Interesting Fret Question

[jsegovia]

Hi, folks. Could you please take a look at the fret in this picture and tell me what you think of the whiteness or grayness you see on either side of the fret? You may need to click on it to maximize it.

The owner of the guitar says he's the original owner and it's never been refretted, that this is under the lacquer. I've owned lots of Gibsons and Fenders and owned a Rick once, and I've looked at lots of photos of Ricks and I've never seen anything like this. In pictures of the full guitar you can still see there's white or gray on either side of all the frets. Is this just the way it's photographed? Is this glue?

Thanks!

[jsegovia]

And here's another look at more of the frets.

Thanks!

[collin]

It's moisture that has crept its way into the fretboard varnish on either side of the frets.

These guitars are clear-coated entirely, then the frets are leveled and polished to expose the crowns.

[jsegovia]

Thanks for the reply. Is this an issue? Would it weaken the frets or lessen the value of the guitar?

[teb]

I'm not sure whether it is caused by moisture intrusion or not, but as a wooden boatbuilder for nearly 50 years, I can tell you that varnish and clear coatings of nearly all types don't mix well with brass (which is what your frets are made from). When you buy something like a brass bathtub faucet which appears to be clear coated so that it won't tarnish, it is actually coated with a micro-thin layer of titanium, so thin that you can see through it, not a lacquer, resin or varnish.

If brass is exposed, or partially exposed to the air (oxygen, humidity, etc.) the tarnish/oxidization process happens even faster and the bond between the brass and any coating put on top of it is also going to deteriorate faster. What you are seeing are small strips of deteriorated varnish (which has also likely delaminated from the frets). To complicate things even more, the thermal expansion and contraction of wood and brass are different enough that they most likely are often stressing (or breaking) the bond between them.

That being said, what we are dealing with here is such a tiny area that they can get away with it without running much of a risk of it ever doing anything serious. It's not very attractive, but your fingerboard isn't in any real danger.

[jsegovia]

Thanks again. So do you think this would impact resale value of an otherwise excellent condition Rickenbacker?

Would you buy a guitar like this?

Jesse

[teb]

I suppose it depends upon who you are selling it to. There are those who demand that everything is pristine, totally original and free of any defects, and it might bother some of them. Then there are those of us who have no problem changing anything that bugs us if it is a big enough issue to us. With all the fake-aging ("relic-ing") that goes on in the industry, there is also a fairly big group of players who like their guitars to look "broken in". The same people who buy pre-ripped blue jeans because they can't wait to wear them out themselves.

So it's hard to predict a selling price, but if you hold on to a Rickenbacker for a few years you can usually sell it for more than you paid for it.

[scott_s]

Thanks again. So do you think this would impact resale value of an otherwise excellent condition Rickenbacker?

Would you buy a guitar like this?

Jesse

Finish just doesn't stick to metal very well, so at some point it can separate from the fret and turn cloudy. The more you look for this phenomenon, the more Rickenbackers you'll spot with it. There's a few in the Bacon & Day book, and heck, you can see the process starting in Rickenbacker's own promotional material.

So, a Rickenbacker showing this cloudiness around the frets would indicate to me that it probably *is* original, and no one tampered with it along the way to "fix" it.

[jsegovia]

Thanks again! I'm beginning to think the big issue here is the natural color of the fretboard wood under the varnish. I've seen pics of some Rickenbackers where it looks like the lacquer has spread away from the frets and you can see what appears to be bare wood, but the color is still the same or closer to the wood under the lacquer. But in the first pics I uploaded, it appears to be a very light colored fretboard wood where the varnish is gone.

Has Rickenbacker used different kinds of wood for their 360/12c63 fretboards, or is it just the natural variety of this wood's color? For such an expensive guitar and a vintage reissue I'd expect pretty dark rosewood.

Jesse

[maxwell]

Look here for a fix

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=416874

[jsegovia]

Look here for a fix

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=416874

Thanks! Unfortunately I'm thinking this guitar has a very light fretboard and if all the lacquer came off it would look almost like a maple fretboard, which might be fine for some people but for me, 360/12s are rosewood fretboard guitars!

Jesse

[teb]

Actually, I believe they are usually bubinga, not rosewood.

Bubinga without a gloss varnish finish looks like this:

[scott_s]

Look here for a fix

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=416874

Thanks! Unfortunately I'm thinking this guitar has a very light fretboard and if all the lacquer came off it would look almost like a maple fretboard, which might be fine for some people but for me, 360/12s are rosewood fretboard guitars!

Jesse

My understanding is that the rosewood (or whatever it is ) will darken if unprotected by a finish. Check out how dark Peter Buck's has gotten over the years, after the finish was stripped off:

[maxwell]

If you were to oil that naked fretboard, that would likely darken it, although it might (?) create a point of no return if you were to (here’s a second alternative:) re-varnish/-shellac the fretboard (refinish it (which you could do now).

...although, selecting the “best” oil would likely involve another discussion....

If the fretboard is acceptable to you as-is, just enjoy it for now. Maybe you’ll never sell it.

[scoobster28]

I thought that Buck's guitar in the picture was a Midnight Blue, but apparently it is just the light bouncing off of the headstock.