baked maple fret board?

[blueslespaultone]

ok, im gonna pull the trigger tomorrow on the gibson les paul studio 50s tribute with humbuckers,

BUT baked maple fretboard on a lp

what do you guys think?

have you ever played one, kinda sucks you cant wipe it down with lemon oil to darken the wood alittle.

almost makes it a dealbreaker.

[jnastynebr]

ok, im gonna pull the trigger tomorrow on the gibson les paul studio 50s tribute with humbuckers,

BUT baked maple fretboard on a lp

what do you guys think?

have you ever played one, kinda sucks you cant wipe it down with lemon oil to darken the wood alittle.

almost makes it a dealbreaker.

Make a decision based on the instrument as a whole. Gibson has been putting maple fret boards on guitars since the 1970s. Ive seen Fenders with maple fret boards that have endured decades of heavy play and held up just fine. Don't get hung up on new things because you are used to the old way. If you don't like the way the maple board plays or feels don't buy it. If having a rosewood board is that important to you, than buy a Gibson with a rosewood board.

[StijnV]

Hi,

 

Maybe some good info from the factory directly:

 

"Most lemon oils are nothing more than mineral oil with yellow dye and lemon scent. They probably recommend not to use on finished (lacquer or poly) maple fingerboards since you shouldn't use oil on finished fingerboards. It might also be that the yellow dye can tint oil-finished maple fingerboards.

 

Regardless, our baked maple is not finished and dark in color, so it will be perfectly fine to use lemon oil, or any commercial fingerboard oils for cleaning and conditioning".

 

You can use without any problem our fretboard conditioner from the vintage reissue restoration kit.

http://store.gibson.com/vintage-reissue-guitar-restoration-kit/

[JellyWheat]

Hi,

 

Maybe some good info from the factory directly:

 

"Most lemon oils are nothing more than mineral oil with yellow dye and lemon scent. They probably recommend not to use on finished (lacquer or poly) maple fingerboards since you shouldn't use oil on finished fingerboards. It might also be that the yellow dye can tint oil-finished maple fingerboards.

 

Regardless, our baked maple is not finished and dark in color, so it will be perfectly fine to use lemon oil, or any commercial fingerboard oils for cleaning and conditioning".

 

You can use without any problem our fretboard conditioner from the vintage reissue restoration kit.

http://store.gibson.com/vintage-reissue-guitar-restoration-kit/

 

For whatever my opinion is worth, I applaud Gibson's choice of baked maple. [Obeche, not so much...!]I would rather baked hard maple than a poor piece of ebony or rosewood. And I think those who give it a fair try are going to like the tone and feel. (More so if you are an ebony fan...).

 

I am hoping this "catches on", and that one day we will see birdseye fretboards as an upgrade!

 

[some of you may be tempted to try "pure lemon oil" purchased from the health foods store on your fretboards. If so, be very careful, because it is a powerful solvent that can damage nitro and dissolve the glue that holds fingerboard bindings in place!]

 

My $0.02/FWIW

J/W

[blueslespaultone]

youre absolutely right j,

i was more concerned on the fretboard looking light and dull,

i pulled the trigger,

it was between this one and the 60s p90 goldtop.

the p90 goldtop is an awesome axe bytheway, but i wanted full humbuckers.

[JellyWheat]

youre absolutely right j,

i was more concerned on the fretboard looking light and dull,

i pulled the trigger,

it was between this one and the 60s p90 goldtop.

the p90 goldtop is an awesome axe bytheway, but i wanted full humbuckers.

 

As they say in most Mediterranean countries:

 

con-GRRRRAT-oh-LAY-shun!

 

Many happy times with it!

J/W

[blueslespaultone]

Yeah, I'm excited

Looking forward on getting it. The open coils don't bother me, especially knowing that I can

add pickup covers.

I saw a video where they were using candlewax and a heat gun.

I'm pretty good at soldering, so I think it'll be a snap to do.

how do the 490r and 498t compare to the burstbucker line, and the 57 classics?

[JellyWheat]

how do the 490r and 498t compare to the burstbucker line, and the 57 classics?

 

Well, that combo gets dumped on a lot, and I don't like the sound, either, with the controls of both pickups wide open. BUT... if you turn all the controls to about 7, just as a starting point, the pickups clean up nicely and give a very versatile sound. You can fine tune your sound by tweaking the tone control of each pickup separately, and then trying the middle position. I find the sound of the 490R alone blows the doors off a'57 in the neck position, but that's just MY personal taste.

 

I have found that the sonic complexion of pickups changes a lot depending on how far they are positioned from the strings. IMO, the 490R/498T combo is more sensitive than Classic '57s. I can't compare to BBs, since I have never owned a guitar with those pickups...

 

I would give the 490/498 a fair chance, and I would not let myself become too biased by the heaping loads of steaming crap that are dumped on them in many forums.

 

My $0.02/FWIW/YMMV

J/W

B)

[jnastynebr]

Sounds like you picked up a killer piece of wood, my friend. Play it a little and make sure its up to chalk before you start modding. If all you want to do is install some pup covers, just put a few drops of wax on the inside cover, and put it over the pup while the wax is still hot. No welding required, and 100% reversable.

[blueslespaultone]

Thanks guys, I intend to leave stock, other than pu covers.

Probably some faded looking nickel covers might be in

Good order.

[A add9]

Thanks guys, I intend to leave stock, other than pu covers.

Probably some faded looking nickel covers might be in

Good order.

 

Congratz, man! When can we see it? Post a pic or two for us

[blueslespaultone]

I had to order mine, I just so happened to order the last one from gc I should receive in anout 5-7 days

[aprilwood]

Hi,

 

Maybe some good info from the factory directly:

 

"Most lemon oils are nothing more than mineral oil with yellow dye and lemon scent. They probably recommend not to use on finished (lacquer or poly) maple fingerboards since you shouldn't use oil on finished fingerboards. It might also be that the yellow dye can tint oil-finished maple fingerboards.

 

Regardless, our baked maple is not finished and dark in color, so it will be perfectly fine to use lemon oil, or any commercial fingerboard oils for cleaning and conditioning".

 

You can use without any problem our fretboard conditioner from the vintage reissue restoration kit.

http://store.gibson.com/vintage-reissue-guitar-restoration-kit/

 

I was planning to buy a bottle of dunlop when I read this on Dunlop's website:

"An unfinished maple board on a vintage or high end guitar can get dried out by the lemon oil. Do not use this product on an unfinished maple fretboard or on one that has dents or scratches."

So it's not merely a dye problem then...

 

I wonder if Gibson has tested lemon oil on baked maple for a long time? Since it's a new material, now I dare not try lemon oil in case months/years later I find the board getting problems that I didn't notice shortly

Anyone can shed some light on this?

[JM2112]

Have no worries at all about the new maple fingerboards. As another poster mentioned above and quoted Gibson that you can use oil on the boards. I have an LP Classic Custom with the new maple fingerboard, and I LOVE it! It's very dense, smooth, and fast. Also, the boards in color are no different than rosewood. My pic below compares my rosewood SG Standard fingerboard to my maple LP Classic Custom fingerboard.

 

 

Don't let the maple fingerboard stop you from getting your guitar.

[gibsonnutt]

ok, im gonna pull the trigger tomorrow on the gibson les paul studio 50s tribute with humbuckers,

BUT baked maple fretboard on a lp

what do you guys think?

have you ever played one, kinda sucks you cant wipe it down with lemon oil to darken the wood alittle.

almost makes it a dealbreaker.

dont knock it till you try it...mines came nice and dark, cant tell the difference...i lov it..

[Guest min]

i was more concerned on the fretboard looking light and dull

[Vega1]

Just bought mine yesterday at GC. Played the Les Paul Studio Deluxe 50's, liked it alot, then went and tried about another 8-10 Les Pauls of various models. Then came back to the Studio Deluxe and knew right then it was the one. After comparing it to the others there was no question, the neck felt fantastic, the playability was spot on, the coil taps give an extremely versatile and great sounding palette... Just awesome. Also got a fair price I think.

 

Going to make a couple changes to make it mine, like changing all the white plastic parts to black and putting pickup covers on it (still debating that in my head, see my thread about that if you have an opinion on affect to sound).

 

I think the baked maple fretboard is great, looks nice, plays well, smooth. No issues at all and as part of the overall package it fits really well as far as fit and finish.

 

Love it.

[cvmaparadog]

I just picked up the new Gibson Les Paul Junior Special with humbuckers in a gloss tobacco burst finish. It has a bound baked maple fretboard. I too was hesitant about the baked maple, but after playing this guitar, I'm sold on it. It looks great and sounds great. And my wife loves the look of the gloss tobacco burst. I actually have a somewhat (at least for me) substantial collection of Les Pauls and although this is the least expensive I have, I really like it. Others in my collection are 1) 1995 Les Paul Classic in cherry sunburst with DiMarzio super distortion (bridge) and 36th Anniversary PAF (neck) pickups, 2) late 90's 1954 Les Paul Custom Historic in black, 3) 2007 Custom Shop 1957 Les Paul Goldtop VOS, 4) 2010 Custom Shop Les Paul Custom in Alpine White with Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups, 5) 2004 Les Paul Standard Limited (Antique) in Sante Fe Red numbered 152/275, 6) 2007 Guitar of the Week Les Paul Antique painted by Tom Morgan with Seymour Duncan Blackout pickups, and 7) 2006 Epiphone Zakk Wylde signature Les Paul in Antique White with Bullseye graphic. I also have a 2010 Gibson ES-339 and a late 80's Gibson SG90 with a Gibson-licensed Floyd Rose tremolo (it actually has Gibson marked on the trem!) in Antique White...although I did have to switch out the scratch plate because the material from the original was actually causing the metal parts on the guitar to rust.

[JM2112]

Just bought mine yesterday at GC. Played the Les Paul Studio Deluxe 50's, liked it alot, then went and tried about another 8-10 Les Pauls of various models. Then came back to the Studio Deluxe and knew right then it was the one. After comparing it to the others there was no question, the neck felt fantastic, the playability was spot on, the coil taps give an extremely versatile and great sounding palette... Just awesome. Also got a fair price I think.

 

Going to make a couple changes to make it mine, like changing all the white plastic parts to black and putting pickup covers on it (still debating that in my head, see my thread about that if you have an opinion on affect to sound).

 

I think the baked maple fretboard is great, looks nice, plays well, smooth. No issues at all and as part of the overall package it fits really well as far as fit and finish.

 

Love it.

 

Glad you got what you liked and wanted! How about some pics!?!?!?!?!

 

I like the new fretboards too.

[Vega1]

Glad you got what you liked and wanted! How about some pics!?!?!?!?!

 

I like the new fretboards too.

 

Here's a quick shot, haven't had a chance to try to get any good photos yet. you can kind of see the fretboard too hopefully.

[Bryan Sutherland]

ok, im gonna pull the trigger tomorrow on the gibson les paul studio 50s tribute with humbuckers,

BUT baked maple fretboard on a lp

what do you guys think?

have you ever played one, kinda sucks you cant wipe it down with lemon oil to darken the wood alittle.

almost makes it a dealbreaker.

 

Since you already made your purchase, this might be for naught... but I recently acquired my first LP, a Classic Custom, with the Baked Maple fretboard... guitar is flawless out of the box!! And I like the fretboard, no issues at all. Still trying to warm up to the '57 classics, but that is a topic for another post!!

[JM2112]

Here's a quick shot, haven't had a chance to try to get any good photos yet. you can kind of see the fretboard too hopefully.

 

YEAH, MAN!!!! It all looks great!!! [thumbup]

 

Hope you enjoy it and have lots of fun with it!

[Eracer_Team]

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150545748660807

[btoth76]

Since you already made your purchase, this might be for naught... but I recently acquired my first LP, a Classic Custom, with the Baked Maple fretboard... guitar is flawless out of the box!! And I like the fretboard, no issues at all. Still trying to warm up to the '57 classics, but that is a topic for another post!!

+1. I got mine Classic Custom AN yesterday. Absolutely flawless!!! The fingerboard is dark, almost rosewood-ish (just a little bit lighter, and has much denser grain structure). It has a very comfortable warm feel, and it's a quick one too: very easy to play. And that scent...Mmmmm, like some dutch tea biscuit...:) I am sure noone would regret buying a Gibson with this baked maple fingerboard. It's GREAT! Cheers... Bence