I received my new Caramel Burst ES-339 last week. The guitar is terrific, no fretboard problems. No black stuff at all on my fingers from the fingerboard.
The body and neck finish is almost flawless. Only problem was a slight buzz of the B and high-E strings. I easily fixed that by putting a dab of superglue on the tip of a very small flat-blade screwdriver and putting that in the nut string slots. Let it dry for about an hour. No more buzz. I had the same problem with another mfg's guitar that I bought earlier this year that was in about the same price range.
Guitars in this price range should not have strings that buzz.
The inspection date of my ES-339 was November 2007.
It sounds great, and looks great. I am very satisfied with the instrument so far.
