pale looking ebony

[NextInLine]

I started seeing many Jacksons with fretboards like this one



It doesn't even look "black"

Is this a kind of ebony or does the fretboard need oiling?

Thanks

[RacerX]

Ecchh

the latter

[NextInLine]

Then Jackson should do that before giving the guitars to dealers I think, because this ruins the guitar's look...

Anyway, thanks Ron

[Zerberus]

Jackson conditions the guitars at the factory.... but if the shop owner is an idiot and never takes the instruments off the wall for a bit of preventive maintenance, they develop issues.

Jackson is almost certainly not to fault here.... rather all the lazy dealers are.

[zeegler]

Looks dry as a dust fart!

[MEX3]

I dont know...I think there is something different with the ebony they are using now. Lower grade, different kind, different treatment??? Something.

[GodOfRhythm]

He should learn how to take care of his guitars! That makes my stomach turn.

[Bengal65]

Also remember, ebony can range from black to completely brown in color. The norm is usually black with brown streaks. The guitar manufactures over the years, have used black dyes to make the black color consistant. That's what we are used to seeing.

[toejam]

My Fender Double Fat Strat's rosewood board looked that dry when I first got it. I got it from MF in September '01, and it's an '01 model. I wonder if it was even ever oiled at the factory. MF probably never even took it out of the box and just shipped it from the warehouse to me. Some heavy doses of lemon oil fixed it right up.

[shreddermon]

I've seen a few new J/Cs come out of the custom shop looking like that. The wood looks dry, but it really just seems to be a mild film of dust and/or sanding residue leftover from the build.

They ought to shoot them all with a quick oil/polish before they leave. Who knows, maybe they do. Or maybe they look fine before leaving the shop, but some dry out like that by the time they reach the dealer. In any event, it's no big deal on a new guitar. Just throw a little lemon oil or fretboard conditioner on it, and it'll be fine. And return to being nice and black.

On a used guitar, though, that might be a sign of a fretboard that hasn't been properly maintained by a prior owner. Ebony in particular is more prone to drying out and cracking over time. If I saw a used guitar like that and was considering purchasing it, I'd give it a close inspection for cracks in the ebony first.

[nateb]

Damn.. that is sick. I make it a practice to at least condition my ebony boards every couple of months with some lemon oil.

-Nate

[XSSIVE]

a little steel wool to get the gunk off and some oil should bring that one back to life. it just looks real dry with some finger prints/oily areas from people palying it.

-Mike

[DonP]

-1

When I was in LA last week, I found several black pearl soloist at several GC's and each one had a really weak looking fretboard. Brownish streaks, not black. I'm staying away from new stuff.

Dry? Maybe, but I have an ESP that I bought in 1989 and never oiled it (the guitar wasn't finished) and the ebony looks awesome compared to those. Also, when I did give it a drink, it was mucho thirsty LOL!

[XSSIVE]

the one above is certainly just dry. streaks are subjective and just asthetic...some like them, some don't (i hate them myself and like the board to be BLaCK!!) however you can tell from that pic that it's just dry. the oil spots from peoples fingers show what it could look like with oil. the rest is just dried out.

-Mike

[Nazgul]

I agree on the lemon oil thing here also.

It would be nice to hear from jcmktgguy on this though....