Why Are Rosewood Fretboards...

[bachandroll]

not sanded to their maximum level of smoothness? I asked a question awhile back about why rosewood boards aren't finished in a glossy manner, and some responded they hate the way applied finishes feel on rosewood, that the wood itself feels better.

Ok, I can understand the tone being affected by finishes, so some would have an aversion. I can also understand some enjoy smaller frets, so they like the tactile interaction between their fingertips, frets, and the wood itself.

However, as an experiment tonight I tried sanding a piece of rosewood using my palm sander. moving up through various grades of paper. I eventually got the piece to be so smooth and naturally glossy even I, a lifelong devotee of ebony (though I do have several guitars with rosewood fretboards), could envision it as a viable alternative. The feel of a properly sanded piece of rosewood can be smooth enough and naturally glossy enough to take away one of the main reasons I like ebony and maple better. Now, I can consider just the tonal and aesthetic differences.

My question is, why are most rosewood fretboards left so gritty in the way they feel? I have always thought, "Well, that's the way rosewood is naturally; with such an open pore wood that's what you get. If you want a different feel, get a different wood." Had I known rosewood could be this smooth and polished, I wouldn't have relegated it to the bottom of my preferences all these years. I'm irked looking at the instruments I do have with rosewood fretboards, knowing they could be much more enjoyable to me had the builder not left them in such an (pardon the pun) unfinished state.

Although I have been a devoted professional player for many years, I am very new to building and know you folks who do this all the time MUST have an answer (or ten) to this seemingly simple question. I am looking forward to your responses!

Thank you!

Cory

[Mickguard]

Rosewood isn't finished because it doesn't need to be, it's an oily wood.

I prefer rosewood to ebony, feels a bit warmer, softer to the touch, and I prefer the slightly mellower tone. That said, my current favorite neck has a maple fretboard. So most likely wood choice isn't that big of a deal to me.

I've never been bothered by a board that wasn't glossy smooth. In fact, I wonder if I prefer the board to remain a bit tacky to the touch.

Because I've built a couple of necks now, and refretted a couple more. Each time I've sanded/polished the fretboards to a gloss finish. Sure looks nice that way. But the fretboard is definitely more 'slippery' than I prefer.

I think manufacturers don't polish their rosewood boards because that's just an extra step in the production process, and time = money. Since ebony boards command a premium price, perhaps they're willing to add that step.

Just me conjecturing.

[soapbarstrat]

I like a rosewood board taken to 600 grit, followed by fine steel wool. Light coat of paste wax, and that is it. I don't go "oiling the board" from time to time like so many do. I don't buy that "but my guitar is thirsty for oil ! " crap one bit.

On maple, I have come to like a similar feel to how I like rosewood, but with a light satin super-glue finish.

[Mattia]

Rosewood polishes just fine and lovely. A finish on it darkens it, doesn't feel as nice as 'straight up' wood (although a coat of oil won't do it any harm, like soapbar, I don't do it. Maybe if I've agressively had to clean it with spirits and it feels too dry...), but the main issue is that the boards get very grotty when you play them, and the fact they actually have grain means they won't look as smooth as ebony. To me, though, they can feel just as nice.

Other issue: indian rosewood is not as fine grained as most of the other rosewoods.

[SwedishLuthier]

I take my rosewood boards all the way to 1200 grit. A dab of Tung oil darkens the board (intentionally) and makes them feel wonderful IMHO.

Just a thought: Did you get the sanding dust out of the pores? Sanding packs them full of dust so that the wood might feel smoother. But only sanding cannot remove the pores, but maybe that’s not how you meant…

[erikbojerik]

Yep....on a finished instrument, I take my rosewood boards to 4000 grit Abralon. Some rosewoods are harder than others, but most of them will buff up to a very nice shine with variable amount of pore showing. I actually like the look quite a lot.

[doug]

Out of curiosity... for those rosewood fingerboard users: Do you find the initial polish given lasts very long? Or, how long does it last?

Indian rosewood varieties seem 'softer' to me when working with it than other woods like pau ferro, ebony, or ziricote. In my experience softer woods tend to be less abrasion resistant which theoretically indicates the initial gloss should wear off quite soon.

Also, along that same line, the openness of the grain tend to reduce the surface consistency as the edges of the surface pores get 'rounded' off effectively widening them. With used fingerboards I have seen this time and again. Softer open grained woods seems to perpetuate more roughening of the surface over time. This is particularly noticeable around inlays where the rosewood has worn away.

Here's where a good fiber hardening, non-building treatment might come in handy. "Finish" of course is widely interpreted, so let's narrow it down to only non-surface building types that harden the fibers.

My question is this: if the fingerboard was treated to be more resilient, yet there was no appreciable surface build, why would this not be desirable?

Opinions welcome... it's a curiosity.

-Doug

[guitar2005]

Out of curiosity... for those rosewood fingerboard users: Do you find the initial polish given lasts very long? Or, how long does it last?

Indian rosewood varieties seem 'softer' to me when working with it than other woods like pau ferro, ebony, or ziricote. In my experience softer woods tend to be less abrasion resistant which theoretically indicates the initial gloss should wear off quite soon.

Also, along that same line, the openness of the grain tend to reduce the surface consistency as the edges of the surface pores get 'rounded' off effectively widening them. With used fingerboards I have seen this time and again. Softer open grained woods seems to perpetuate more roughening of the surface over time. This is particularly noticeable around inlays where the rosewood has worn away.

The polish does go away when you start playing the guitar, but I find that its nice to deliver a guitar with everything looking perfect (or close to it).

As for rosewood wearing away - I have never seen that, at least not to the extent described in your post. I've seen ebony wearing away too. I think its mostly dependant on how the player plays the guitar/bass. I probably haven't seen as many guitars as some of the experinced luthiers here though.

[JJ Donohue]

I typically use Brazilian rosewood FBs on acoustic guitars and radius sand them to as high as 2000 grit Micromesh. I personally like the feel but others may not. I dislike the softer feel of Indian rosewood and just won't use it. At 2000 grit, it shines like it has been finished. After playing, however, it dulls from players' sweat and finger oils. The polishing is only good for taking pictures of the guitar.

As far as tone, I tap everything I use on all guitars...including the dried glue. If it pings, I use it...if it thuds, I avoid it. BRW seems to consistently ping far better than anything else. BTW, ebony is a very heavy material that dampens vibrations IMO...so I have avoided it more recently. But I'll be the first to admit that I could never tell the tonal difference between necks with different FB materials...there are just too many variables.

I oil my FBs and buff 1 or 2 times a year during a string change when I re-crown and polish frets...just part of my obsessive compulsive nature.

The texture, hardness and feel of FBs is a real personal thing where as long as the guitar plays in tune and doesn't buzz, then it's just right for the player. We all get used to certain intangibles on a guitar. My comments tried to address more of the measureable attributes of BRW vs other woods so take them as only one person's opinion.