.
_THE CORNER
I suggest you to start with a very detailed project of your soundproof box, including measures and personal notes; it seems obvious but trust me if you start with clear ideas, the implementation becomes much faster and, why not, funny!
As I said in the first part, the shape I chose it’s a diamond shape, so I started to build my soundproof box from the right angle, I remind you that the pattern of the walls is “sandwich” described in the second part, so come on let’s start!
I used wooden columns as support columns, to achieve the right angle it needs two of them (2m tall and section 5 by 7 cm), on which will set the four panels (two internal and two external) that make the corner.
As you can see from the picture (plan view) I fixed a wooden column to another by passing the screws through the other column and the wood panel; so take crews long enough allowing you to pierce the entire thickness of the columns using, or even longer.
The corner is the soundproof box‘s part with the two larger surfaces, so I suggest you to use the larger wood panels you found out to make it . Once fixed panels you can fill the cavity with the rockwool. Be careful not to overdo it because too much rockwool can cause too much pressure that would deform the wood panels. Although the corner is only a part of the box, it can weigh hundreds of pounds (in fact they are two real walls form an “L”); the method to move it is very simple: you need a cart and a pair of strings. The cart lift the corner where the two walls meet, the strings passed off the two ends (in order to form an “U”) will ensure you a firm grip for lifting the whole structure. Remember to put the angle on a piece of wadding so as to leave no gaps between the floor and the wall itself. It should not be placed against the walls, it is necessary for acoustic insulation performance leaving about 20cm of air space between wall and structure.
_THE DOOR
The construction of the door is a delicate phase because it will be the point of the structure where the sound will find fewer obstacles and would easily escape. Never left this phase of construction last because measurement errors are always present and you have to avoid to have a door too narrow or too wide to fit the frame; this would damage the acoustic insulation of the box.
The frame is just a simple rectangle formed by wood columns cut into the right size, by it’s accuracy comes the tight of the door, so create it with great care and especially with the right measures! You can fix the frame on the angle just using screws, screwed on straight or crooked depending how you create it.
As the door I used from scrap materials, is absolutely not designed for a soundproof environment; it is lined with wood panels and hollow inside. It already offers a minimum sound attenuation, that is obviously not enough for our purpose. To improve the soundproofing effect of the door I fixed to it a wood panel and between the door and the panel I put rockwool acting in this case as acoustic insulator. Then I filled the air spaces left by the wood’s imperfections with polyurethane foam having a compact structure; the foam then, once solidified, is easy to cut with a knife.
Last easy step is to mount the hinges. With the door inserted into the frame (ie the position where it will be closed )screw the hinges onto the door and mark on the wooden column of the frame the correspondent position where will set the second half of the hinge; screw it to the frame (after removing the door of course) and that’s it. I recommend you to grease all hinges before mount the door on it’s frame . Small spaces left by the imperfect contact between door and frame can be filled fixing wadding or sheets of rubber to the door, as if they were true seals.Finally the bolt will allow you to keep the door pushed against the frame offering a good seal necessary to the soundproofing.
The other short wall of the diamond, in a symmetrical position to the door, is constructed similar to the corner (it’s a corner for all purposes).
In the next post I’ll conclude the construction of the soundproof box describing how I build the front wall and the ceiling! See you soon!
Babbo
Follow Us Also On:
