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Am I nitpicking?

#21
I've used Roche-Thomas Bore oil on mine. I've heard it is what Martin Guitars use at their facility. My rosewood fretboard has more dramatic versions of this cracking from lack of attention over its nearly 50 year history. Doesn't cause me any problems, just not super attractive if you look really close.
 
#22
It's hard to tell for sure from the photos, but at first glance that looks like normal stuff for ebony, at least in my experience. I've had a Godin Acoustibass fretless since '94 and an Ovation Magnum since 2000, both with ebony fretboards, and this looks pretty typical for ebony "texture". What it feels like may be more important than what it looks like in a photo. With that much invested in a bass, you want it to feel right. I've always used lemon oil, which has worked well on my boards and I've never had issue with cracking.

Looks like a great bass. I've always liked Gould's designs. Good luck getting to a settled place.
 
#26
Most repair shops would run a small bead of CA (crazy glue) water consistency over the cracks that run under the frets and with fine sandpaper like 400 sand over it (frets taped off) while it’s still wet to make a minimal amount of ebony dust to mix in with the CA and fill in the cracks and polish it up. The cracks could stay the same and never get worse or get worse and since they run under a few frets could cause an unseating of a fret and will be an issue.

You are not nit picking you are being careful and well deserved. If you send it back I am almost certain thats exactly what they will do anyway. You could do it yourself if you are way careful or send it back. In my opinion it’s not a huge deal but does deserve attention.

As far as the right stuff to put on a raw fingerboard (no clear coat) there are many debates. Really a fingerboard should not be sealed it should be allowed to breath and expel or absorb the correct amount of ambient humidity. Bore oil is really the best thing for most raw fingerboards and specifically the one in this link is about as good as it gets. Raw wood especially needs to be taken care of unless you have a stabilized (epoxy hardened) or Dyamondwood or other composite type fingerboards and even they call for WD40 most times.

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#28
Be careful with oils that don't dry. They can soften the wood over time, and build up under the frets. This can make frets loosen, and make re-frets more difficult. Just apply the minimum amount possible, and only once or twice per year. Most "lemon" oils are just naptha, or a similar base, with some additives. Those really don't confer any long-lasting effect, as they dry up quickly. Some of the bore or more expensive oils will stick around, though.

I just use a humidifier to keep the wood from drying in the winter. That is the ideal method, I think. I don't know if the formulation is still the same, but luthier who made my guitars (Terry McInturff) always recommended Watco "Danish Oil" if necessary, to keep the wood looking good. However, he only recommended one or two applications per year, and advised that, no matter what, the wood can still dry out if not sealed, or kept in a humidified space. Moisture still escapes an oiled board. As always, some recommend that you never oil the board.

TGP has a ton of debate on the subject
 

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