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NEW Baked Maple Fret Boards??????? What do you think??


Theway

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Posted

Whats the real deal with these, has anyone played one. Is it the end of the world for LP or is this a positive?

 

Please post if you have played not just speculation.

 

 

 

Do I want one of these????????????

 

Guitar Gallery | Sweetwater.com

 

 

Thanks

Posted

.

 

I'll reserve my judgement until I get my hands/fingers on a couple, but I don't like the look.

 

 

.

 

This was one of my first posts on the Forum:

 

Baked maple is what you used to get when you stacked the firewood to close to the back of Aunt Lena's stove (seriously). If you get it heated up good and hot, S-L-O-W-L-Y, the sugars and such in the wood will carmelize and harden. The wood becomes very bright, and has a definite "chink" tone to it when you tap it.

 

Roger Sadowsky uses beautiful, figured baked maple in his fingerboards these days, as an eco-friendly option. The grain is gorgeous, especially for bird's-eye maple. Baked maple, tonally, is probably most similar to ebony or pao ferro, and blows the doors off obeche on several counts. I would not hesitate to choose a baked maple board over a poor-quality ebony or rosewood, because my "bone tone" tends to be warm and dark. A brighter sounding player might not agree.

 

[Please note that I am referring to hard rock maple or "sugar" maple, such as is found in New England, and not silver or "broad-leafed" maple, which is considerably softer.]

 

I don't like the look of the unfigured stuff. But - as a fingerboard material - I find it plays much as ebony does. You just have to get past the appearance, I think.

 

My $0.02/FWIW/YMMV

J/W

[mellow]

Posted

Just bought one (Gibson LP "Classic Custom" Gold Top)! I like it! It's a bit

darker, on this one, than some I've seen, and will only get darker, still...with

use. So, I'm very pleased with it...so far, anyway.

 

DSC_0012-2.jpg

 

 

CB

Posted

Wow, do you think you can post a couple more shots? I've been gassing between a new Classic Custom or used Standard.

 

EDIT:NVM, Chuck, found your thread.

 

Anyway, I understand Gibson's predicament and commend them for not breaking to cheap government bully tactics. I love rosewood, but I'll adapt. I'm sure rosewood will find it's way back on Gibsons when this **** is settled.

Posted

Wow, do you think you can post a couple more shots? I've been gassing between a new Classic Custom or used Standard.

 

Anyway, I understand Gibson's predicament and commend them for not breaking to cheap government bully tactics. I love rosewood, but I'll adapt. I'm sure rosewood will find it's way back on Gibsons when this **** is settled.

 

I'll second that, and I will add that a premium baked maple fingerboard is probably tonally superior to poor-quality rosewood or ebony. I sure hope they decide to use bird's eye one of these days...

 

J/W

[thumbup]

Posted

You know that fingerboard looks pretty nice, I'd never seen baked maple boards before so I was a little leery of how it would look. Have you oiled it up already?

Posted

You know that fingerboard looks pretty nice, I'd never seen baked maple boards before so I was a little leery of how it would look. Have you oiled it up already?

 

Not yet, I can't seem to put it down, long enough (except to answer my fellow forum friends).

That's next, on the agenda. Probably before I go to sleep? [smile]

 

CB

Posted

Kahuna-san, did you check out the "Gold-Top" Classic Custom, on

that page/site. It's got a much darker "baked Maple" board...much

like mine. So, I wonder...IF they're doing the darker ones, on

the Gold-Tops, mostly? Very Interesting...

 

CB

Posted

Kahuna-san, did you check out the "Gold-Top" Classic Custom, on

that page/site. It's got a much darker "baked Maple" board...much

like mine. So, I wonder...IF they're doing the darker ones, on

the Gold-Tops, mostly? Very Interesting...

 

CB

No wood is consistent. I've seen sickening pale rosewood on many Gibsons, along with darker ones as well.

Posted

Kahuna-san, did you check out the "Gold-Top" Classic Custom, on

that page/site. It's got a much darker "baked Maple" board...much

like mine. So, I wonder...IF they're doing the darker ones, on

the Gold-Tops, mostly? Very Interesting...

 

Yes I did see that. My thought was on the Customs Gibson is trying to simulate ebony and came up with a dye process that works well but leaves you fingers clean. . B)

 

But I see Theway posted a pic of a Custom with a lighter color. Makes me curious about what's going on. Maybe Gibson is experimenting along the way.

Posted

Hi guys,

 

I just got a Gibson Les Paul Classic Plus from Sweetwater. An image of my guitar from their site is posted below. I think is a great guitar for the price. The fingerboard looks and feels great to me.

 

Joe

 

GLP.jpg

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