A lot of maple has dark patches in it. It's just budget wood. A lot of maple also has birdseye and flame in it. SOme in every tree pretty much. Not sure how they justify the "upgrade" for it.
$80 a hell of a deal anyway. Let alone a store like GC.
There's no such thing as budge maple. It's maple. The same kind used in high-end guitars.
All wood is graded. Defect free wood is more expensive than wood with defects. Of course some of us like the look of defects for their uniqueness. But not everyone wants a Tele with knots in the wood like a Pinecaster! There are many requirements and even college classes on grading wood. Wood grades are even specified on pieces purchased for guitars at Stew Mac etc. Musical instrument wood grading is even different than normal hardwood grading and classifies wood up to an AAAA classification, which may have a lot of quilting, birdseye, flame or other unique asthetics.
Maple can vary quite a bit. Yes it’s all maple, but there’s often a premium for figuring, or the lack thereof. Birds eye, flame, spalted typically fetch a higher price. Clear, knot free, with little colour variation, has been selected out of a mixed pile. Grain like the fretboard on the OP’s guitar is usually considered the “budget” stuff - not because there is anything inferior at all, as you say it’s still maple, but because of grading based on appearance. There was a reason we had chosen the lower priced maple flooring in that house - I love the variation in grain.
