Jackson USA brownish Ebony

[danolikestoscoot]

Hi i've found a jackson USA i want to buy but the fretboard on it looks brownish. Not jet black like most jackson usa fretboards look. this board is made from ebony. i want my fretboard to be black.

so is jackson making brown ebony boards now or what?
why isnt it black!!!

and is there anything i can do to make it look and feel like all the dark ebony boardS?

are the really dark one's just dyed? have you seen other brownish ebony jacksons? thanks

[Sharkfin]

It could just be that the ebony is really dry. If that's the case it could just need to be cleaned and conditioned. Here's a good example of what a dry FB can look like and what an application of conditioning can do to the wood. While the FB is Rosewood, it certainly looks a lot darker after the application. Do you have any pictures? That would help determine what it may really be.

[danolikestoscoot]

ya i dont have any pics man,

this is like brown tint though, not like an unoiled board.

this doesnt look black it's on an RR1

[toejam]

Most ebony usually has stripes and is not uniformly black. Most companies dye their ebony black. Don't worry about it. You can always buy dye from someplace like stewmac.com if it really bugs you.

[DalyTek]

Most ebony usually has stripes and is not uniformly black. Most companies dye their ebony black. Don't worry about it. You can always buy dye from someplace like stewmac.com if it really bugs you.

+1.
Ebony is not naturally a uniform black color. It actually looks very much like a super-dark rosewood, but the grain is much tighter.
Stewmac sell fretboard dye, which is just Fiebing's oil dye for leather. I have used it and it works great.
It doesn't stain your fret wire or most inlays, but be very careful with binding as it will stain that.
It's also about the consistency of water, so watch for runoff, especially if you have any unfinished wood on the guitar (like an oiled neck.)

[danolikestoscoot]

thanks for the really helpful replies guys.

well RR1's have binding so i'd be pretty worried about messing that up. not sure how easy it would be to tape that off. Sharktooth inlay be ok?

Another question for the very knowledgable. Are the very dark uniformly black fretboards that jackson used to have dyed?

like this?


that looks reeally good and uniformly black. is it dyed?

[Ward]

Isn't that a Japanese model? Looks like it says Professional.

Not that that answers your question, just pointing out that your example isn't a USA board.

[danolikestoscoot]

ya it's japanese, but it is a nice black board.

[Ward]

Agreed.

[danolikestoscoot]

Good news guys!

i got a picture of the fretboard in question for you all to examine.



there it is. this is the one that i think looks brown

[danolikestoscoot]

here's another picture. and a comparison with a nice black ebony board

not much of the fret board in this pic, but you can see alot of contrast in color between the lockingnut/headstock
and the little bit of board you can see. This is the one i'm frustrated with how the board looks.


now here's is another RR1 but this one has a nice black board with barely any contrast between the headstock locking nut/ and the board

[Hellbat]

Keep in mind the board looks brown under a very bright direct camera flash. Under normal light I would bet that it appears more black. Add some lemon oil or equivalent into the mix and that will naturally darken it further.

[Trem]

Eh, that's how a lot of ebony looks, there is some that is pretty solid and dark on it's own too, and some that's probably dyed, but you would be surprised how dark that would look with some wood conditioner on it.
I like really dark boards as well, if it bugs you too much you can dye it, and no the mother of pearl won't soak up the dye. The binding also has finish over it, but i would tape it off and just apply it with a brush evenly with a steady hand. I think unless you just can't stand it then look elsewhere and find one with a darker board.
Some of it could also be the camera taking the pic. I have a hard time getting a pic that shows the true color in real life in natural light to match what it really looks like often.
But otherwise i think if you just oiled it with some wood conditioner and have that usa in your hands you probably won't care as much if you are more into playing it than staring at it.

[danolikestoscoot]

So you guys think this guitar has naturally "Light Ebony" ugh lol, and most jackson USA's are darker?

[Hellbat]

If you look at the pic of the yellow RR you posted it is also 'brownish' near the body where the flash is brightest. Ask the guy for a picture of the neck taken without flash in natural daylight. Without a tripod it will tend to be blurry but it will get you a lot closer to the actual darkness of the board. Neither of my RR1's have super black boards and they can appear brownish in very bright direct light such as a bright LED flashlight or camera flash, but they look black in all normal light. It's also very easy to get them to appear darker by increasing the contrast in post production on photos taken.