Would this fretboard put you off? (Gibson SG Jr)

Teyeplayer

SteveRobinson said:

Teyeplayer said:



Hate to be the bearer, but it’s a three piece body. I can’t embed in here but can show you if you need via pm. Don’t let the number of pieces get you down though, it’s how the guitar sounds that matters.

Now you say that it really jumps out of that picture

That’s what I thought, takes a little distance - a bit like a magic eye.

ICBM

Iamnobody said:

Genuine question. Did anyone give a fuck about the colour of rosewood boards before the internet?

This one would have - not the colour, that it’s clearly not been properly oiled.

rivercider

I've been asked about my strat's board, as to whether it's rosewood or not, but it's an American Pro and definitely rosewood, just has a striped appearance and some light areas that I've grown to feel give it some character. I quite like that SG, maybe oil it to see if it'll darken a bit, but the markings are attractive.

skullfunkerry

Iamnobody said:

I like it!

Genuine question. Did anyone give a fuck about the colour of rosewood boards before the internet?

The thought had never crossed my mind until I started reading it on here. Honestly.

So do you care about the colour - or have you been conditioned to care about it?

I didn't... and still don't 

ICBM

Teyeplayer said:

Hate to be the bearer, but it’s a three piece body. I can’t embed in here but can show you if you need via pm. Don’t let the number of pieces get you down though, it’s how the guitar sounds that matters.

Three-piece is arguably better anyway. It means all the hardware is attached to one piece, not two.

mark123

puts tin hat on ..

The fretboard looks horrific ,like a cheap copy 

but take no notice of me

Sassafras

Give it a quick once over with permanent laundry marker and tell everyone it's ebony.

Penn

I played an ES-335 in a shop a couple of years back that had a similar looking board. The guitar was £2500 which frankly was too much for a dry wavy board in my opinion. So in the end I bought an ES-345 which was made in 2003. It’s got a lovely dark right grained board that I love. It cost very similar money. 

These things are personal preference though. The guitar sold a few weeks after I played it. Someone must have liked it. 

chris78

dannyboy82 said:

https://i.imgur.com/3ybtPyq.jpg

This is how my 2019 special came from peach. Maybe they oiled it?

John would send one back if it wasn’t right. He’s never scared of doing that. One of the reasons Peach are a great store

GoldenEraGuitars

Well, on the plus side Gibson haven’t resorted to using dye on their boards. Fender seem to get away with it and charge you £3599+ for the privilege

That board will darken up just fine. 

rico

I wouldn’t buy it. For two reasons: the anaemic fretboard and the controls that are a country mile away from the bridge. 

WezV

GoldenEraGuitars said:

Well, on the plus side Gibson haven’t resorted to using dye on their boards. Fender seem to get away with it and charge you £3599+ for the privilege

That board will darken up just fine. 

I would quite happily dye this, but would use dark brown fiebings rather than black.   Then I would rub down with wire wool before oiling.

It would still look naturally streaky, but will be a bit darker and a bit more even.

I would rather a structurally sound piece of wood was not wasted just because of an aesthetic preference that is easily tweaked

thebreeze

@WezV what are fiebings?  Is this the best method to darken a fretboard then?  I have a pale board on a LP standard I wouldn't mind having a go at darkening.

WezV

thebreeze said:

@WezV what are fiebings?  Is this the best method to darken a fretboard then?  I have a pale board on a LP standard I wouldn't mind having a go at darkening.

Fiebings leather dye/oil.

Black has been used by big players in the guitar industry to even out ebony for decades.  Gibson, Martin, PRS etc...

It's best used on raw wood.   So clean the board with naptha first.   Apply the stain very carefully  as it will stain anything it touches.  Rub back with super fine wire wool to remove surface residue.  Give it a light coat of a finishing oil to lock it in, rub it straight off.

It will stain some plastic inlays, so don't leave it on too long before the rub back stage. (Dark brown on a Les Paul crown inlay actually allows you to control a nicely aged look)

Also, wear gloves

pmg

I’ve never chosen a guitar based on board colour but ultimately you have to be happy with it.  I’d be more concerned with how it plays and what the neck feels like

Jalapeno

Needs a good soak of oil, that's all.  (quite like the look tbh)

thebreeze

WezV said:

thebreeze said:

@WezV what are fiebings?  Is this the best method to darken a fretboard then?  I have a pale board on a LP standard I wouldn't mind having a go at darkening.

Fiebings leather dye/oil.

Black has been used by big players in the guitar industry to even out ebony for decades.  Gibson, Martin, PRS etc...

It's best used on raw wood.   So clean the board with naptha first.   Apply the stain very carefully  as it will stain anything it touches.  Rub back with super fine wire wool to remove surface residue.  Give it a light coat of a finishing oil to lock it in, rub it straight off.

It will stain some plastic inlays, so don't leave it on too long before the rub back stage. (Dark brown on a Les Paul crown inlay actually allows you to control a nicely aged look)

Also, wear gloves

Thank you so much, I’ll have a go!

Garsing

Nothing wrong with that board, but like most new guitars they can do with some oiling (in addition to your skins natural stuff). Lots of great ideas. I jumped on the Fret Doctor bandwagon a year ago. Works great for conditioning and darkening a light board (after a few coats). Pricey but a small bottle will last a lifetime.  https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/accessories-c14/fretboard-conditioners-c92/fretdoctor-fretboard-conditioner-p584

skunkwerx

With regards to people saying this isn't 'right' or for example Peach would send it back. 

What is exactly the issue with the board apart from personal preference of its visuals? 

Is or historically was, streaky a marker of cheaper wood then?

The dryness, I'm no Gibson fanatic, but I got the impression that was a Gibson thing. 

WezV

skunkwerx said:

With regards to people saying this isn't 'right' or for example Peach would send it back. 

What is exactly the issue with the board apart from personal preference of its visuals? 

Is or historically was, streaky a marker of cheaper wood then?

The dryness, I'm no Gibson fanatic, but I got the impression that was a Gibson thing. 

Generally, the market expectation was that ebony should be pure black.   Search "Bob Taylor" ebony for a good vid explaining why this is now an issue.     Factories had been dying it for years to meet market expectations.   You can still find jet black ebony in small quantities, but not enough to sustain factories

Rosewood was a cheaper alternative when ebony started becoming too pricy.  People still wanted it as dark as possible because that's what instruments had always looked like. 

a darker rosewood is often naturally oilier, and that is good for a fretboard, but a drier board can be oiled up to achieve the same thing.   


Also worth noting that the wood will darken with use anyway.   The fretboards on many vintage guitars will have been paler when new.