Anyone make an ebony pickguard for a Precision bass?

[bigmikebass]

I am going to try and get some better pics. It’s been dark and rainy for days here in Cleveland. The pic is is not that flattering, but it does look better in more natural light. I’ll show the back of the neck as well. I don’t hate the gloss black… maybe I’m overthinking things (but that’s the fun of it, right?)

One thing that’s for sure is that the J- pickup is staying out of the signal. I can wire it in, I am confident with my electrical knowledge, but I just don’t like the sound of the J soloed or mixed. YMMV, but I’m just a P guy. The P pickup sounds a bit different with the J out of the circuit. A little more hollow -from what my modest ears can detect. Especially when you turn down the volume to 95% and ride the tone to find a nice resonant peak.

Thanks everyone for the fun conversation.
Mike

 

[bigmikebass]

Why not ivory? They'd get along fine.

While not the most ethical of materials ivory has a very unique look. There is a new material called Elforyn that is supposed to look identical to ivory that would be amazing. I would totally rock that!

 

[logdrum]

Finding an ebony plank that wide is hard and probably expensive. It will not be a one piece. The are usually less than a meter in diameter including bark , like .5 to 1 meter. That's what my luthier told me. Like 6 - 8 inches is the widest he can get easily.

 

[bigmikebass]

Finding an ebony plank that wide is hard and probably expensive. It will not be a one piece. The are usually less than a meter in diameter including bark , like .5 to 1 meter. That's what my luthier told me. Like 6 - 8 inches is the widest he can get easily.

Kind of figured that, just thought someone might have an idea.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Why not ivory? They'd get along fine.

Only on my piano keyboard. Paul and Stevie? Am I remembering that correctly?

Edit: I did…

 

[Sparky Mark]

While not the most ethical of materials ivory has a very unique look. There is a new material called Elforyn that is supposed to look identical to ivory that would be amazing. I would totally rock that!

I'm thinking the ivory suggestion was a joke.

 

[Grinderman]

Why not ivory? They'd get along fine.

Or a curated CITES violation. No, I know what you mean though.


//Dark sense of puns.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I believe bigmikebass' neck is a maple neck with an ebony fingerboard, not a solid ebony neck.

Years back, I machined up a solid ebony guitar neck for a customer. It was a lot of work, expensive, and it added maybe 2 lbs to the overall weight of the guitar. Very neck heavy. I wouldn't recommend that to anybody. No real advantage other than looking cool.

 

[bigmikebass]

Hey Bruce. It is in fact a solid ebony neck. I actually find it rather nice. Very solid and resonant.
Warmoth made it for me about 15 years ago.

 

[bigmikebass]

 

[Durham52]

You might have more luck trying to find some ebony veneer which you could then glue over a plain black pickguard and then lacquer over the top. I've done a few veneered pickguards and it's not that hard. Thin epoxy glue works well, I usually scuff up the face of the pickguard just to give the glue a better surface to grab onto.

You may even find someone who does custom pickguards to make one up for you.

A quick Google search for ebony veneer wood brought up a number of sources in the USA and internationally. Even as veneer, ebony is not cheap!