Fingerboard Types

doo-bop · #1 11-21-2008, 06:29 AM

Hello everyone!
How can I tell what a fingerboard is made of?
There's for example, the black one that often have lots of tiny tiny "holes" on it.
I saw also one that looks like it was painted in black.

I'd be happy if someone could even upload some photos of his bass' fingerboard, and say what kind of wood it is.

Thanks (:

uprightben · #2 11-21-2008, 07:44 AM

Most basses have ebony 'boards, which is what the black with tiny holes probably is (the holes being the pores in the wood). A lot of less expensive bases use hard maple painted black. Some other commonly used species that fall between maple and ebony in price and quality are rosewood, which has a reddish color, and walnut, which is brown.

doo-bop · #3 11-21-2008, 02:43 PM

Thanks.

Is there a difference in the sound between them?

Should I look only for the ebony ones?
Or it's a matter of personal preference?

Phil Rowan · #4 11-21-2008, 03:03 PM

I believe harder woods like ebony fingerboards make for a bigger sound than soft woods like rosewood (not to mention the neck will be stronger).

groove-in · #5 11-23-2008, 08:35 AM

About 1-1/2 years ago, I made an upright 3/4 Bass. I made everything except, the strings, tuners, and bridge, as these were the parts I purchased. While shopping for wood, I decided that I did not won't to pay the steep price for ebony. So, I settled on making the finger board, and the tail piece, out of an exotic wood called, "purple heart". It is a VERY hard wood, that requires really sharp tools, when machining it. It has a unique color, almost the same color as pickled beets. I am very pleased with my choice.

Eric Hochberg · #6 11-23-2008, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by groove-in

About 1-1/2 years ago, I made an upright 3/4 Bass. I made everything except, the strings, tuners, and bridge, as these were the parts I purchased. While shopping for wood, I decided that I did not won't to pay the steep price for ebony. So, I settled on making the finger board, and the tail piece, out of an exotic wood called, "purple heart". It is a VERY hard wood, that requires really sharp tools, when machining it. It has a unique color, almost the same color as pickled beets. I am very pleased with my choice.

Like to see a pic of that.

Eric Hochberg · #7 11-23-2008, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Rowan

I believe harder woods like ebony fingerboards make for a bigger sound than soft woods like rosewood...

I believe ebony is heavier than rosewood and maple, in which case the sound might be smaller. Luthiers?

Gearhead43 · #8 11-23-2008, 07:17 PM

I believe the sounds are different, "better" or "bigger" depends on your ear and the style of music you play.

Eric Hochberg · #9 11-23-2008, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearhead43

I believe the sounds are different, "better" or "bigger" depends on your ear and the style of music you play.

By "smaller", I meant "softer" or some frequencies may not be as prevalent. "Better", of course, is subjective.

Jake deVilliers · #10 11-23-2008, 08:16 PM

I agree Eric. Its so hard to describe auditory sensations with our visually based language but yes, ebony seems to have a narrower spectrum of sound.

Having replaced a few maple and walnut Kay fingerboards with ebony, I think the sound loses a little off the higher frequencies. Its more of a loss with ply basses because they seem to have less highs to start with.

I'm not talking PhD research here (though it has been peer-reviewed!), but when I drop it on the cast iron top of the table saw, ebony has a pretty small & narrow 'pink' with little ring, compared to Brazilian rosewood which has a wider, more dynamic 'clahnk' - there are more frequencies represented in the sound.
There are softer and harder ebonies too - some have a more expansive sound, some are very 'castanet - like'.

Its very instructive to take a mallet to your wood collection - the German Spruce has a different sound from the Sitka, just as the Maple sounds different from Ebony. I've done a couple of tonewood workshops and watching people's faces as they hear different woods is very cool. You can see them recognising the components that make up the tonal flavours of their favourite instruments.

That's a big topic..........

uprightben · #11 11-24-2008, 08:45 AM

Although I do believe that the fingerboard affects the timbre of a bass, it is my understanding that ebony is prefered because of its hardness and durability. A really hard 'board will go a lot longer before it develops grooves and needs to be dressed, which is a tricky operation and has a huge bearing on the feel and playability of a bass. Here's a chart of wood hardness: http://tinytimbers.com/pdf/chart_janka.pdf. Keep in mind that there can be variation in hardness within a species.

I think that the most important thing to look at on a 'board for someone who is shopping for basses is the grain, not the species. Look for straight grain with no knots and nothing "wild" (flame, curl, figure, ect.) A straight grained piece of wood is more likley to not distort when the weather changes.

dchan · #12 11-24-2008, 09:05 AM

I've heard that the hardness of ebony and its resistance to bending and moments helps reinforce the neck and add strength, which I think is more relevant today in the age of steel strings.

mpm · #13 11-24-2008, 10:06 AM

I did a purpleheart fingerboard once and it worked out great. Makes great tailpieces too. I agree with Jake, get a mallet and do the tap tone test, tells you alot about the general tonal range of the woods. I just finished a run of tailpieces out of "brazilian rosewood"...turns out they aren't a true dalbergia, so a better name seems to be Morado, which is used interchangably. The tap tone of true dalbergias (rosewood) has a decidely distinct quality. Nice high-pitched ping with sustain, that why most high-end marimba bars are usually out of rosewood.

robobass · #14 11-24-2008, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

I agree Eric. Its so hard to describe auditory sensations with our visually based language but yes, ebony seems to have a narrower spectrum of sound.
... when I drop it on the cast iron top of the table saw, ebony has a pretty small & narrow 'pink' with little ring, compared to Brazilian rosewood which has a wider, more dynamic 'clahnk' - there are more frequencies represented in the sound.

Well yes. They don't make marimba bars out of ebony (Someone will probably shoot me down on this, but anyway it ain't very common!). But! Do you want your fingerboard to be a good resonator, or a good transmitter? Ebony is probably so ubiquitous because it is best at sending the vibration along to the parts of the bass where you want it to go. A wood which sounds good by itself might be hoarding some of that vibration for itself. I might make a frivolous argument, but this is a tough topic. Since very few upscale instruments ever get boards other than ebony, we don't really know if other (possibly eco-friendly) woods might also be suitable.

One thing to consider though is that bowed string instrument making is sort of an evolutionary process. Things that work well tend to catch on and become status quo, and only get displaced when something better comes along. Ebony has been the unchallenged winner for quite a long time now. At least in western classical music.

TroyK · #15 11-24-2008, 12:33 PM

I've played the "whack it with a stick and listen" game with Jake and it's pretty interesting. My tail-piece is now Curley Maple (I think, right Jake) and my bass sings like never before, but I know that a lot more went into getting that sound.

I got kind of caught up in it and starting thinking about a wenge nut, then I started questioning whether I wanted the nut to be "lively" or "dead". My concern is that my fingers are clearly more of a damper than either wood, so I wouldn't want the open strings to sound starkly different than the fingered notes. We never tried, so we don't know.

But, the whole playing with tonewoods thing is pretty cool. The woods matter as do the size, shape, weight and a whole bunch of other stuff that is beyond me.

COUNT ZACULA · #16 11-24-2008, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by groove-in

About 1-1/2 years ago, I made an upright 3/4 Bass. I made everything except, the strings, tuners, and bridge, as these were the parts I purchased. While shopping for wood, I decided that I did not won't to pay the steep price for ebony. So, I settled on making the finger board, and the tail piece, out of an exotic wood called, "purple heart". It is a VERY hard wood, that requires really sharp tools, when machining it. It has a unique color, almost the same color as pickled beets. I am very pleased with my choice.

I had my fingerboard made of cocobollo, it rings alot more than ebony. I love it.
I'd love to see some pics of the purplheart board.....please?

groove-in · #17 11-26-2008, 08:31 AM

You can view my pic's, www.myspace.com/lewiseedwards
This was my "first" attempt at making an upright Bass

. I didn't have a blueprint, So, I enlarged the measurements of an old fiddle that I had traded for

. That is how I arrived at a design to work from. I had earlier stated, that the color of purple heart wood is very simular to the color of "pickled beets". That is true, especially when it is first machined. But,when left unfinished the color tends to darken slightly, in time. If anyone should like to see better pictures of this. Perhaps I can produce some close-ups.