Ashy Squier laurel fretboards

[skycruiser]

Can we get some moisturizer on these fretboards and fingerboards, please??

 

[Sharko]

lol, I have one like that

 

[skycruiser]

I'm seeing a few on Sweetwater's site that look much lighter than usual. They might have really good contrast with some fretboard oil like F-ONE. But the appearance in these pictures reminds me of a chalkboard. Keep your fingernails away!

 

[Lo-E]

Bacon grease.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

That looks absolutely awful. This is the best stuff out there, I've tried them all:

Feed-N-Wax Wood Polish & Conditioner

Prevent drying and fading of wood finishes with Howard Feed-N-Wax. Enhances natural beauty and depth of grain with beeswax and carnauba wax. Buy today!

shop.howardproducts.com

Gets wood nice and dark.

 

[gwangi]

Squier's were built so well back in the early 80s, this is the way it is now......cheap junk!!!!

 

[Snibborwocky]

They look awful imo. I have a very strong dislike for very light, dry indian laurel fretboards most of the time on any given brand that uses it. There is a slight exception with the Epiphone Jack Casady basses which mostly try to use darker boards which is much better looking.

 

[J Wilson]

I bought a Squier James Johnston a few years ago, and I kept chasing the relief, which I chalked up to newly-built-bsss-itis.

Next time I went to change strings, my laurel fingerboard looked that dry. I'd taken all four strings off to shine up the frets, so I put on one coat of F1 oil which it inhaled fast. Second coat, same thing. Drinking the stuff like a Russian sailor.

I put on a 3rd coat which finally began to o bead up. I wiped it dry and put the strings on.

I adjusted the relief and haven't had to touch it ever since.

 

[Gervais Cote]

I had to apply 3 shots of D'Addario fretboard oil on my friend's MIM Fender p bass bought brand new before it stopped absorbing it. Those Pau fero boards are sooooo dry ! Seems to be okay since then though.

No fret sprout and the neck is straight and stable so can't complain.

 

[sunburst79]

Some of these IL boards look pretty bad. Squier in general seems to use anything out of the planer. Epiphones in general seem nicer.

I've seen some nice laurel boards but they are the exception rather than the rule.

Some of these are as attractive as Masonite.

 

[Grahams Groove]

Anytime I see the word "ashy," I think of this Bill Burr bit:



(Time-stamped for your pleasure but the whole bit - and special - is great...)

 

[BAG]

A couple of years ago I quit my high paying corporate job and for the last 8 months I've been working as a minimum wage drone at a music instrument shop.

I'm quite surprised at how dry some fretboards are straight out of the box. They look terrible....... and it's not just the cheap entry level ones that can be like this, even some high-end ones are as bad. How hard could it be to give them a quick wipe off lemon oil before stringing then up. Not only would they look more appealing, they would be more stable too.

 

[Yahboy]

The FSR CV60P Gold color i try a week ago has similar wood color like your second picture, just ugly.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Keep in mind that Sweetwater uses a lot of light in order to take detailed pics of their instruments. That will give the fretboards a washed out look.

I've used mineral oil on mine to darken them up. Works just fine. Costs just pennies per serving.

 

[CoughSyrup]

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Also, keep in mind that it's possible to get a lovely Laurel fretboard. I find this one to be nicer looking than many Rosewood fretboards I've seen.

Thread 'Surprising NBD Squier Affinity content'

Feb 25, 2026

I recently saw Guitar Center was having a sale on what they called a Guitar Center exclusive. It was 3T sunburst Squier Affinity Series P/J. At $259.00 the Price was too good to pass up. Since I didn't have a P/J nor a 3T sunburst currently in my collection I thought, well what have I got to lose. So I ordered it. I figured if it wasn't any good I could always return it.

When it arrived I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. The fit and finish was surprisingly good. The fretwork was very good with no sharp fret ends and just some minor levelling needed way up high. There's a...

• 60bass

• 
• 

 

[5StringBlues]

This is why l came.

 

[SharpCat]

I had to apply 3 shots of D'Addario fretboard oil on my friend's MIM Fender p bass bought brand new before it stopped absorbing it. Those Pau fero boards are sooooo dry ! Seems to be okay since then though.

No fret sprout and the neck is straight and stable so can't complain.

I saw that as well on PF boards from Fender. They were both rough on the surface AND dry. I had to tape the fret wire, polish them with 1500 grit micromesh, then hit them with F-one.

Here's an after pic...

 

[96tbird]

A couple of years ago I quit my high paying corporate job and for the last 8 months I've been working as a minimum wage drone at a music instrument shop.

I'm quite surprised at how dry some fretboards are straight out of the box. They look terrible....... and it's not just the cheap entry level ones that can be like this, even some high-end ones are as bad. How hard could it be to give them a quick wipe off lemon oil before stringing then up. Not only would they look more appealing, they would be more stable too.

So, why don't you oil them up and make them look great before you put them out for sale? Value added above your competitors product. If I had a dollar for every music store drone that I've seen standing around doing nothing…..

 

[cyclealt]

Squier's were built so well back in the early 80s, this is the way it is now......cheap junk!!!!

I genuinely can not tell if this is bait or not.