More geeky Fender stuff - fingerboards

[4 Strings]

When did Fender start putting on a maple fingerboard rather than cutting the frets into the maple neck?

I've seen a MIM or two with this, but a late 90s MIA Jazz I've seen has it too.

Means all necks are constructed the same (ie no skunk stripe from truss rod entry at the back of the neck) just a choice of fingerboard.

Any ideas about when this came about? Does it mean only re-issues have one piece necks? (Or are they with separate fingerboard too?)

Cheers

[Doctor J]

My 2000 rosewood fretboarded strat had a skunk stripe. That make-a no sense-a.

[4 Strings]

Heh, I've seen those, people wanted the skunk stripe so Fender started putting them on all, you're right a bit of nonsense!

[Doctor J]

It's probably just cheaper to have one neck manufacturing program, skunk stripe it regardless and lop on a rosewood or maple fretboard as required at the end, you know Fender.

[4 Strings]

Cheaper still to forget the skunk stripe altogether now!

Funny thing is, the original idea of cutting frets into a lacquered maple neck, as opposed to providing a hard wearing fingerboard, was to reduce the number of processes and materials required to make the neck.

Clearly modern mass production techniques have changed things.