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2018 Les Paul fret board wood question/issue?


Moshaholic

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Can anybody please tell me if this looks like a rosewood or baked Granadillio fret-board?

 

This is a brand new 2018 Les Paul Special DC and it was advertised as Rosewood, but some dealers have it advertised as Granadillio? (It advertised on Sweetwater until yesterday as Granadillio but has just changed to Rosewood).

 

Really looks and feel like Granadillio to me...

 

Has that lighter non-rosewood look and feels really extra smooth in texture.

 

I really do not think it's rosewood at all.

 

This same 2018 model has dealers listing different specs on the fret board wood I have found out (Andertons for one).

 

I would really like understand what might be happening here?

 

Thanks!

 

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My USA Strat and USA Les Paul Special in Rosewood

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https://www.andertons.co.uk/gibson-usa-2018-les-paul-special-double-cut-2018-in-tv-yellow-lpsdh18tvnh1. Sweetwater also had them advertised as granadillio until yesterday and it changed all of a sudden.

 

4-5 dealers had 2018 les paul specials in TV yellow listed as grandillo (and some still do).

 

Maybe its just me but its so different from my other Gibson rosewood guitars...

Edited by Moshaholic
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https://www.andertons.co.uk/gibson-usa-2018-les-paul-special-double-cut-2018-in-tv-yellow-lpsdh18tvnh1. Sweetwater also had them advertised as granadillio until yesterday and it changed all of a sudden.

 

4-5 dealers had 2018 les paul specials in TV yellow listed as grandillo (and some still do).

 

Maybe its just me but its so different from my other Gibson rosewood guitars...

Looks like Granadillio. Specs on Gibson site also said Granadillo until very recently. Does not look like rosewood, and the guitar was produced while the spec was Granadillo. So...

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Guest Farnsbarns

Erm... Granadillo is rosewood so it's entirely accurate to call it rosewood even if it is granadilla.

Edited by Farnsbarns
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Erm... Granadillo is rosewood so it's entirely accurate to call it rosewood even if it is granadilla.

 

Research on the web will and Gibson's website will disagree with this. It is a rosewood substitute, Gibson calls Granadillo out by name on 2018 explorers (and other models), but calls it rosewood on Les Pauls and has been doing s for years now. Calling it rosewood by a builder is extremely disingenuous.

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Research on the web will and Gibson's website will disagree with this. It is a rosewood substitute, Gibson calls Granadillo out by name on 2018 explorers (and other models), but calls it rosewood on Les Pauls and has been doing s for years now. Calling it rosewood by a builder is extremely disingenuous.

 

Sorry buddy, but it's been going on for decades now. Constantly trying to re-define the names of things. Look at the history of the use of the words "sapele" and "bubinga" in the guitar world.

 

rct

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Hi Mosh,

 

Is that your LP DC 2018, or a photo of one online?

 

Cheers

 

The pictures I have provided in this thread are of all my own personal guitars. The DC Special, The Single Cut Special and the USA Strat,. Anyway the DC that just landed is not rosewood IMO (or at least npt what I expected) so I just sent it back for a refund.

Edited by Moshaholic
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Sorry buddy, but it's been going on for decades now. Constantly trying to re-define the names of things. Look at the history of the use of the words "sapele" and "bubinga" in the guitar world.

 

rct

 

The why would Gibson use two different terms to describe the same wood on the 2018 models (Torrified Grandillo and Rosewood)?

 

Makes no sense to me at all if they ar the exact same wood, just saying.

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Guest Farnsbarns

Research on the web will and Gibson's website will disagree with this. It is a rosewood substitute, Gibson calls Granadillo out by name on 2018 explorers (and other models), but calls it rosewood on Les Pauls and has been doing s for years now. Calling it rosewood by a builder is extremely disingenuous.

 

I don't care. I know my trees. It's a rosid, correct name dalbergia retusa. The wood is more commonly known as cocobolo.

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Sorry buddy, but it's been going on for decades now. Constantly trying to re-define the names of things. Look at the history of the use of the words "sapele" and "bubinga" in the guitar world.

rct

 

The why would Gibson use two different terms to describe the same wood on the 2018 models (Torrified Grandillo and Rosewood)?

Makes no sense to me at all if they ar the exact same wood, just saying.

 

Think only about selling stuff. If they can be allowed to call sapele "mahogany" they can then sell you a "mahogany" guitar that is considerably cheaper to make than an actual mahogany guitar. If they can call bubinga "rosewood" then again, cheaper material same name. My one Taylor was "sapele", which became a couple years later "African Mahogany", which is only one word away from just mahogany, at who knows what percentage less material cost.

 

So if they keep interchanging granadilo and rosewood and keep doing whatever it takes behind the scenes to allow them to call something by a different name, they get to continue using "rosewood" fingerboards that everybody demands for considerably less raw material costs, by using something else.

 

It is selling, marketing, advertising, not making guitars, that's not what matters in this instance.

 

rct

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Interesting article from Gibson on the differences in fret board materials.

 

http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Gear-Tech/en-us/Know-Your-Fingerboards.aspx

 

Yes. I really like these Gibson articles. I don't always agree with everything stated. Nevertheless, they are informative.

Interesting comment that ritchlite is more expensive than ebony.

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If that's the guitar that they had at Sweetwater last week that was a b stock - That guitar was sold as having an armadillo wood board and was spec'd on both Gibson's website and Sweetwater's site as armadillo wood when it was sold. They never said it was rosewood. I was eyeing that guitar last week. They just changed the specs on the guitar like last week. That's what's going on. They won't have those guitars in stock for awhile. So I guess they've changed the spec and are starting to make some with rosewood boards. No bait and switch, no big deal. [thumbup]

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If that's the guitar that they had at Sweetwater last week that was a b stock - That guitar was sold as having an armadillo wood board and was spec'd on both Gibson's website and Sweetwater's site as armadillo wood when it was sold. They never said it was rosewood. I was eyeing that guitar last week. They just changed the specs on the guitar like last week. That's what's going on. They won't have those guitars in stock for awhile. So I guess they've changed the spec and are starting to make some with rosewood boards. No bait and switch, no big deal. [thumbup]

 

Any ideas when they are going back into production?

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Sweetwater told me they expect to have them in stock sometime early May.

 

Thanks mate - I’m struggling to get decent info in the UK.

 

I think it’s reasonable to assume UK are likely to be another month after that with shipping and cites! Will be 6 months after ordering if it is June.

 

Looks amazing, so hope it’s worth the wait!

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Funny wood rosewood be. It can be as light as rosé wine (especially on Rickenbackers) or nearly as dark as ebony. Personally I like the darkest rosewoods for my fretboards.

Edited by Vince Q
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Can't tell from the picture -- it does look so light and uniform that I would guess grenadillo, but much of the rosewood being used, and often by Gibson, these days is remarkably light in color. And I guess grenadillo is now called, generically, "rosewood" so who knows? It seems like every major builder (except PRS?) is using an increasing variety of fretboard woods (and "mahoganies" as well) so I guess we're going to have to get used to this somewhat lower standard. The stuff, whatever it is, probably works fine -- it's just unremarkable. Other makers, including Asian budget lines, seem to have access to more traditional looking rosewood, but I suspect this may be because they make far less substantial (that is, thinner) fretboards than Gibson does. Most of these lighter boards can be easily darkened -- I'm surprised Gibson does not do that.

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My 2018 Traditional had a fairly light colored fretboard and I put some Gibson Luthier's Choice Fretboard Conditioner on it and it darkened it right up. It's supposed to be rosewood but was pretty light in color when I first got it. A couple applications and it's slightly lighter than the others but much darker than it was.

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