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ebanol

#4
I had a G&L L-2000 with an ebanol board. It was fretted, so it's hard to say exactly how it would feel for a fretless. But it looked good, seemed very solid, and the bass had an amazing overall tone, though I don't know how much of it was due to the fretboard wood.

But I have nothing bad to say about it. Easy to clean, resistant to damage, felt and sounded good!
 
#5
hanx said:
is it some great new technology or a cheap substitute?

I've seen it on a couple of fretless finger-boards lately and i'm wonderring whether it's a good thing.

I play a fretted and there's generally only ever one fretless in the shop, so hard to copare.
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New technology? Just new to you. Ebanol boards have been around since at least the mid-70s. :hmm:

Yes, they are pretty great (IMHO). And no, they are definitely not a "cheap substitute"... :rolleyes:

As stated, ebanol is not a wood. It's a resin-based synthetic product with properties that are comparable to those of epoxy - super hard and extremely resistant to wear. For those reasons, ebanol is a terrific substance to use for fingerboards - if you like the modern fretless sound with plenty of harmonic overtones and sustain. :cool:

MM
 
#7
I used an ebanol fingerboard on my first build. It was easy to set the frets in it, and it felt good once completed. I don't know what else to say about it, besides that it's real hard, black, and works and feels just fine.
 
#8
Yep, it's polyurethane and looks pretty sweet. It's very resistant to scrapes, cracks, etc., but my stainless steel flats have left a lot of scratches on my fretless' fingerboard.

Judging from the ebanol board on my fretless J, it seems to be a lot brighter and more articulate than any sort of rosewood or ebony board, but it doesn't have the "clank" of a maple board. Just think a somewhat more sterile ebony.

It feels ultra-smooth and hard, but a little like plastic.
 
#10
lowbass68 said:
Old Kramer Aluminum neck basses used ebonol fingerboards back in the late 70's thru early/mid 80s. The stuff never wears out from what I have seen. I had a Kramer fretless and used round wounds with no issues. Should have never sold it. Sound was similar to ebony when coupled with the koa body it had.
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Yup.

I had three Kramers with the aluminum neck and ebanol boards. I used roundwounds at first on my fretless. The fingerboard did show some some signs of wear with the rounds but it was cosmetic only, a lightening of the board color where the strings rubbed the board. most of it was buffed out pretty easily. Never effected playing at all. I switched to brite flats anyway because I liked them better on that bass. I got rid of those basses because of the feel of the aluminum necks, not the ebanol boards which seemed fine to me at the time.

Peace,
S
 
#13
hanx said:
is it some great new technology or a cheap substitute?

I've seen it on a couple of fretless finger-boards lately and i'm wonderring whether it's a good thing.

I play a fretted and there's generally only ever one fretless in the shop, so hard to copare.
Click to expand...

Hello fellow Australian, Just bought a new Ibanez SR300 fretless. Indonesian made. Unsure about Ebenol at this time as it marked very quickly when played, like 30 minutes playing and the witness marks are more than cosmetic, though not that deep either. Maybe a QC issue with this batch of Ebanol for the Ibby. Sound wise, dunno either as i'm new to fretless, though enjoying the "new" type of fretless bass. Have Yamaha fretless as well and it does sound more like the mwah others talk about, it has a rosewood finger board i believe. Not played a Ebony fretless as yet.

Lucky to have two fretless at this time to compare, like them both and i think the Ebanol will not wear that much more as the sharp part of the radius on the roundwounds will become more oblique in contact with the Ebanol board. What i think is an issue on the Ibby is a neck so thin the actual stability of the neck has been compromised, the neck relief changes markedly from a temperature of 6C to 25C ie you need to stabilse the bass in a room temperature above 20C ( about73F ). Going to reset the relief ( truss rod ) soon. HTH Regards John
 
#15
I've played a number of ebanol boards, most notably the Cort Curbow and the VM squire. I think it's a great materiel that sounds good and is reportedly very very durable. I still prefer the sound of ebony, but ebanol is a great substitute, especially if you want an epoxy feel.
 
#16
I had a Cort Curbow, I live in NC and played a casual on a party boat on a lake in very high heat and humidity, the bass became completely unplayable mid first set, and I went to an all wood bass that was fine. Living where I live and playing gigs where I might play outdoors and an hour later in an air conditioned room, ebanol was not a good fretboard material. I sold it, but I did like the bass enough to upgrade the electronics with everything I could get.
 
#17
because of its consistancy in density and no grain, and it's hardness, it is actually a superior material to wood for fingerboards...and it's less expensive than most FB woods, as well...that's a win/win situation, as far as I am concerned.

I doubt that the FB was the blame for Billnc's predicament...neck stability has a LOT of factors in it and the FB plays a minority part.
 
#18
hanx said:
is it some great new technology or a cheap substitute?

I've seen it on a couple of fretless finger-boards lately and i'm wonderring whether it's a good thing.

I play a fretted and there's generally only ever one fretless in the shop, so hard to copare.
Click to expand...


I like the sound of it. I wish a good neck building company would come out with a lined and dotted fretless.
 
#20
XephonXIII said:
Just think a somewhat more sterile ebony.
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That's a good way to discribe it.

I've played quite a few fretless basses with ebonal boards, and have owned a couple ... IMO, they sound pretty good. Pretty close to ebony with more of a modern tone to it (a bit more hi-fi). The only thing I don't like about them is they always seem to feel cold, kinda like their tone.

Another thing I've found ... sometimes they can feel a bit cheap and uncomfortable if the edges aren't rounded off enough. I've had them on a MTD Kingston fretless 5, and a Cort Cubow fretless 5 ... out of the two, I prefered the feel of the Cort Curbow. To me ... the MTD sounded good, but felt cheap due to the ebonal.

When it comes to fretless ... I do believe ebonal to be a cheap substitute for ebony. However, I'd more than likely choose it over Maple, and prehaps Pau Ferro, if given a choice.

As far as fretted goes, I had a Cort Curbow 4 and didn't think twice about it. It's great for slap'n and tap'n! So I say, go for it! I'd be cheaper than ebony ... with more of a hi-fi tone. A perfect compromise to cost, with the same overall look.
 

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