Gibson ES-335 Rosewood Fretboard Pores or cracks? Is this normal?

[Jim Soloway]

Given the woods that are now available, at what point will people finally be willing to say that synthetic materials are a better choice for fingerboards? I'm playing a $1,000 (US) MIM Martin acoustic with a Richlite board. It looks better, feels better, wears better, and is much less reactive to humidity changes than a rosewood or ebony fingerboard made from widely available wood stocks.

[Mark M.]

It looks normal. A little bore oil will make it look better.

[NYC]

It looks normal. A little bore oil will make it look better.

great agreed and feel better on that. ONE other question, I’ve changed the stings so it’s not the strings but when I bend a note there is a palpable and audible “Scratch” on the frets. All over the fretboard - the frets all scratch and it’s different than other new gibsons where I don’t have that. Is this scratch worrisome? I’m guessing it’s maybe not finished frets? Or maybe oxidation? Idk what it could be does anyone have experience with this? What should I do? Hope not to return it but can if folks think it’s a deal breaker… any ideas or experience??

[Oscar67]

I wonder how many folks have A/B’d two guitars that are identical except for the fingerboards. And of those few who did, how many could consistently identify which is which when blindfolded. Perhaps ebony vs rosewood might be felt in the fingertips, but how about Brazilian vs Indian rosewood? How about an expensive piece of ebony vs a less expensive piece?

Personally, for a long time I bought into the lore that maple is trebly and cold, rosewood is warm and woody and ebony is the best. When I really started listening to the guitar instead of other people, I started noticing that there are just too many exceptions. Mind that I’m only talking about fingerboards, not body or neck woods.

[sgosnell]

The frets can be polished, and should be. There should be no palpable scratch when the string is moved over the frets. Unpolished frets are just a sign of laziness on the part of the builder, and shouldn't have been allowed out of the factory, but maybe it was a Friday and everyone was in a hurry to get out. Or a Monday and people were still hung over. Individual luthiers tend to spend a lot of time on the frets, factories not so much. There are multiple ways to deal with fret polishing, and they all work faster or slower. There are YouTube videos galore. Or you can pay someone to do it. Or live with what you have. It's your choice.

[caue amaral]

Normal...it looks like Indian rosewood...if it were Brazilian the story would be different. The funny thing is that whenever I played guitars of the same model with a rosewood fingerboard....the one with the more porous and faded fingerboard, had a better sound acoustically...coincidence!?

[Woody Sound]

Given the woods that are now available, at what point will people finally be willing to say that synthetic materials are a better choice for fingerboards? I'm playing a $1,000 (US) MIM Martin acoustic with a Richlite board. It looks better, feels better, wears better, and is much less reactive to humidity changes than a rosewood or ebony fingerboard made from widely available wood stocks.

I have a 10-string classical with a very wide (maybe 3.5”) ebony board. Because of its size, it expands and contracts a LOT with humidity changes. Too dry and the fret ends actually catch on my skin.

I would welcome a Richlite board on that guitar.

[bluejaybill]

great agreed and feel better on that. ONE other question, I’ve changed the stings so it’s not the strings but when I bend a note there is a palpable and audible “Scratch” on the frets. All over the fretboard - the frets all scratch and it’s different than other new gibsons where I don’t have that. Is this scratch worrisome? I’m guessing it’s maybe not finished frets? Or maybe oxidation? Idk what it could be does anyone have experience with this? What should I do? Hope not to return it but can if folks think it’s a deal breaker… any ideas or experience??

No worries, you just need a fret polish or dressing. There are kits for this at StewMac, or any luthier can do it. Typical of factory produced guitars. Small batch luthiers- never. That I have seen anyway.

[FRRGC_]

I don't think its an issue of new growth vs old growth as much as it is Indian rosewood vs Brazilian rosewood. That is the standard grain pattern of Indian rosewood, but its worth noting that Brazilian rosewood was universally preferred and the default option for expensive guitars until it became less available, then the Indian rosewood that was on cheaper guitars started appearing on higher end models. Now that Indian rosewood has been facing its own issues with supply, I wonder how long it will be before the Indian laurel that is currently on cheap guitars eventually finds its way onto a Gibson. Personally, I don't really notice a difference between different fretboards except for when maple that has a poly finish over the board and frets, which I am not a fan of.

[73Fender]

great agreed and feel better on that. ONE other question, I’ve changed the stings so it’s not the strings but when I bend a note there is a palpable and audible “Scratch” on the frets. All over the fretboard - the frets all scratch and it’s different than other new gibsons where I don’t have that. Is this scratch worrisome? I’m guessing it’s maybe not finished frets? Or maybe oxidation? Idk what it could be does anyone have experience with this? What should I do? Hope not to return it but can if folks think it’s a deal breaker… any ideas or experience??

I'd say that if it bugs you now, it will always have you bothered. It seems that the quality of rosewood fretboards has been getting worse over the years as it becomes harder to source. Another great reason to buy used.

Regarding fretboard oiling there is a great old thread on another forum by Terry McInturff with other knowledgeable folks chiming in. There are some potential pitfalls in over oiling and or using the wrong oil. I'm not sure if it is ok to post a link but a quick search will get you there.

[Lkdog]

Controversial opinion time!

Kinda reminds me of a board you'd get on a 90's or early 2000's Epiphone. Cheap shit piece of new growth rosewood. No offense but not worth 4k to me. It does look darker than your average Epi board but that is a rather porous looking piece which is how the average Epi I've come across looks. Like B stock rosewood because there isnt' much good dark tight grain rosewood left unless it's a piece someone squirreled away. Blame the chinese.

I am always hesitant about rosewood boards these days for these exact reasons but I bought an '09 Edwards E-LP copy for $600 last month and the rosewood board puts that to shame. Darker than OP's board, very tightly grained, and slick like greased ice. It's hard to put down because it's so smooth. I guess I lucked out.

The good news is if it plays and sounds good who cares.

Lighten up Frances.

[Lkdog]

Get this to condition it. Leave it on for 15 minutes and wipe off and buff thoroughly with paper towel.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Howard-16-oz-Feed-N-Wax-Wood-Conditioner-FW0016/100592963#overlay


While you are at Home Depot get some #000 steel wool.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Homax-Ex...1000/202871994

Tape off your fretboard. Polish the frets with the steel wool. Wipe them clean and buff with paper towel.
Also tape off your pickup covers as you do not want the little fragments from steel wool attaching to the covers.

If you do not want to tape off the board- get a set of these.
https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tool...rboard-guards/

[JazzNote]

I had a look at the rosewood boards of my 1953 L7 and 1977 ES335. It seems that there are differences in quality, the L7 smoother than the ES335. The resolution of my pics is not as high as the ones provided by the OP, but i think i see some similarities betwween his ES 335 and mine.

[bluenote61]

I had a look at the rosewood boards of my 1953 L7 and 1977 ES335. It seems that there are differences in quality, the L7 smoother than the ES335. The resolution of my pics is not as high as the ones provided by the OP, but i think i see some similarities betwween his ES 335 and mine.

The L7 has a brasilian rosewood fingerboard whereas the ES has an indian rosewood. The difference especially in number and form of pores is typically for this two rosewood species. It cannot be taken for justification of quality.