I noticed this when I picked up my new guitar the other day and did not pay much attention to it. In the right light it is very noticably though. Should I be concerned about the colour change in the wood?You can see how the darker side is shiny and a little uneven whereas the other side is smoother and dull (on the edges).

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Fender Highway One HSS Stratocaster '09
Modified Fender Champ600
Honer Special20 Harmonica

Hi Strat0Blues: that's just what wood is like. Rosewood and ebony are far less regular in their appearance than people often realise. Manufacturers make extensive use of products such as this, to even things up:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_s ... Stain.html

That one's for ebony, obviously, though it could also be used to produce a very dark look on rosewood.

Functionally, it doesn't matter in the slightest, but if you don't like the appearance of your fingerboard then you have some options. Either take the guitar back to the store and change it for another. Or stain that fingerboard yourself (or have someone do that for you - but it's not a warranty issue: you'd have to pay).

There are many wood stains out there. Manufacturers include Behlen, Liberon, Rustins, Chestnut - and numerous others.

Essentially, you have to choose between spirit based or water based. Personally, I'd go for water based because it dries more slowly and gives more time to get the effect even. You can thin it down a lot with water so that each application only adjusts the look a little, giving more chance of getting it how you want it. Just follow the instructions on the tin...

Cheers - C

+1 to what Ceri says. If you decide to dye it and use the stain Ceri linked look for it in a leather supply store, or a saddle maker/harness shop as that is what that dye is really manufactured for. You should be able to find it locally for a much better price. don't get me wrong, i buy stuff from stew-mac all the time, but on some things you are much better off sourcing locally if you can.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Personally, I like the subtle difference... It gives your guitar a little personality! I say keep it as long as there is no other problem, just the color variation!

I dont like it, and if it does not even out then what you have to dye it and then if the stain is off. If Ceri said you could exchange it I would go and do it while you have a chance. I have a Beck strat in seafoam green that a big chunk of the body changed color where I rest my picking arm and now it is happening on the back in spots. Weird and nobody ever saw this before but it is a damm good ax .Hey if your happy with it and you bonded with it then keep it,but the way you sound makes me think you are not happy.

I don't think you have to worry unless the neck looks like this:

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It's a mix between Jazz and Funk, it's called "Junk"

Thanks for the advice everyone. It was a difficult situation really because I only noticed this after a few days or so and was undecided in what action to take. I have emailed Fender with some picks and I am waiting for a reply.

My main concern was that this may have been two pieces of wood glued together or something not up to scratch, but after reading these post and looking at hundreds of pictures of rosewood (literally) I have seen that is quite possible for the grain to take this two tone colour.

I bought this guitar new after Fender had the price rise and I live in Australia where most products are a heck of a lot more expensive than other parts of the globe. I actually paid $1700AUD for this guitar The '08 model was $1400 on special so I am sure people can understand where I am coming from

I just read that last post (posted at the same time ) and that maked allot of sense. I actually thought that is was rare to see a rosewood fretboard in this manner. But you are right, I think this will grow on me becuase the rest of the guitar is just superb, the tone, the feel, it is a very nice instrument And if I change my mind I can alway have it dyed later on.

Thanks again everyone, this was really helpful

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Fender Highway One HSS Stratocaster '09
Modified Fender Champ600
Honer Special20 Harmonica

Fair Warning...Hijack alert!

BigJay,

Which wood did you get? We did Brazilian Cherry...OMG does it darken quickly. We moved an end table after a few months and it is a completely different color underneath.

Back to topic though. Personally I like rosewood fretboards with different colors and stripes, etc. They look lemore natural to me.

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AmDlx HSS
62 Hot Rod
Luke w/Piezo
Carvin Belair

My post was only in case you actually do decide to dye it. Not an encouragement to do so. I would leave it as is. The only treatments I use on my rosewood are just the 3 or 4 times yearly oiling to preserve the wood. The only time I would actually dye it myself would be if it were a super cheap board with some kind of nasty flaw. Differences in the colour only add character. in fact for a future Strat scratch build (maybe as a winter project,) I am looking for a nice piece of rosewood with a lot of contrasting grain to make a fretboard out of. i think I found a person with a stash of pre-embargo Brazillion Rosewood to grab.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

I would go along with 12B's advice and let it be. Just an occassional Lem-Oil for upkeep.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Hey CV, I no longer advocate lemon Oil. It is just scented mineral oil, as are a lot of the 'bore oils', I sometimes have sensitivity to artificcial scents.What i use lately is just some Raw linseed Oil. make sure its not the 'boiled' , refined, or treated stuff (those are all the same BTW.)

You can use lemon Oil, but I would suggest going a bit cheaper, and just using a good plain mineral oil in that case. Nothing is wrong with lemon oil, I guess, but I don't need the scent, and it is artificially over priced. granted it's not going to break the bank, as a couple dollar bottle will last decades, but I kind of don't like spending more than I have to and getting no value in return.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Hi: on that, it is absolutely right that all wood changes as it ages, to differing extents. In my own experience of chopping down trees cherry is one that darkens and yellows a lot, and pear is another. We also laid a solid oak floor; it started a pale pine color and has by now come to a dark honey blonde appearance. Nice!

However, rosewood is likely to change much less than paler woods. A little, but not wildly - and Strat0Blues' fingerboard is probably already pretty close to where it's going.

Stains have different effects in different situations. Sometimes you're trying to emphasise the grain; other times (with dark wood fingerboards in particular) it's more about smothering over the variations of the grain. Those uniform black violin fingerboards sometimes didn't start out that way!

On this rosewood a dark stain would somewhat mask the natural tone of the wood as much as anything and so the balance between the different shades would likely not shift significantly if the wood does still darken a touch.

I'm not encouraging one course of action over another, but if Strat0Blues does want to stain his fingerboard then it's OK to do so. Be sure to mask the rest of the neck, though!

Cheers - C

BTW: BigJay, did you get my email address from Niki? I have to buy that smoker pretty soon and any further advice would be most welcome...