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I just bought a new ES335 which I ordered online and love everything about BUT have noticed on the rosewood fretboard that there are MANY pores and tiny divots and longitudal little cracks or maybe just normal long pores? Is this normal? It’s a brand new Figured ES335 Gibson was $4000 so I’m just making sure that this is normal or is it abnormal and should I return and exchange? Let me know please. I can still return and exchange but of course would be a hassle and don’t want to do that if it’s normal because I love the guitar otherwise. Is this normal??
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11-28-2023 05:28 PM
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Looks like normal rosewood in the pics to me.
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If it is just streaks on color in the wood relax. Rosewood is all over place not one solid color.
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Oil it!
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It's pretty normal. Rosewood backs and sides need a lot of filler before finishing. Oil it up a bit, be sure to wipe it down very soon after.
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I’m used to maple and ebony. I’m somewhat new to rosewood and really love this guitar but the “very imperfect” fretboard when I’m comparing it to ebony or maple is really throwing me for a loop. It’s just a little bit scratchy when bending a string and has many many little pores and what seem to be longitudal like cracks or porous like things. It is pretty consistent throughout though. It’s just got me worried if I should exchange it - it doesn’t bother me acuroalf other than worrying about if it’s not correct. But yeah it’s likely the way rosewood fingerboards should be and I’m probably making a big deal about it. I just use some of the “F1 oil” on it and it looks a little better but yeah plenty of pores and it’s like very scratchy to the touch if you run your nail across it which is different than ebony or maple as you know. If it seems normal then I’m all good!
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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That's how rosewood is. If you see something advertised as rosewood which is smooth like maple or ebony, it's not rosewood.
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Funny, I have guitars with all 3 materials. There may be some subtle differences, but I never thought rosewood felt rough or unpleasant. Originally Posted by sgosnell
I think this just speaks to what Gibson is offering at this price point.
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It shouldn't feel rough or unpleasant, but it's usually noticably different from most ebony. And there are multiple tree species called rosewood. And multiple wood species sold as rosewood (and ebony) which actually are not. I would expect Gibson to be honest about the species of woods it offers, but one never knows.
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Longitudinal pores are normal, I prefer the resistance they give for bending. So long as there are no cracks. As others said, a little oil will help. And a bit of smoothing on the frets, you should be good to go.
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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.
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Pores in the wood like that are normal. Unlike the body of a guitar, the pores in the wood are not usually filled on a rosewood fingerboard.
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To chime in, yes, that looks like normal rosewood. It is a wood with a lot of pores. I prefer the feel of rosewood to ebony and especially to maple (I have a guitar with a roasted maple neck with no finish and I like that a lot; it's specifically finished maple fingerboards à la Fender that I don't like). Rosewood just has a dry feel under the fingers that I like.
As for oiling fingerboards, I do it very, very lightly once a year. I take one drop of linseed oil (for this application, it doesn't matter whether it's raw or boiled; I happen to have BLO on hand) and wipe that across the entire fingerboard and then immediately polish the board with a clean rag, wiping it back off. I don't want my fingertips feeling oily; there should not be any obvious oil on the surface of the wood. I have not done this with my roasted maple neck, which has been incredibly dimensionally stable for years despite being unfinished in Minnesota's cold/dry winters and hot/humid summers, but all my rosewood and ebony fingerboards get treated this way.
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Especially after being raided! Originally Posted by sgosnell
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Just give it a quick oil treatment every time you change strings. Eventually it will smoothen out a bit. Just be sure to wipe it clean very soon after oiling it. Usually you will see the areas right next to the frets absorb the oil sooner. If so, wipe it down right away. Originally Posted by NYC
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One more vote for rosewood having more texture than ebony being completely normal. It shouldn't make much difference practically. For the most part, your fingers aren't touching the fingerboard; they should be holding the string against the fret (unless you're pressing extraordinarily hard and/or have super low frets). Yes, when bending it's different and you do touch the board, but I think you should be able to get used to the difference in texture vs other materials pretty quickly. I have both rosewood and ebony boards, and I'm not at all aware of any difference in feel while playing, and I think that's probably a common experience. Originally Posted by NYC
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Linseed oil dries very hard, and will eventually fill pores, after many thin coats. It's widely used as a finish on rifle stocks. If you want the pores filled, Tru-Oil, which is mostly linseed oil, will do that, but it takes time and many coats. I've used it for a finish on a mahogany neck. Personally, I'm fine with an unfinished rosewood fretboard, but I'm not everyone.
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I have a 339 whose fretboard looks quite like yours, except that I oil it a little every two string changes
I have an ES125T (1959) with what appears to be a brazilian rosewood fretboard and it looks quite like yours, except that I oil it a little every two string changes
I have a LP studio ......same
That's all for Gibson from my side
I also have other guitars with ebony board and to me, the feel is much smoother than rosewood, but I honestly can't argue about tonal differences due to fretboard material
So enjoy your new guitar and as already mentioned above, oil it. Look for tutos on YT if you are not sure how to to it.
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Agreed! Love the feel of rosewood. Originally Posted by Cunamara
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I would imagine that's "new growth" rosewood from India. Check out the pics on Stew Mac's website--grain and pore pattern look similar. Shouldn't affect playing in the least.
As an aside there are a lot of cool woods for fretboards. I recently got a Tele neck with a Pau Ferro fingerboard. Very cool looking grain pattern, and has a nice feel on the fingers.
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I have a brand new L-5 and Byrdland. Even the new ebony boards is more porous then fretboards of yesteryear.
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After I made my post (above) I pulled out my G&L ASAT Classic (1994, $700 new) which is the oldest guitar I have with a rosewood fret board. The wood has grain structure and some grain voids, but feels smooth, when playing. Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
The wood is dark and looks uniform. The days of those reasonably priced, quality guitars is over.
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That is what rosewood looks like. Originally Posted by NYC
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That old growth ebony, rosewood, etc that used to be used is no longer available. It has all been cut and wasted, mostly. Ebony used to be just burned or abandoned if it wasn't pure black. That's no longer the case, and factories just dye it black. The issues with rosewood are well known, because some species have been endangered for years, specifically Brazilian rosewood. Other tree species called rosewood are not the same, and look different. There are other wood species that work as well for fretboards, but they aren't traditional, so shunned by extremely conservative guitar collectors. Guitar factories, and individual luthiers, have to take what they can get these days.
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