Why doesn't Gibson make guitars with maple fretboards?

Because guitar buyers appear to become more conservative in their tastes, as their disposable income grows?

Add that option to your poll, perhaps.....?

 

Historically, Gibson seems to have patterned many of their guitars after the violin family of instruments: arched top, f holes, traditional sunburst finishes, and necks using dark colored woods. Of course there are many exception to this generalization including their flat top acoustics. Gibson did use maple necks occasionally but they seem like experiments that mostly didn't catch on. I heard that Leo went to rosewood necks because he didn't like how maple necks showed wear. Looking at the pic of the L6S from @Jlwctn, I wonder if that was also a factor.

 

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Gibson did these too. Laminated necks. "oh nos! Plywood!"...




They did it on LPs too.

 

I disagree with what you said about maple boards, but I liked your post anyway because that LP is too cool not to.

 

Right. The dark fretboard wood tied the whole look together.

 

They missed the boat when it was sailing.
they got into a dingy with the Marauder and such in an attempt to catch up, but...

 

I have learned a lot I didn’t know about fretboard materials

 

Baked Maple.

It's cool, it sounds great, it looks great.

This fretboard below is maple. Gibson just puts it in an oven at 350 degrees for seven minutes. Touch of salt, garlic, and paprika....good to go.

 

I have a 2017 ES339 with a torrified maple fretboard.

 

^^^ Yup, they've been smuggling oven cured maple in the on different models, some folks might not even know their guitar has a maple fretboard.

 

I did a tour of the Memphis factory in the 90's. They didn't make those there but they had a bunch for sale in the store. They were just awful looking in person. I went straight to the back to the hollow bodies.

 

I had an SG Jr. with a baked maple board.

 

It's really not a particularly good fretboard wood, though it's certainly cheaper than most. Traditional fretboard woods like ebony and rosewood are much harder and denser, so they hold frets better and are less prone to vibration.

 

1. They have and do use maple (though sometimes baked).

2. The reason they don't typically use maple is the same reason they don't typically use bolt-on necks: though it's a perfectly valid way of doing things, it just isn't part of their typical/traditional way of doing things.

 

Gibson is currently using Black Walnut for fretboards on some models . The world is changing .

 

B-Bender Junior... I think is called Nashville Junior or Nashvile Bbender junior or music city or something

But is not a junior, is a SPECIAL

 

Here you are

http://es.gibson.com/Productos/Guit...aul/Gibson-USA-es/Music-City-Jr-B-Bender.aspx

 

There are some Specials called LP-M I think that had maple necks in 2015.

Owners like them it seems. But they didn't seem to sell well.

https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/guitars/gibson-2015-lpm-619602

 

I have one. They’re great guitars.