Ebony For Fingerboards

[gun]

Hi I seen on net many people use ebony for fingerboards. i'm going to make my first neck. i would try it (black madagascar ebony) but some guys told me its quality is no so good today, also it tends to shrink, causing back bow. Finally they don't recommend me to use ebony.

Do you agree?

Edited April 20, 2005 by gun

[jnewman]

A lot of people swear by it, a good number of people are indifferent, and a few people really actively dislike it. No one can tell you how you'll feel about it, and you won't know until you have a guitar with an ebony fretboard.

It is getting a lot harder to get good black-black ebony. You might also want to look at macassar ebony, which is very stripey looking and a little more stable/less prone to cracking than black ebony. It's what I'm going to use for my next project (current one is indian rosewood).

[Setch]

Harder to fret, but easier to inlay, due to the ease of filling with black tinted epoxy or CA. Less stable than Rosewood, but seems to be regarded as the 'best' fretboard material by a large section of the guitar buying public.

Personally I prefer to build, and play with Rosewood.

[erikbojerik]

I love ebony. It works well (with sharp tools), very dense, and it is one of those woods that you can actually bring to a nice polish without using a finish on it. Used as a fingerboard, it tends to sharpen the attack of the guitar's tone and add a little brightness.

[MzI]

I personally like it, just be prepared if you cut your own slots it will kill your forearms if you do it by hand. The bolivian rosewood i use is quite soft in comparision. As for tone, i love it, i played a gibson v 90 double with an ebony board, i was in heaven, the note clarity and tone was beyond brilliant. the only thing that stops me from using it more is the price. i can get the rosewood significantly cheaper

MzI

[Doc]

I've done a ton of funiture inlay with ebony. As long as the moisture content is okay it should be stable.

It's hard as a brick!!

Get a moisture meter and check it, especially if you get raw stock from a fly by nighter. Even if the content is hign a thin 3/8 board should balance pretty quickly being air dried.

[DarkSaga]

I love the ebony myself All my guitars except my acoustic have Ebony boards and they all kick arse. There is just something about the hardness of ebony that just feels so good under my fingers! And if you condition the fretboard regularly and dont leave your guitar out in the sun you shouldn't have any problems with the ebony cracking and stuff!

DarkSaga

aka Jeremy

[erikbojerik]

just be prepared if you cut your own slots it will kill your forearms if you do it by hand

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Man...you guys are weenies...

Not enough 12oz curls apparently...

[guitman32]

Not enough 12oz curls apparently...

I second the motion!!!! More beeerrrr....

[Mr.Churchyard]

Ebony is great, and I am most definitely planning to use it for my project, I may use another wood only it it got killer look (say, figured exotic woods).

But I suppose it depends on your preferences. Just check ebony fingerboards out on some guitar in a shop for example.

And yes it is damn hard (which is also why it is so great IMHO)

[gun]

Ok thanks folks!!! I think to try it. I would try the purple ebony, what you call "purpleheart wood" or something like. It should change only for color, or not?

And who tried Boise de rose (madagascar rosewood)?

P.S. I live in Naples (Italy) here isn't so expensive black ebony.

Gian

[MzI]

purpleheart and ebony are two totally different woods, while purpleheart is quite hard, its not nearly as hard as ebony, its also quite a bit cheaper, it is used for fret boards tho

MzI

[RGGR]

Ebony has this cold wet wood type feel........very sexy.

[sepultura999]

Ebony fretboard, no face inlay, side dot inlay = my fave. fretboard!

Nigel: I think he’s right, there is something about this, that’s that’s so black, it’s like; “How much more black could this be?” and the answer is: “None, none... more black.”

[Guitarfrenzy]

The feel of an Ebony fretboard is nice and I think it's great to add a little brightness to your guitar tone. Most premium guitars offer Ebony fretboards, except PRS, I don't think it's even an option with them. My two Les Paul Customs both have ebony fretboards and it's hard to describe but they both play different than my other guitars with Rosewood fingerboards. But that also be because of the flat fret system Gibson used in the early years. It's a personal taste though, some like Rosewood, others would rather have Ebony. I personally like both.

[MiKro]

Hi, I'm New here so excuse my mistakes. Has anyone ever tried using figured Cocobolo for the fret board? I have some beautiful Cocobolo that I'm thinking of using on a Lacewood neck. I think it would look killer against a nice maple top?

I love the feel and look of ebony and the Cocobolo is also very hard and slicks up really nice. any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

[erikbojerik]

Welcome to PG!

Cocobolo makes a great fretboard; one of the best ones I've ever seen is on Godin's entry for Guitar of the Month (GOTM), very cool how he brought in a hint of the sapwood. You just have to be very careful cutting & sanding it, the dust is toxic as hell. Same for ebony.

[MiKro]

Welcome to PG! 

Cocobolo makes a great fretboard; one of the best ones I've ever seen is on Godin's entry for Guitar of the Month (GOTM), very cool how he brought in a hint of the sapwood.  You just have to be very careful cutting & sanding it, the dust is toxic as hell.  Same for ebony.

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Thanks Erik, I just have never seen it used for fret boards. I was aware of the dust/toxics from cocobolo though, thanks for the reminder LOL! I have found that planing CB is not easy. I finally started using a plunge router in a sled/jig and plane from the top and almost no chip out. Takes longer though Also have you ever seen anyone use multiple pieces for the neck using Multi scarf joints that interlock or dove tails to use up your scrap (exotic) wood? I have an idea for a Guitar that would use many smaller pieces to form 3 long boards that would be laminated to make the neck? This would give it a puzzle effect. Then do something similar for the top and back of the guitar. Stillhave this one in the planning stages. It will be called "Puzzled" of course LOL Thanks for the Welcome also, It is nice to find a site that from what I have read has many talented people and willing to help.

Thanks again

Mike

[gun]

Yes what we call purpleheart isn't the purple ebony of madagascar but a wood from South America. By the way I will try it (always ebony is but I like the idea of purple wood).

Did you not try the "Bois de Rose" (madagascar rosewood) ?