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Ebony fingerboard vs. rosewood

#82
Gravedigger Dav said:
Ebony is beautiful and very hard. It has one issue to consider. It is also very brittle from a woodworking perspective. If your or a luthier has to refret or change the nut, it is possible the fingerboard could be chipped in the process. This I got when I was considering an ebony neck.
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true, but it's also very easy to seamlessly fix (by filling w/ebony dust and glue) works well for inlay too ('64 T-bird II - rosewood)

IMG_4969_zpslbmmcdyq.jpg
 
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#83
Awesome Sauce said:
Huh. Never heard that. But, I can work cocobolo all day long (possibly my favorite wood ever) without issue, but it could, literally, kill my friend.
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Cocobolo creates an acquired allergic reaction in most people. It is possible that you have some sort of immunity to it but, more likely, you've had less exposure to the dust than your friend. I've used it for knife handles and I was fine with it for a long time but I can't stand to work it anymore.
 
#86
Go with the one you think looks better. Ebony is also harder so can probably withstand abuse more, and may help keep a straighter neck. We know from years of rosewood fingerboards that they work fine and last forever if you take care of them too, so I say pick based on looks. As far as the sound difference goes, I've A/B double blind tested and, for my ears, the sound difference debate is all a bunch of bologna.
 
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#88
lz4005 said:
I would really steer clear of pao ferro on fretless. But not for tone reasons. Many people can develop an allergic reaction to pao ferro dust. Its a nonissue on fretted, but on fretless, particularly if you're using rounds, you could have problems.
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I've heard this, but had no problems with a fretless StingRay5 with pau ferro 'board strung w/ rounds that I used for over 20 years. I recently sold it to a friend. There are other woods that can create the same issue, but my understanding is that it's a bigger deal working with the wood (cutting, sanding, etc.) than once you're playing it. I'd be less worried about playing it with roundwounds, and more if you were sanding out the wear.
 
#89
I have 3 Jazz style basses - one with a maple board, one with rosewood and one with ebony. The rosewood (G&L JB) sounds mellower - it is alder and passive and sports nickel wound strings. The other two are ash body - one with nickel and one with SS wound strings - both active electronics. Ash/SS/ebony/active sounds a bit brighter than Ash/Maple/nickel/active - when electronics set approximately equal. My opinion is overall tone is a combination of all parts of the instrument and that tone of fretboard is a minor contributor. Your strings/preamp/amp and body wood all play an important part. Feel-wise I like ebony - especially on my fretless.
 
#90
Compared to strings, pickups, playing style, amp, and amp setting, wood has little to no effect on tone, especially if its fretted. I have a Warmoth Thunderbird with an ebony fretboard and I love it. I play half rounds and round wounds with a pick, HARD, and its not "Clacky". If you're worried about tone, learn about your pickups and EQ settings.
 
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#91
Sweet Willie said:
I've heard this, but had no problems with a fretless StingRay5 with pau ferro 'board strung w/ rounds that I used for over 20 years. I recently sold it to a friend. There are other woods that can create the same issue, but my understanding is that it's a bigger deal working with the wood (cutting, sanding, etc.) than once you're playing it. I'd be less worried about playing it with roundwounds, and more if you were sanding out the wear.
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Sanding is definitely more of an issue, yes.
I just think it would suck to gradually become allergic to an instrument because of the wood used, when there are other options that are equally good sounding.
 
#97
Here are some thoughts on the topic. I have been working on a walnut build.

1. Ebony is not for pansies. The neck is 3.2lbs vs 2.4lbs on the Fender MIM rosewood. It’s a chunky neck almost as big as my Fender AVRI P63.
2. Ebony is pretty magic, it tightens the bass and makes the highs sing. It's pretty high impact tonally, notes kinda jump of the neck.
3. It’s closer tonally to Rosewood than it is to maple (at least with Walnut).
4. It’s really well paired with walnut body.
 
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