This is a Fender Eric Clapton Strat built in 1990 that I bought myself for my 30th birthday as it was the same age.

I played it a bit and this happened. Not sure if it was already damaged and I made it worse or if the old strings caused the damage. There was no noticable damage when I bought it.

Is this type of thing possible to fix? Or will it need a new neck?

Thank you! (First post on Lemmy!)

  • bravestPond@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Based on the inlay and the sides of the fretboard I’m assuming you’re referring to the finish. Unlike rosewood (or similar) boards, most maple boards have a thin finish that absolutely wears through over time. Generally the only way to fix this is to refinish the neck and, due to the nature of a finished fretboard, usually this entails a re-fret.

    To my knowledge, the only way to prevent this from happening is to not play it. It’s just a natural by-product of playing a finished board.

    In the long term, More of the finish will wear off. Eventually you’ll even get some dark spots. It’s a look.

    Overall this is nothing I would be concerned about and certainly not justification for a refin. However, if you’re the type of person that absolutely can’t stand The look of an instrument that shows play wear (I understand), then I would strongly suggest you consider avoiding maple fretboards in the future as you’re going to be constantly fighting this battle assuming you actually play it.