New 800 series fingerboards

[MexicoMike]

That's a good comparison!  There are tops with some slight bear claw that I like a lot and tops with a lot of bear claw that I think look terrible.

[Professorfingers]

Just a few years ago I would have never even considered a guitar with a marbled neck or bear claw on the top. And I believe some of this is marketing hype, to help us accept these things.

But after Gibson getting busted for illegal wood (and I believe they were duped for this), the advent of sinker wood, two ply fret boards, and so on, I truly believe this is the future of guitar building. I also totally endorse this.

I just recently bought an 812CE. I saw the pictures prior to the purchase. The neck has some marbling along most of the fret board. The head stock has some marbling. The top has ~ 5 areas of bear claw, the longest ~ 2".

In my mind, I have a "custom" one of a kind guitar w/o the higher cost. I bought this off the internet and have no regrets. The pictures displayed all the "defects" or "custom features", depending on your take on this.

JMHO,

TW

[otis66]

Just a few years ago I would have never even considered a guitar with a marbled neck or bear claw on the top. And I believe some of this is marketing hype, to help us accept these things.

But after Gibson getting busted for illegal wood (and I believe they were duped for this), the advent of sinker wood, two ply fret boards, and so on, I truly believe this is the future of guitar building. I also totally endorse this.

I just recently bought an 812CE. I saw the pictures prior to the purchase. The neck has some marbling along most of the fret board. The head stock has some marbling. The top has ~ 5 areas of bear claw, the longest ~ 2".

In my mind, I have a "custom" one of a kind guitar w/o the higher cost. I bought this off the internet and have no regrets. The pictures displayed all the "defects" or "custom features", depending on your take on this.

JMHO,

TW

Gibson was not duped. Gibson knew exacly what they were doing.

[Gutch]

Casting my vote for the variegated or "Smoky" Ebony.  Variety in grain and color makes the guitar uniquely yours, and beats the pants off an artificial (Richlite) fretboard.  If there's an issue with the quality of the wood, then the lifetime warranty will cover repair or replacement. 

[rooster16]

I personally love the figured new boards. To my eyes they give each guitar an individuality and uniqueness not usually found in mass market instruments.  I don't see how it differs from any other wood figuring to be honest?  I'm sure back in the day some looked at some of the crazy, spider webbed Brazilian RW and wrote it off as garbage compared to the nice, straight grained stuff that makes up the best tone wood.  My new 814 FE is super slick and part of the excitement on unboxing it for the first time was seeing what came.  Yes I ordered it sight unseen btw - but much the same as giving birth you never know what you'll get, but you'll love it regardless.   

[davwir]

  I'm sure back in the day some looked at some of the crazy, spider webbed Brazilian RW and wrote it off as garbage compared to the nice, straight grained stuff that makes up the best tone

Back in the day? Heck, I think the majority of players still feel this way, and dismiss BRW and Cocobolo that are not straight grained as inferior.
This comes out of tradition of what they have seen before, and a belief that figured wood or wood with sapwood doesn't sound as good.
I personally don't believe that, and have never heard any tonal differences to support it.
It's never going to be everyone's taste.
But I prefer the look of figuring and sapwood and embrace the unique visual properties.

[rooster16]

  I'm sure back in the day some looked at some of the crazy, spider webbed Brazilian RW and wrote it off as garbage compared to the nice, straight grained stuff that makes up the best tone

Back in the day? Heck, I think the majority of players still feel this way, and dismiss BRW and Cocobolo that are not straight grained as inferior.
This comes out of tradition of what they have seen before, and a belief that figured wood or wood with sapwood doesn't sound as good.
I personally don't believe that, and have never heard any tonal differences to support it.
It's never going to be everyone's taste.
But I prefer the look of figuring and sapwood and embrace the unique visual properties.

Yeah I completely agree - tonally speaking I don't know how figure could have anything to do with it but I'm no pro by any means. A luthier once told me the straight grained stuff was more stable but who knows? I love the looks of figured wood as well - it totally adds character!

[Gary-N-LA]

Hey Dave, Got to vote on the side of "Meh."  Not liking the "figured" ebony.  It looks defective to me.  And like some others, I wonder how smooth it is - and how smooth it will remain - where the colors change.  It's not that I'm doctrinaire or old fashioned; I just don't find it beautiful.  That's just taste.

[davwir]

Hey Dave, Got to vote on the side of "Meh."  Not liking the "figured" ebony.  It looks defective to me.  And like some others, I wonder how smooth it is - and how smooth it will remain - where the colors change.  It's not that I'm doctrinaire or old fashioned; I just don't find it beautiful.  That's just taste.

Of course. Visual preferences are the same as audio ones, we all have our own unique tastes in what we prefer..
Some people like fancy inlay, some don't want to see any of it, some people prefer Martins, some Taylors..
The abundance of good choices and opinions out there is a great thing indeed!!

[mgap]

Hey Dave, Got to vote on the side of "Meh."  Not liking the "figured" ebony.  It looks defective to me.  And like some others, I wonder how smooth it is - and how smooth it will remain - where the colors change.  It's not that I'm doctrinaire or old fashioned; I just don't find it beautiful.  That's just taste.

Of course. Visual preferences are the same as audio ones, we all have our own unique tastes in what we prefer..
Some people like fancy inlay, some don't want to see any of it, some people prefer Martins, some Taylors..
The abundance of good choices and opinions out there is a great thing indeed!!

Some people feel very strongly about the fingerboard being solid black.  They would rather have black plastic(Micarta)than having a marbled fingerboard made of ebony.   

[michaelw]

... And like some others, I wonder how smooth it is - and how smooth it will remain - where the colors change...

Taylor's been using marbled, figured, streaked, striped, non-solid black coloration for over the better part of 20 years -
i have yet to see, or hear of, a case of someone mentioning an issue with a non-solid black color ebony
fretboard to where it feels, wears, sounds, or holds frets any different than one that has solid black color

i have also owned, & currently own, Taylors built from 4 different factories, even a few 20+ year old models that have
rosewood fretboards & not one of them have ever shown the slightest concern with any type of fretboard wear

do you really think that a material would be used on a guitar that has a lifetime warranty to the
original owner if it was known from the get-go that there could be structural integrity issues

replacing a fretboard is quite labor intensive & for any amount of $ that may have been able to saved, if any, would not
be worth putting a company's reputation for quality as stake, imho, for something that's used on 99.999% of their products

[Tarekith]

It's too bad they couldn't continue the marbling from the fret board on the bridge, it think that would have looked a lot more deliberate.

[Strumming Fool]

It's too bad they couldn't continue the marbling from the fret board on the bridge, it think that would have looked a lot more deliberate.

I would agree with this, because I like the look. (I ordered my two BTOs with figured ebony fretboards and bridges.) However, I suppose that many people would also object to this as it doesn't represent that "traditional" look.

[michaelw]

It's too bad they couldn't continue the marbling from the fret board on the bridge, it think that would have looked a lot more deliberate.

they have in the past, on other models

[mgap]

I wonder if you could BTO the fingerboard with it stained black?  Or is that a option to ask for? Hmm...