fyb Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 (edited) I just got this indian rosewood fretboard from Stewart McDonald and it was somewhat 'bland' looking colorwise. Granted, this is my first build and as such my first purchased fretboard, but it wasn't really the color I expected. Even the rosewood on cheaper guitars I've seen are a bit richer in color. Is it a matter of prepping the board, or sanding or oiling or something, or it this the color I am to expect when done? The color in the pic is pretty representative of the board (at least on my laptop screen) Thanks for the info folks! http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4732/fybguitarrn4.jpg Images 640x480 max!Scale 'em or lose 'em. Edited August 20, 2006 by lovekraft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 Try putting some oil on the back of it where you have a cut off. Don't do this where you will be gluing though. You'll find it darkens and colours up nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 As mentioned, most all woods appear lighter before finish. Colors change a bit also. EIR is a darker RW(but varies from piece to piece), but by no means the darkest. I find EIR to have shades of brown/green/black. Mad. RW tends to be more red/brown/black. Bois De Rose Burgandy/Purple/Black. Cocobolo Orange/red/brown/black. Honduran tan/cream/brown/black. Palisander brown/black. Brazil RW purple/brown/black. The list goes on, but basically there are a lot of shades found in different Rosewoods. P.S. RW also tends to darken over time. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 It will darken quite a bit when its finish sanded and treated with a little oil of some kind. On the plus side, it has nice grain and looks to be quartersawn. That makes it better than the cheaper guitars with a nice coloured board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyb Posted August 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 Thanks alot for the info folks! I don't really know if you can beat a preslotted board for ~$18, and it's really good to hear that it'l change a bit with oil and some aging. I'll try to keep you guys posted on the progress and I'll get some pics up when the guitar is closer to finished. It'll be interesting to see the board as it came from Stewmac vs. how it looks finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 I got a similar board from LMI and was frankly disappointed to begin with. I decided to use it for my lap steel project because I pretty much just wanted to be rid of it. By the time the project was finished, I had grown to really appreciate the more striking grain pattern than typically found on other rosewood-fretboard guitars. I would order it again in an instant, now. It's kind of like how when you hear a song for the first time and you don't really like it... but repeated listening makes you see extra layers to it, and your appreciation grows. Then the song becomes one of your favourites, outshining more obvious choices on the album. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolio49085 Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Raw Linseed oil will darken and condition it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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