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Post subject: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 11:46 am
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Hi,




the Pao Ferro fretboard of my Road Worn 60s strat has this one black streak, see pics below.

I find it to look weird and actually somewhat unpleasant (aka ugly) ...

I know some say this kind of stuff adds to the character of the guitar....

What do you guys think?
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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 12:20 pm
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My 2 cents:

To me, a guitar is what it is. If Fender made a 60s Road Worn strat with a Pau Ferro fretboard, then it is a guitar with a Pau Ferro fretboard.

No point wanting it to look like a RW Strat. Nor there's any problem with your FB.

Me? I like that one. The streak does add character. My main Strat has a Rosewood FB just like any other strat, and my Gibson SG has baked maple, which is odd and often frowned upon, and I like it.


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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 7:23 pm
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No disrespect Truthfully it looks a little odd. I'm a stickler . If it bothers you take it back and get another don't let them talk you into it. Make sure your happy or it will bother you each time you pic it up
or try and find a used RW one .
I have a RW sun burst and love it. Bought it used
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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:16 am
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If it annoys you now it will always annoy you. My view on the reproduction guitars is they should be as faithfull to the original as possible, I wouldn't be happy with that.

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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:38 am
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It's not a defect. It's a characteristic feature of the wood species. That sort of thing happens with natural stuff.
It doesn't affect playing in any way - except for the psychological issues.

Commenting a couple posts above (and I'll use the 'no disrespect' clause, too):
Returning the guitar might prove to be tricky (not a defect etc.) unless it was bought from a shop with a no questions asked return policy and the timeline is still open.
And Fender's decade/year named models aren't "reproduction" versions even in the AVRI series. Often a decade just tells about the fretboard/headstock/other such features which FMIC marketing has decided to be typical for a given period. For a real repro, I think one would have to go CS level.


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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 3:32 am
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Was the fretboard figuring apparent when you played the guitar in the shop?
If it bugs you so much, why take it home?

Bought it online?
Some online sellers (the ones that don't discount every last cent they can) show photos of the actual instrument, so you could have chosen another.

Get back in touch with your vendor to see what their returns policy is.
You'll not be happy with what you have at the moment.

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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 6:08 am
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Yeah if it's going to bug you it will always bug you, try to return it. Personally I like it, as it is unique to your guitar. My strat has some light streaks going down the rosewood and me thinks it make my guitar, my guitar
mud


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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:12 am
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jmattis wrote:
.....
And Fender's decade/year named models aren't "reproduction" versions even in the AVRI series. Often a decade just tells about the fretboard/headstock/other such features which FMIC marketing has decided to be typical for a given period. For a real repro, I think one would have to go CS level...


I agree that they aren't a reproduction in the true sense but are a way towards it. If you are seeking to get as near to the look of an original as your budget will allow having fake rosewood that looks like fake rosewood isn't a good starting point.

Not that you could return it if you oiled the board, but if you don't have the option to return the guitar, oiling will darken the wood so may well make it look more even.

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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 11:42 am
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John Sims wrote:
fake rosewood that looks like fake rosewood

Almost spilled my Saturday nite Auchentoshan... :lol: Anyways, Pau Ferro is a good material as is, and Fender (among others) has used it before the CITES hit the rosewood - as e.g. in the SRV Signature model.
I don't understand your dislike for the species, but I do respect your right to that opinion.
Just note that, for a long time now, all that has been sold as rosewood has not been true (= Brazilian) rosewood. Getting the real species name might surprise a lot of guitar owners who prefer 'rosewood' for the tonal qualities...

The oiling you mention can be done with stained oil (I've got a very, very old 'An-Teak' tin canister still in use), or with a separate stain + oil treatment.
(As a side note: some rosewood or "rosewood" fretboards come stained from manufacturers...).

Anyways, pics of Pau Ferro fretboarded Strats are all over the net, and that sort of figuring is not exceptional. So this should not have come as a surprise. Otherwise, I regard this as a first world problem.

Maybe take the same approach as with children; they aren't always 100% as one would like, but one will learn to love them nonetheless. :twisted:


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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:47 pm
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Thanks everybody for your input, much appreciated.

I have seen some of these with the Pao Ferro fretboard that looked a lot nicer to me, with either no streaks or more of them, this one single streak does not look very appealing to me.
First world problem? Definitely!
But these guitars are not exactly cheap (at least over here in Europe), so I think it's fair I should be happy with how it sounds AND looks.
And yes, ordered online, the store will let me return it no questions asked, so that's not going to be a problem should I decide to go that route.

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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:49 pm
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That guitar is unique because of that board.
There's a bajillion RoadWorn 60s out there with nothing significant to distinguish them.
This one is different.
It's not affecting playability.
Think of it as special.

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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:23 pm
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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 6:22 pm
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mud wrote:
Yeah if it's going to bug you it will always bug you, try to return it. Personally I like it, as it is unique to your guitar. My strat has some light streaks going down the rosewood and me thinks it make my guitar, my guitar
mud

+1
This is just what I was going to say except it's one of my Gibsons that has an unusual streak.

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Post subject: Re: streaky Pao Ferro fretboard - yay or nay?
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 12:50 am
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jmattis wrote:
John Sims wrote:
fake rosewood that looks like fake rosewood

Almost spilled my Saturday nite Auchentoshan... :lol: Anyways, Pau Ferro is a good material as is, and Fender (among others) has used it before the CITES hit the rosewood - as e.g. in the SRV Signature model.
I don't understand your dislike for the species, but I do respect your right to that opinion...


I have no issues with Pau Ferro and (even ignoring environmental advantages ) consider it may be a better fretboard material than one of the many "rosewood" species used previously.

My only problem,in this instance, (and seemingly also for the OP) is IMHO this particular piece of wood looks wrong for a 60's "style" guitar.

I rather like the look of PF on a contemporary Strat and it is certainly more distinctive, atractive, and consistent in density, than a slab of mud coloured tree that someone decided to call rosewood. It should also be noted that, as a type of timber becomes more scarce, trees are felled and examples used today (or at least were) that wouldn't have been considered appropriate for anything but firewood 30 years ago. As a result, PF boards are likely to be a great deal better than a good many more recent rosewood boards.

Would I send it back? Not if it was just to get it replaced with another unseen example which might be even less 60's looking.

As BMW-KTM notes, there are a great many second hand Roadworn Strats available on the Web. They are perhaps one of the easiest to buy second hand because it doesn't matter if they are a bit chipped and are distinctive enough to spot a "real" roadworn compared to a vandalized Squier.

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