Am I the only one?

[Nitrox]

sorry.......I don't like the baked maple at all, its a cheep attempt to replicate rosewood if it was about trying something new and brave for Gibson why simulate the color of rose wood and not just do nice clean maple boards? to me it comes off as if there embarrassed and felt a need to hide it, its not so much the issue of maple vs rosewood as I like both woods for fret boards its how they went about it.......just my thinking but I tend to over think lol

 

[Heket]

I like the maple. Mine is darker than the rosewood on my SUB bass. I prefer the density and smoothness of maple but don't like the finish they use on non-baked varieties, so baked maple is perfect for me. I suppose ebony would also be good, but I've never tried an ebony beast.

 

[eS.G.]

If you had the spare cash.....every guitar would be in your house. You crayon using Devil :)

You know me all to well Karathas

 

[Susihukkanen]

Heat treatment of wood is a age old way to alter the properties of the wood. I believe we have seen a fraction of its possibilities so far. Baked maple was a good attempt to apply new old technology.

 

[bwotw]

I wouldn't mind the baked maple one bit.

Nothing wrong with maple fretboard Gibsons

 

[Dave_Death]

One day Gibson will make an SG completely out of maple.

Wait, that already happened!

 

[AC 30]

That thing is killer
Naked - but killer.

 

[nbeersiii]

I gibson hadnt sad anything about baked maple and just did it most would never know

 

[Alex_SG]

The only maple fretboard I have is on my bass, but I don't have any problems with it. It makes a change from the rosewood I have on every other guitar!

 

[LeadFinger]

I get why people avoid them, thinking that they won't be able to sell the guitar one day. But as a player issue it's a non issue. Same thing with the Granadillo and the Richlite.

 

[eS.G.]

I had a Les Paul 100 with baked maple, and in all honesty I really liked it. If buying used and I was told it had a baked maple fret board I would....
A. use that as leverage
B. explain to the seller that baked maple is a bad thing and lowers value
C get a great deal on a friggin awesome guitar lol
----what? HEy seller beware......lol of ME lol

 

[PermissionToLand]

I specifically got a Strat with a maple neck and FB because I wanted something with a different sound than my other guitars.

Having an SG Raw Power would just add more diversity to the lineup. I'd throw in some BG Pure90s and basically split the difference between an SG and a Strat.

 

[Col Mustard]

there was a lot of closed minded commentary on this site
(and probably a lot more on other sites) when Gibson first came
out with the Baked Maple fretboard innovation.

But not from me. I like to keep an open mind. And in these times, when
the collapse of the tropical tonewood industry is a reality, I thought it was
likely a good idea. Maple grows here in North America and also in Europe
and other places. If it works, let's use it.

In jest, I suggested that Gibson send their buyers around the country,
looking at all the out-of-business Bowling Alleys, with an eye to making fretboards
and/or guitar necks out of recycled bowling alley maple boards. Why not, eh?
It might be especially good for Bass necks, to get that rumble, y'know...

What I liked, as a long-attention-span member was to see the consensus
on this site gradually swing toward acceptance. I found that fascinating, as an
example of collective behavior. By about halfway through 2012, members on
this site had read plenty of informed opinions from colleagues who had actually
played one, or bought one. Grudging acceptance grew, and by Spring of 2013
I decided to buy one too. Gibson marked them down severely, so that great
deals were to be had by anyone bold enough to support this idea with their own
money.

Now it's 2015, and my 2012 Gibson SG special '70s trib is three years old.
The baked maple neck is a joy to play, if you oil it with Fret Doctor it darkens to a
lovely shade of dark, and it's hard and smooth and has held up very well so
far. All my other guitars (except one Fender) have rosewood, and the Baked Maple
compares very well to those. It's nothing like my Telecaster's one piece
blonde Maple neck, but really, what is? Anyway, all the imaginary issues have turned
into non-issues, except the question: How long will it last?

That question still stands. But since it can also be applied to our whole "civilization"
I don't worry about it too much. The musicians of the future (if any) will likely
make music on instruments that have not been invented yet. So wondering about
how long music made with Electric Guitars will remain cool seems silly to me.
When the power fails, where are ya?

A hundred years ago, guitars were not cool and were made in small numbers.
The front line in the bands were played on trumpets and some reeds, like
Clarinets and Saxiphones. For strings, violins were HOT and mandolins and
banjos were COOL, which is what Gibson was making. Guitar players sat in the
backline with the bass player and drummer, playing chunka chunka chunka style
rhythm.

What do y'all think about THAT?

 

[linclink]

I adore the maple fretboard on my '61 Reissue!!! I dig rosewood plenty, but a little less so then maple & ebony. I have two Fender's in maple (a Strat & Tele) & to me the SG with baked maple feels like more like an ebony fretboard than it does maple or rosewood. When I was trying out SG's, that fretboard ended up in the plus column for me getting the one I did!

 

[dbb]

A hundred years ago, guitars were not cool and were made in small numbers.
The front line in the bands were played on trumpets and some reeds, like
Clarinets and Saxiphones. For strings, violins were HOT and mandolins and
banjos were COOL, which is what Gibson was making. Guitar players sat in the
backline with the bass player and drummer, playing chunka chunka chunka style
rhythm.

What do y'all think about THAT?

I still have gigs where I play chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk "flat 4" because it's the style....and play mandolin...have played with horns and reeds forever....man what century am I in?

Perhaps guitars were cool - just soft.

One thing I heard was that "early guitar players didn't lack talent, they lacked volume".

We all got our revenge later on when we plugged in!

 

[Col Mustard]

+1 on that! The electric guitar enabled the guitarist to stand up and take a
solo, good ol' Les Paul was one of the pioneers of that, along with Merle Travis.

And not much later, it became very clear that a good working band could be
made up with four guys instead of eight or ten. People would pay admission, and
they would get up on their hind legs and dance, and they would buy drinks. So
the electric guitar enabled the demise of the Big Band era, and all those arrogant
complacent trumpet players found themselves walking down the road.

But I think it's cool that the Jazz rhythm style is still effective, as well as the round-note
solos... I like that music too and don't want it to be forgotten. Jazz guitar played clean and cool still excites me when I hear it, especially paired up with a Sax. Let the horns play the harmony line. *laughs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWptXUblA4E

 

[MtrSticky]

Variety is a spicy meat-a-ball...:) Love the maple! Gotta' change it up every now and then.

 

[Paul G.]

Actually, it started with Nick Lucas. Bands usually had plectrum banjo playing rhythm, just because they were loud. Music was recorded with the band playing into a horn which mechanically cut the grooves in a wax master, later a single microphone.

Mr. Lucas hated the sound of the banjo (insert snark here) and preferred to play guitar. He suggested that he be allowed to sit in front of the band, close to the mic with his guitar.

He recorded "Tiptoe through the Tulips" which was a huge hit and made the guitar a desirable instrument.

That was the beginning.

P.

 

[dbb]

Actually, it started with Nick Lucas. Bands usually had plectrum banjo playing rhythm, just because they were loud. Music was recorded with the band playing into a horn which mechanically cut the grooves in a wax master, later a single microphone.

Mr. Lucas hated the sound of the banjo (insert snark here) and preferred to play guitar. He suggested that he be allowed to sit in front of the band, close to the mic with his guitar.


P.

Eddie Lang, too was doing the same thing at the same time.

BUT - that was the late teens/20's/early 30's, when bands were getting louder, and were recording.

The earliest jazz bands had acoustic guitars - the banjos came a bit later.

So it really was a return to the guitar.

Earliest photo fo a jazz band:

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Eddie Lang, too was doing the same thing at the same time.

BUT - that was the late teens/20's/early 30's, when bands were getting louder, and were recording.

The earliest jazz bands had acoustic guitars - the banjos came a bit later.

So it really was a return to the guitar.

Earliest photo fo a jazz band:

I see DBB on Bass in that Pic!!!! Almost didn't recognize ya, Dave!!!!!