My personal perception of "cheap" and "expensive" and "in between" are probably too closely tied into what I know about that given bass. Light-colored darkwood (other than maple) fingerboards look cheap on cheap basses, but so do rosewood boards. In my mind, it doesn't look cheap, expensive or anything until I can see the name on the headstock. If the bass IS cheap, it can't look anything but cheap no matter how dark and warm the board is.
If I believed pau ferro is used on an MIM Fender but not an MIA (it is used on MIAs, as pointed out in this thread but I'm making a scenario), then of course I'd make some negative assumptions about it. But once I saw it on a Sadowsky (also shown in this thread), I'd immediately understand that pau ferro is as appropriate a wood for fingerboards as maple or rosewood. Pau ferro wouldn't be cheap anymore, it wouldn't "look" cheap anymore, and I'd question why Fender uses it on MIMs but not MIAs.
Here's another example: If I'm blindfolded, presented with ten or twelve new maple/maple 20-fret Fender-licensed bass necks and asked to choose one, I'm going to feel around for the truss rod adjustment and choose from those that adjust at the heel. That's because most of the respectable basses and aftermarket neck makers (MIA Fender, Warmoth, Allparts, Best, WD, Lull/Sadowsky/Grosh/Pensa/A-C, likely others I know nothing about) put the truss at the heel. The budget basses/necks (MIM, Squier, Mighty Mite, SX, Stagg, etc) adjust at the headstock. Sandbergs use the headstock adjustment, but they're sort of an outlier. USACG offers both, IIRC. So, while there are always exceptions, the truss rod adjustment is one of the defining differences between a quality neck and a budget neck, and I'd say, "Feels cheap" when I hold a headstock truss neck in my hands. I'd be right more often than not.
A third example: pickups with exposed polepieces and generic 8-hole covers aren't always identifiable once installed. Could be a Fralin, could be a Squier, could be a Duncan. To my unpracticed eye, Squier pups don't look any cheaper in a bass than Aeros. But if I see a pickup on eBay with a solid cover and no logo, it's almost a dead giveaway that the pup is cheap. I don't think, "Hey, smooth covers- looks kinda like an EMG/Bart". No, it doesn't look like an EMG or a Bart. It looks like a cheap stock import pickup. I think, "Nobody of note built this pup, else they'd have put their name on it".
IMO, IME, YMMV, yada
The persons post I quoted "I've got a parts jazz bass with an MIM deluxe neck with a pau ferro board and it looks fine to me.", was basing his opinion on his own love for his pau ferro boarded bass, as have others in this thread. That is also no substitute for whether or not pau ferro looks cheap, it serves a purpose as a fretboard material, even a good one, still the perception is out there whether you like it or not. That's a fact (logic). And I've just seen a 4th pipe in with his opinion that it looks cheap. Anyway, you are probably right, we may be in the minority. But it's still may be a problem for Fender and other manufacturers replacing rosewood with a lighter board. Do you really think that Mexi's are going to get hand selected boards? (back to my original comment).
