08 lp traditional questions

[Brian I]

Hello, I recently joined and I was wondering if anyone could answer a few questions I have about my guitar. I mostly build/play acoustics and don't know all that much about electrics but I've had this les paul for the past 4 years and have always been wondering a few things about it.

1. I got this guitar within a week or two of the traditionals coming out (warranty replacement for a defective classic) and I've always been curious about the fretboard. The grain is very much different from all the indian rosewood I've seen and handled in my guitar building and the pores are much deeper than all of the EIRW that I've used/seen. It greatly reminds me of the madagascar rosewood I've used for bridges and the mad rose on the back and sides of my Martin. Did Gibson originally (still?) make this model with something else instead of EIRW for the fretboard?

2. The body is a single piece of mahogany. I've seen a few like this but I'm not too sure if this is a desirable characteristic in the electric world. Is this something electric players find more attractive than a two piece body (I come from the acoustic world where everything is 2 piece so I really don't know)

Thanks,
Brian

Here are some pics:

 

[Brian I]

Anyone?

 

[MeKevin]

That rosewood looks cool inbetween the 12 and 13th frets. I don't know much about anything, especially woods though.

 

[bobarino]

most folks consider 1-piece backs to be more desirable than 2- or 3-piece.

 

[tzd]

You could be right about the Madagascar rosewood. Why Gibson Guitar Was Raided By The Justice Department : The Record : NPR
Because of this, Gibson does not have much rosewood left and most new guitars are built with other types of wood or richlite.

The back of your body may be 1-piece mahogany, but the carved top is 2 pieces of maple, you just can't see it because it's painted and bounded on the edge.

Nice guitar by the way.

 

[dvir]

i do have a trad 08 in goldtop too, and everything looks very similar in mine. i would like to know what is that grain too.

 

[KenG]

I was under the impression that Gibson left Indian Rosewood in the early 2000's in favour of Madagascar till they got raided in 2009 but I don't know. Can anyone add more on this? Scatterbrain perhaps?

 

[Brian I]

I was under the impression that Gibson left Indian Rosewood in the early 2000's in favour of Madagascar till they got raided in 2009 but I don't know. Can anyone add more on this? Scatterbrain perhaps?

Really? I woudnt have guessed that as madagascar is much harder to obtain as well as much more expensive than Indian. Madagascar is much closer to Brazilian tonally so I'm not opposed, but it seems odd to me.

 

[babatube]

my neck on my 2012 trad looks exactly the same.
i think it's the layered rosewood thingy.

Gibson Guitar: Frequently asked questions about Tone Woods

 

[Brian I]

I don't think that Gibson started doing layered finger boards until this year…

 

[DanL]

Not sure of it's origin but that is some very porous rosewood! Who cares though? You don't actually feel the wood of the fingerboard when you're playing. I think the grain looks cool!

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy]

It's beautiful, that's for sure...

 

[tin dirigible]

I can't tell it's origin, but it looks very dry. May benefit from some fretboard oil.