Ebony Board on a Kay - How Much of an Improvement?

I put an ebony board on my junker 1953 C-1, replacing the original walnut (!!!) fingerboard. The difference was pretty dramatic. I'd endorse it as an idea.

 

I think that the Kays with rosewood boards can be fine, but at the same time, I see no reason why the same bass fitted with a good ebony board and maybe a shim would be better. Personally, if I owned a good Kay with a rosewood board and it played well, I wouldn't mess with it. But, if it were damaged or didn't play well, I'd definitely go for a good new ebony board/setup.

 

I've replaced many dozens of Kay fingerboards with ebony boards and I can't remember one where the customer did not consider it to be a noticeable improvement. Keep in mind that set-up on most old Kays is not very good, so it is really the combination of new fingerboard and the accompanying set-up that makes the difference.

 

My wife's '50 with the original Rosewood sounds very, very good but its had a thorough setup.

I'm with Bob here but if you do decide to change it out, can I have the Rosewood board?

 

Indeed. How much of the improvement, in your opinion, do you think was attributable to the ebony board, per se? Back in the '70s, I had a Kay C-1 with a rosewood board. I had the original Kay setup completely re-done by an incredible luthier. (I could never have afforded his work had it not been done as a favor to my teacher.) In any case, it produced a vast improvement. The original board remained in place. For me, thickening the neck profile would be a worthwhile benefit of re-fitting a Kay in any case but I know there are widely varying opinions on that.

 

Almost every Kay I've seen which retains the original fingerboard has a bent neck. The thin, flatsawn maple combined with a flexible rosewood or walnut fingerboard is no match for the torque of the strings. One of the biggest benefits to installing an ebony fingerboard is that you can get (and keep) the neck nice and straight. This results in better playability, sustain and a stronger sound in most cases.

 

I guess I got lucky. I had my Kay from 1967 until 2002. The neck was as intact and straight as the day it was made. Maybe having Lycons on it all those years helped. Who knows? In any case, it seems from your experience that it's a good idea to put on an ebony board. I chose to move away from Kay altogether-- never to return.

 

I've used medium Spirocores since about after 1970 when I could no longer get Lycons (pre Ray Brown series, blue rap, not green) and the neck on my 1941 S-8 Kay, that I've had since 1966, has not warped or curved. How many sets of Lycons did you have to last till 2002? Have any left??? )

Lloyd Howard

 

Yep, they were the blue-wrapped ones. I shouldn't have said "all those years" because the Lycons went on well after 1967 and there were some years when the bass wasn't played. Still, the Lycons lasted a good long time. I have no full sets left.

 

Thanks to the OP for this post (just what I was looking for) as I have a '53 C-1 and am considering the same upgrade from the maple fingerboard to ebony (B grade? low cost fingerboard). Although coming from the slab world I am wondering whether a coating of boat epoxy on the ole fingerboard (ala Jaco) would provide the same benefit in regards to tone (i.e., articulation and presence) versus an upgrade to ebony, of course it's not going to look as sexy but soundwise I'm betting it's going to be close. Although finding someone to do this would be the major challenge.

 

hey guys, i know this is kind of an old thread, but i just found this board today, and i see i'm not the only one to reply to this thread today.
the rosewood boards on Kays are Brazillian. endangered. don't touch it.
in my opinion, changhing the board won't improve your tone that much, if at all.
from my experience, about 2 out of every 10 Kays sound realy sweet, and the rest are just what they are.
smg

 

"....I am wondering whether a coating of boat epoxy on the ole fingerboard (ala Jaco) would provide the same benefit as an upgrade to ebony....."

No. A layer of epoxy would have zero effect on the issue of neck stability. One of the luthiers can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

salcott I am not a luthier and never will be but I believe you are correct...

...but since you quoted me I feel compelled to add that I have never had neck stability issues in the sixteen plus years I had this maple fingerboard C-1 (guess I am lucky)...my post is only in regards to the character of the tone.

Here's my original link when I didn't even know it was a "speckled maple" board (thanks again to those TBers that posted)...
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=463422&highlight=maple+fingerboard

 

Sorry for the misreading, babaseen. I think it would be a really bad idea tonewise as well. You have indeed been lucky with your Kay.

 

A #2 grade ebony board plus a graphite rod insert made all the difference on my M-1. Much easier to play and richer tone.

 

After getting an ebony board my kay got quieter and heavier but the tone is oooooooooooooooooooo so sweet!