Rosewood or Pau Ferro?

[byacey]

The grain of Pau Ferro is quite different from that, and is much less porous, so I'd agree that is likely some sort of Dalbergia. I have a couple of boards that were sold as South-east Asian Rosewood by LMII years ago that have a very similar stringy grain to your picture although they are darker and redder. There are many species besides the common trade ones, and sometimes they get mixed in.

It's pretty difficult to assign a wood to any particular species based on the pores. There are many exotic
hardwood species that have open pores similar to Dalbergia.

 

[byacey]

I would argue that there is no need to oil hardwood fingerboards other than to make them look pretty. Oil doesn't hydrate wood. It will however slow down absorbtion and dispersion of moisture as the relative humidity goes up and down.

 

[ctmullins]

Pedantically, the word “hydrate” means “add water”. That’s not what you want to do.

But you also don’t want huge amounts of oil on your fretboard either. Just a bit will do the job.

Aesthetically, I prefer Pau Ferro over Rosewood. Not that that matters….

 

[Bloomfield]

It's pretty difficult to assign a wood to any particular species based on the pores. There are many exotic
hardwood species that have open pores similar to Dalbergia.

Yes, but it is easy for me to tell by the pores in the OP's photo that it is not Pau Ferro, which was what the question was.

 

[fhm555]

My late friend the guitar repair/restoration expert said a dab of veg oil was good. He also stressed a tiny amount of oil and a lot of rubbing it in.

 

[byacey]

My late friend the guitar repair/restoration expert said a dab of veg oil was good. He also stressed a tiny amount of oil and a lot of rubbing it in.

Vegetable oil never dries, and it goes rancid. Walnut or flaxseed oil will polymerize, as will tung oil, and are good choices for this purpose.

 

[Turnaround]

All true..... Just how much did you hydrate your board. I'll usually loosen the strings and raise them (supported by a rolled up towel). Then I'll put the oil on thick and leave it there to soak in for an hour or so. Come back every once in a while and respread it with your finger as it starts to soak it up and show dry spots. Then wipe up the excess with a shop towel and put the strings back on. I've even made Pao look good doing that.

This is generally considered bad practice amongst those who repair instruments. If you leave the oil to soak in it will wick into the fret slots and can cause problems with fret seating. If you are going to oil your board, best practice is to wipe on the oil and immediately wipe it off again.

 

[DrBnz]

No kidding..... I didn't know that. I've been doing it for it forever. Good to know. Thanks

 

[micguy]

A lot of fretboards (ebony and rosewood) are dyed to make them darker. When that is done to rosewood, it looks like dark chocolate, to me, not wood. Your fretboard is beautiful as it is* - it is, and looks like a nice piece of wood. So, it doesn't look like the kid next door's fretboard - I think yours looks better.

Stop staring at the thing and play it. People will be much more impressed by how well you can play than how dark your fretboard is, and you only get better with practice.




*Say this into a mirror every day: "My fretboard is good enough, dark enough, and gosh darn it, people like it."

 

[Turnaround]

You are correct. I meant rosewood.

I'm not sure what you are comparing. For clarity, on the Janka scale Ebony is the hardest at 3080, East Indian Rosewood is 2440 and Pau Ferro is 1960

 

[byacey]

This is generally considered bad practice amongst those who repair instruments. If you leave the oil to soak in it will wick into the fret slots and can cause problems with fret seating. If you are going to oil your board, best practice is to wipe on the oil and immediately wipe it off again.

There is a good possibility of it wicking into the fret slots by capillary action, even with a light application of oil.

If the frets ever need to be glued in, the glue won't adhere to anything that is oiled.

 

[GIBrat51]

Is this Rosewood or Pau Ferro?

So, I bought a 2016 American Pro Jazz today. It’s secondhand and the fretboard was very dry as the bass hadn’t been played much since it was purchased back in 2017. I put some lemon oil on it and it’s looking a lot better now.

Anyway… Even with the oil it still looks very light. Almost like Pau Ferro. As far as I know, Am Pro fretboards only came in Rosewood and Maple and it’s obviously an Am Pro neck, as it has the truss rod at the base, US serial number on the back of the headstock and “Corona, CA” on the front.

It got me wondering if it could be a factory mistake (however unlikely), and they used Pau Ferro instead of Rosewood? Or are there any wood enthusiasts out there who can confirm this is just a lighter shade of Rosewood? I suppose the pores would indicate Rosewood?

Thanks!

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Well...
I'm sitting here writing this, with my '93 Fury Anthem Lined Fretless bass in the chair next to me, and... gotta tell ya; it's fingerboard wood looks identical to the wood in your fretboard. And, the Anthem's build sheet - signed by the man who made the thing - says quite clearly that the fingerboard is made of Pau Ferro.
So, maybe they're trying to pass it off as one of the many "faux" Rosewoods; the ones that are not from the genus Dalbergia - the true Rosewoods. The Rosewoods that, with very few exceptions, are banned from use, now. Like @Turnaround said; Pau Ferro is also known as Brazilian Rosewood - and also Santos Rosewood. So, they could tell you - with a straight face - that, yes, your fretboard is made of "Rosewood". Just not wood from a real, g. Dalbergia Rosewood tree... In any case;
Pau Ferro - or whatever "Rosewood" they want to pretend it is - is a perfectly good wood for a fretboard. Not as pretty as some; prettier than others - just depends on the particular piece of wood. It is not, however, a perfectly good wood for a fretless bass fingerboard. It's much too soft - and my Fury Anthem has the scars to prove it. From Tape wounds, too... believe it or not... Not marked up badly enough to need refinishing, but... pretty unsightly. There's a very good reason a fretless instrument - any fretless instrument - has an Ebony fingerboard; there are very few woods that are harder And, most of those woods are difficult/almost impossible to work with. So...
My vote for the wood your fretboard is made of? Pau Ferro - in your case, just by another name. And, as for oiling it? If you live somewhere that has actual humidity, at least most of the year? You probably won't have to do it again, for a long time - if ever. When I lived in Las Vegas, Nevada - also known as the Mojave Desert? Treating fretboards/fingerboards was often a semi-annual thing. Personally, I use real, expensive, Lemon oil - that's been squeezed out of the Lemon peel; and, boiled Linseed oil. The Lemon oil is for my instruments with Ebony fret/fingerboards; the Linseed oil is for everything else that isn't sealed, lacquered - or synthetic. Since I moved to northern Indiana about 4 years ago, oiling fret/fingerboards is now a very occasional thing. Oher than new-to-me instruments that have been neglected - or come from a very dry place, I've only had to do it for the handful if instruments that were close to needing it, just before I moved...