Quality of Fender Rosewood fretboards

Billbill

Billbill

Power User
Hey folks, just wondering, have you guys ever noticed how the quality of Fender’s RW boards has varied over the years and even the custom shop can sometimes be hit or miss when it comes to that rosewood quality? To me, a quality RW board is smooth almost like ebony in a way that fingers glide across smoothly much like a lacquered maple board and they don’t skip or get that sticky, hung up feeling like some rosewood boards can have.
Today I took out my old bastardized 1991 stratocaster after having to oil my ‘64 CS strat as the RW board was grippy and didn’t like that- as I can see it was very dry. I had to treat it and it’s better now. In the other pic is my ‘91 strat that I haven’t touched in almost 10 years and the RW board just feels so slick and easy! Not sticky or grippy at all! No need to oil on that one that’s for sure!
Anyone ever notice that RW can be so different even though it’s supposed to be same?
 

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It's all about the WOOD. There are just FAR to many variables to delineate about why one piece looks or feels this way and why another piece looks and/or feels another way.
 
The board on my 2016 EJ strat feels great, very comfortable. Never oiled it, only ever cleaned it with a damp cloth.

That neck and board is a lot of what I dig about that guitar. For some reason the binding and the shape and feel just work for me, feels refined or something.
 
Budda said:
that reads like there wasnt a board issue, rather you had a neglected guitar.
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Did u look at the pics? The fiesta is only a year old and has a rather grippy board even after oiling it up vs. the ‘91 maroon strat that hasn’t been played in 10+ years, never oiled and that board feels like butter or almost like a glossed maple board which is what I like. Idk, maybe RW boards feel better and smoother with age I guess.
 
Billbill said:
Did u look at the pics? The fiesta is only a year old and has a rather grippy board even after oiling it up vs. the ‘91 maroon strat that hasn’t been played in 10+ years, never oiled and that board feels like butter or almost like a glossed maple board which is what I like. Idk, maybe RW boards feel better and smoother with age I guess.
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Play a guitar for a year and play a guitar for 20 years and yes the fretboards will feel different.
 
t0aj15 said:
It's all about the WOOD. There are just FAR to many variables to delineate about why one piece looks or feels this way and why another piece looks and/or feels another way.
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The problem with the wood is that it’s not the wood you’re expecting. Rosewood in use by guitar companies today is of far lower quality than it used to be, because of the species that they have ethical and legal access to. The higher quality species are now endangered and protected because of overuse, mostly for furniture.

https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-rosewood-trade-the-illicit-trail-from-forest-to-furniture
 
The grain patterns of ebony and rosewood are fairly different. Ebony has a much more dense and tight grain. Rosewood is more open grained and will typically feel a bit rougher compared to ebony if both are sanded/polished to the same grit due to it's open pores. Ebony is also much harder than rosewood, so it will polish easier with regular use.

If the pores on your particular fretboard are very open, you could try filling them. There's a number of methods, but one old school way is to use boiled linseed oil and high grit sandpaper to polish the fretboard. The sanding dust and oil will form a paste that will get forced into the open pores. Let it cure for a few days and repeat until the pores are filled to your liking.
 
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mr_fender said:
The grain patterns of ebony and rosewood are fairly different. Ebony has a much more dense and tight grain. Rosewood is more open grained and will typically feel a bit rougher compared to ebony if both are sanded/polished to the same grit due to it's open pores. Ebony is also much harder than rosewood, so it will polish easier with regular use.

If the pores on your particular fretboard are very open, you could try filling them. There's a number of methods, but one old school way is to use boiled linseed oil and high grit sandpaper to polish the fretboard. The sanding dust and oil will form a paste that will get forced into the open pores. Let it cure for a few days and repeat until the pores are filled to your liking.
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Yeah ebony is my favorite because it looks gorgeous and feels very much like maple to me. Interesting thanks for sharing
 
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