Tribute rosewood fretboard comment/question.

[sirpluckalot]

Not a biggie but looking at my new SG Tribute I wood guess the fretboard is dyed anyone know for sure?

 

[Grizzlyman]

Any pictures?

 

[sirpluckalot]

Any pictures?

 

[Grizzlyman]

Looks like normal rosewood to me… rather than dyed.

 

[madhermit]

I agree that it is likely not dyed. Dyed tends to not have the reddish/orange streaks.

 

[MR D]

An EXPLORER I have has some sort of coating on the Fret-Board. GIBSON advertised it as a 'Buffed' or 'Oiled' something or other 'Baked Granadillo Fret-Board'...escapes me what GIBSON calls it but it must be clear as the Red/Orange-ish Granadillo wood colour tones shine thru .

 

[Col Mustard]

Let's face it... here in 2022 at the shag end of the "tropical tone wood"
era, the guitar makers use whatever they can get.

Tropical tone wood used to be easy to get (for the manufacturers) and readily available for cabinet makers and luthiers and for Stew Mac and Warmoth and other suppliers. Not any more.

Now the nations where mahogany and rosewood can grow are often wracked by political upheavals and the markets where these tone woods are sold are often corrupt. In addition, the tropical forests where these woods were harvested have been disappearing for decades.
It's just about over. There are still supplies available, but it gets more and more expensive.

The days when guitarists guitarists' preferences ruled what manufacturers offered are over. Manufacturers must utilize whatever is available. And they do. And they will continue to do so. That's just the facts of the world we live in.

Wood such as mahogany have a number of variant species.
And there are trees that are "mahogany-like" but have different names
in different third world countries.

Don't take my word for it... watch the video "Bob Taylor talks about Ebony" as well as the follow up videos that tell the continuing story.


Manufacturers need to be ready for shortages, and they are. Substitute materials will be more and more common on new guitars of the future... if any.

 

[papagayo]

Try lemon oil or silicone oil.

 

[Hector]

Let's face it... here in 2022 at the shag end of the "tropical tone wood"
era, the guitar makers use whatever they can get.

Tropical tone wood used to be easy to get (for the manufacturers) and readily available for cabinet makers and luthiers and for Stew Mac and Warmoth and other suppliers. Not any more.

Now the nations where mahogany and rosewood can grow are often wracked by political upheavals and the markets where these tone woods are sold are often corrupt. In addition, the tropical forests where these woods were harvested have been disappearing for decades.
It's just about over. There are still supplies available, but it gets more and more expensive.

The days when guitarists guitarists' preferences ruled what manufacturers offered are over. Manufacturers must utilize whatever is available. And they do. And they will continue to do so. That's just the facts of the world we live in.

Wood such as mahogany have a number of variant species.
And there are trees that are "mahogany-like" but have different names
in different third world countries.

Don't take my word for it... watch the video "Bob Taylor talks about Ebony" as well as the follow up videos that tell the continuing story.


Manufacturers need to be ready for shortages, and they are. Substitute materials will be more and more common on new guitars of the future... if any.

That video is already 10 years old already. In reality, the usage of Rosewood and Ebony on guitars is a very small drop in a bucket when compared to furniture manufacturers (especially those producing for Asia).

If I recall correctly, Gibson owns (or at least has contracts with) Mahogany plantations in Honduras, which is where they get their body and neck woods from.

Some companies (like Framus / Warwick) have been using alternative woods for many decades now (Bubinga, Wenge, Ovangkol, Swamp Ash and others).

Frankly, using Pao Ferro instead Rosewood on a fingerboard makes little to no difference to me personally.

 

[PermissionToLand]

Gibson doesn't dye their fretboards. I don't think anyone has since the 1970s or '80s, and that was only budget brands.

 

[Col Mustard]

That video is already 10 years old already. In reality, the usage of Rosewood and Ebony on guitars is a very small drop in a bucket when compared to furniture manufacturers (especially those producing for Asia).

If I recall correctly, Gibson owns (or at least has contracts with) Mahogany plantations in Honduras, which is where they get their body and neck woods from.

Some companies (like Framus / Warwick) have been using alternative woods for many decades now (Bubinga, Wenge, Ovangkol, Swamp Ash and others).

Frankly, using Pao Ferro instead Rosewood on a fingerboard makes little to no difference to me personally.

very true... the video I posted is old, but it's only the beginning of the story. There are more follow-up videos. I posted it because it states the problem clearly.

And you are also right about what's driving the shortages:
It's not guitar makers... it's the new economic muscle of the Chinese Middle Class. They want nice cabinets and furniture, and there are millions of them, and that's where a lot of the "tropical tone wood" goes. And it's also the cutting down of tropical forests for beef ranches and cash crop plantations, and for new neighborhoods.

Many of the wood names you mention are in the "mahogany family" or in the "rosewood family"... and they are used because they are what is available. AND because they work fine.

I just think it's what we can expect. Use of alternative wood will be the new normal. Newly made guitars may not resemble what their buyers expect, if they buy something online without ever seeing it.