Can someone identify this fret board wood?

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).
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DesmondWafers
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Can someone identify this fret board wood?

Post by DesmondWafers » Tue May 01, 2018 10:52 am

This is on one of the fender American pros, which is supposed to be rosewood, but I've never seen a fret board like this before.

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Re: Can someone identify this fret board wood?

Post by Con-Tiki! » Tue May 01, 2018 11:05 am

Aren't they switching over to pf?
That what yours looks like to me.
Rosewood boards on the better fenders tend to be dark, and pretty uniform.
(Christopher, also)
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Re: Can someone identify this fret board wood?

Post by DesmondWafers » Tue May 01, 2018 11:08 am

That's what I thought too, but they're not using Pao Ferro on any USA models (Supposedly...).

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oid
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Re: Can someone identify this fret board wood?

Post by oid » Tue May 01, 2018 11:26 am

Looks like rosewood to me, the redder hunks like that fingerboard have historically been looked down upon, the black grain lines being what is thought of with the rosewoods. These redder pieces have been getting more common recently.

The sure test is to scrape or sand the fingerboard, the smell of a rosewood is quite distinct.
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Re: Can someone identify this fret board wood?

Post by DesmondWafers » Tue May 01, 2018 11:55 am

Yeah, you're right. After doing some research, it does look like rosewood. A little disappointing that they would put it on a $1500 guitar, it looks pretty bad IMO. Not my guitar, but if I was looking to get one of these I might just stick with a maple board.

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Re: Can someone identify this fret board wood?

Post by oid » Tue May 01, 2018 12:25 pm

A good number of us actually prefer the less showy more subtle bits of wood :)

There is a fair amount of grain and color in there waiting to pop out, time will bring it out. Truth is these bits of 'lesser' rosewoods were once very common as fingerboards, time has its way and shows the wood for what it is, the impatient among us can cheat time and give it a coat of 50/50 linseed/turps or the like, a light scraping first will also help.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

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Re: Can someone identify this fret board wood?

Post by DesmondWafers » Tue May 01, 2018 12:29 pm

Yeah, I can see how someone might prefer this. That being said, it's rather disingenuous of fender to keep all of their promo pics that have jet black fingerboards when this is the reality.

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Re: Can someone identify this fret board wood?

Post by Embenny » Tue May 01, 2018 12:37 pm

I love figured rosewood, even if it's technically lower grade.

The reality is that beggars can't be choosers. The current state of the rosewood lumber business is such that we are not seeing the same grades at the same prices we used to. Prepare for the day when it is only available on CS Instruments.
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Re: Can someone identify this fret board wood?

Post by oid » Tue May 01, 2018 1:03 pm

If South America gets it act together regarding sustainable forestry there is a good chance the rosewoods would become widely available again. Which there are signs of, as well as the beginnings of farmed rosewood in Brazil. India has been quite good about it and already has thriving rosewood farms.

When you are a company the size of Fender which sells worldwide, it is just easier to avoid CITES all together.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

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