fretboard lacquer

[Graham]

My G&L has a lacquered maple fretboard and it occoured to me the other day that I haven't a clue why - is there some tonal or playability advantage or is it just aesthetic?

If it is just aesthetic it's a shame as I prefer the look of maple necks without the lacquer and it must cost more to make a guitar with it

[neepheid]

Maple without protection goes browny-grey from the pushing down of strings.




It eventually turns into this grotty halfwayhouse between maple and rosewood which looks like compressed fingernail dirt. While I'm sure the decision is purely aesthetic, a pristine new unlacquered maple board won't stay pristine for long. Eventually it'll look like this:



Mmmm!

[charic]

That bottom picture actually has quite a lot of character.

[neepheid]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1328097199' post='1521647']
That bottom picture actually has quite a lot of character.
[/quote]

Hey, each to their own. To me, maple that looks like anaemic rosewood at first glance is just plain wrong

[Roland Rock]

More relevant to fretless, but this is from the blurb for the Pedulla Buzz:
[color=#0000FF][font="Verdana"][size="2"]"Its polyester-finished fingerboard is glass-smooth, giving the Buzz its distinctive voice, while protecting the ebony from the rigors of performance and round wound strings"[/size][/font][/color]

[Mylkinut]

I quite like the feel of a lacquered neck. I know alot of people don't, but to me it feels like glass.

Smooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooth

[icastle]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1328097199' post='1521647']
That bottom picture actually has quite a lot of character.
[/quote]

...smeared all over it...

[Graham]

Cheers guys, i would like to own a bass with a non-lacquered maple board one day, presumably there's a way to get them clean

[Coilte]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1328097199' post='1521647']
That bottom picture actually has quite a lot of character.
[/quote]

Nah !! Give me the lacquer any day.

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1328115087' post='1522081']
Cheers guys, i would like to own a bass with a non-lacquered maple board one day, presumably there's a way to get them clean
[/quote]

Nope. Unless you like sanding it down once a month.

[StraightSix]

Yep - the dirt and grime from your fingers gets into the wood grain so the only way to 'clean' it is to sand off the surface layer.

[Dave Vader]

Psssttt... try oil finishes and wax instead...