For the last few months I’ve been using the Rosette Bamboo string and fret care system. This item features a off-white bamboo surface and a smoother blue surface.
Rosette Bamboo is different because it is a fretboard and string cleaning and maintenance system that does not use chemicals.
Users are recommended to slide the cloth under the strings, bamboo-side up and blue side down, and to slide it to the top of the fret board to the nut and wrap it around the strings.
Doing so cleans and polishes the frets and strings. Rosette Guitar Product also claims that leaving it on allows it to absorb dirt from the strings and fretboard.
In addition to using the full product for 3 months, I also used a small cut-out sample I had received when I purchased the Bridge Bone Beads.
I used the sample to clean my frets.
The results? The product performs as advertised. I noticed that the quality of my strings and fretboard was improved through usage of this product.
Due to Singapore’s high humidity, some tarnish started to form on my Tsuji within months of its arrival. After using Rosette Bamboo, I noticed that there was barely any tarnish after 3 months of usage. The frets maintained its shine nicely. Very impressive.
The sample cloth also managed to remove a lot of the tarnish that builds up on the frets. However, it was unable to restore the frets to a complete mirror shine. To be fair, I doubt this is possible without the use of chemicals.
Rosette Bamboo can be washed and is reusable. The manufacturer recommends washing it only 1-2 times a year. I only washed the sample once, but found that it managed to maintain its cleaning properties.
Final Take:
Rosette Bamboo does a great job of keeping the fretboard clean and maintaining the luster of the frets.But it’s more of a maintenance tool than a restoration tool.
I like it because Singapore’s humidity is very high, and the product did a very respectable job of minimizing the amount of tarnish on the frets. It saves me the hassle of having to perform fretboard cleaning every 6 months. The time and money I save more than make up for cost of the product.
As long as you intend to use it as a maintenance tool, and not a restoration tool, Rosette Bamboo! will meet your needs nicely. A must if you live in a humid country and own a high end guitar.
It is available for USD $13.50 + USD$2.50 Shipping from Rosette Guitar Products.
Actually you don’t need chemical to make it shine, just some steel wool will do. But be sure to protect fingerboard with tapes and the top with some cardboard just in case.
Nice to know there are such products out there 🙂
I was referring to the fine steel wool which you can get from homefix and not the kitchen steel wool used to wash pots and pans. The latter is definitely too rough…